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Local Government (Structural Changes) (Areas and Membership of Public Bodies in Bedfordshire and Cheshire) Order 2009

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lords opposite for their responses. I absolutely agree with the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, that this is and always has been about improving services. However, difficult though restructuring always is, the outcome will be better services in those areas. I pay tribute to all the local authorities that have worked so hard over the past year to make that possible. The noble Lord asked about consultation with the fire and rescue authorities and the police authorities. He may be referring to the fact that it was not a full 12-week consultation. I referred to the work that had gone on with stakeholders, and I can tell him that we invited comments within a shortened timeframe because it was considered that there had already been lengthy consultation with stakeholders, who had the opportunity to comment on numerous drafts of the public bodies order and the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act. This order is a consequential amendment to that and so does not require us to consult fully on the proposed changes to the membership of public bodies. I assure him, however, that the outcome suggests that people have been well satisfied with the nature of the consultations. As always the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, picks up on important points. There has been some discussion in Bedfordshire about the membership and composition of the joint selection committee of the police authority. In accordance with the Police Authority Regulations 2008, councils wrote to the Home Secretary asking her to consider and determine the relative levels of representation between Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council. That matter is for the Home Office and is still under consideration. The police authority of Cheshire will be known as the Cheshire Police Authority and the fire and rescue authority as the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Authority, which is a sensible outcome. That was a useful exchange and I am grateful to noble Lords for helping to approve this order. Motion agreed.