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Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

I thank the Minister for his reply. I tend to agree with much of what the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, has said. We may revisit this issue because it does not seem to me that it would take much to give way on it. The present wording is a bit of an insult to districts because it has to be a partnership between the county and the districts, and as the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, pointed out, virtually every county runs a different system. In Essex we have areas closely adjacent to London as well as very rural parts in the north of the county. One has to work with the different circumstances of each part of the county. There is some strong feeling about this, particularly from the LGA. I think that the Government could reconsider the point, and I hope that they might do so before the next stage. With that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 162 withdrawn.