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Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

It is new territory to put it in legislation in this form; it is clearly not new territory in the light of what many Members of the Committee have said. It is absolutely appropriate for a duty on the new landscape in which we are working, across boundaries and in relation to the extension of local government autonomy that has been achieved and the huge and growing responsibilities that it undertakes. All that impacts on how local people are served, the range and type of services they can expect and how the place they live in is being shaped and changed. Indeed, it feeds the new appetite for influence. Members of the Committee are right when they say that people want to become involved. In my home town, which is a transition town, the community is alive to the sorts of decisions that local government must make if we are move to a low-carbon economy. People are looking for influence. This is about giving them some new choice and access. It is a proportionate approach. The duty plus the local discretion will achieve the right balance.