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Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

I appreciate the confusion over groupings. We are handling some complex groupings in this part of the Bill, so I quite understand. Both amendments ask the Government to give assurances that local authorities will be properly included. Amendment 175B would require every local authority in the region to be included in the statement of community involvement, which sets out policies on those who need to be involved in the preparation of the regional strategy. I reassure the noble Lord and noble Baroness that I have total sympathy with what they are seeking to establish. It is important that the right people are consulted, and that they have the maximum opportunity to inform the strategies. It is inconceivable that the list of those who have an interest in the development of a regional strategy would not include local authorities, not least because their plans will have to be in general conformity with the strategy. Secondly, we set out in the policy document that we published a few weeks ago that, as well as a general requirement to consult and engage, we will set out in regulations a more detailed list of specific bodies that must be consulted. Clearly, I am happy that we will consult on this and make sure that noble Lords are aware of those regulations before time. The annexe to that policy document sets out the range of bodies that we expect to be covered in the regulations. It includes, "““a relevant authority any part of whose area is in or adjoins the area””," of the region in the case of the regional strategy. I hope that gives sufficient clarity and assurance. I also emphasise again that, by giving the joint duty to develop the regional strategy to the LA leaders’ board, we have really put local authorities into the driving seat. When we debate this, I will be able to provide evidence for noble Lords about the way in which local authorities in the regions are responding positively to that. For all those reasons, I hope that the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw the amendment.