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Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

There might be a secret subsection that we do not know about. I ask the Minister to think about the fact that the response to petitions is not bureaucratic but political. It is about how local councillors actually respond, because there will often be two views about what is wanted. Local councillors have to weigh up the strength of opinion expressed in a petition against the needs of a wider area. This is political, and we need to ensure that people feel that the political response considers individual views. That will be important. We do not want to tie anyone down in too much bureaucracy.