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National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Local Government) Order 2010

I take that point, although one could be a little churlish and say that the councils were there before, as parish councils. They were amalgamated—sensibly, if I may say so—in the legislation that the noble Lord refers to. There are difficulties. One could wax eloquent for hours on this matter and indeed fringe on the metaphysical on the question of exactly where one draws the line between local influence and local taxation. Noble Lords will remember that the American colonies’ cry was, "No taxation without representation". I suppose that we can say now that the issue is, "No representation without taxation". There is indeed a case for some independence in the raising of money. On the other hand, there is also a case for subvention from central funds. With regard to the future of community councils, one should try to maintain the blend between a fairly light local subvention and a slightly greater subvention from local funds. I do not cavil at the name "community council". It is a term of art and it is entirely proper that it should be used in this context.