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Norwich and Norfolk (Structural Changes) Order 2010

That was a long question that I thought the noble Lord would ask later in the debate. The issue of compelling reasons is as I outlined in my introduction. It was always clear in 2009 that, although the then Secretary of State decided to proceed only with proposals that met the criteria, he recognised that that would not necessarily always be the case, and that there should be scope when criteria were not met still to support and bring forward proposals if there were compelling reasons for them; and that when criteria were met, that did not necessarily in itself mean that the proposals should be brought forward if there were at the time compelling reasons for them not to be. I outlined the two areas of compelling reasons that caused us to proceed with our decisions, which concerned the benefits arising from a total place and the supreme importance of generating growth and making sure that we do everything we can to sustain growth in our country, particularly at the moment, given where we are on the issue of the deficit. That seems entirely appropriate. To suggest that somehow we should only ever stick to the criteria is not consistent with what has happened in the past. I beg to move. Amendment to the Motion Moved by