First of all, I would like to thank Deputies for the manner in which they have received this Bill. It has been criticised, not for what is in it so much as what it is alleged it does not contain. Deputy Smith says it is merely a rehash of the Bill introduced by him last year, but I would like to remind Deputy Smith and the House that the Bill introduced early in 1954 did not contain Section 2 and Section 4 of the present Bill. I consider—and I respectfully suggest to the House—that Sections 2 and 4 are the emancipation of the local authorities.
Under Section 29 of the County Management Bill of 1940, local authorities could requisition county managers to do certain things, but unfortunately, as I was told on my tour of the country, these things were fait accompli before members of local authorities knew of them, and they had no method of finding out what the intentions of the county managers were, and, therefore, the section was useless. Now, under Section 2 of the present Bill, information may be sought in advance of the county managers on what they propose doing in the future, not only about a certain thing but about a series of matters, and if the local authority does not agree with the intentions of the county manager, then they may invoke Section 4 of the present Bill to compel or requisition the county manager to carry out their instructions. That, in my opinion, goes a long way to meet the requests which were made to me by the various local representatives whom I interviewed.
Section 4 simplifies the procedure whereby county managers may be requested to do certain things. A very cumbersome procedure was laid down in Section 29 of the County Management Act of 1940. As I have already explained in my opening speech and on the Second Stage of the Bill, such a resolution or motion required the signature of one-third of the members of the local authority. As proposed here, the simplified procedure merely requires the signature of three members of a local authority. The resolution also merely requires seven days' notice and it may be brought before an ordinary meeting of the local authority.
Criticism has been made here of the proposed estimates committee. I found that one of the complaints which I received was that local authorities were ignorant of the financial matters of their councils during the year. They knew nothing about the finances until the estimates were produced by the county manager at the end of the year. This section will enable local authorities to keep in touch during the entire year with the financial position of their councils. It is ridiculous to suggest that under the section the estimates committee will be required to sit down and prepare the estimates. They will do no such thing any more than a Minister prepares the estimates which he presents to this House. The estimates committee will have the assistance of the manager, the secretary, the accountant and all the clerical staff of the local authority. They will have that assistance just as a Minister has the assistance of the Civil Service in preparing estimates. They will require to meet no more often than they are meeting at present in some of these financial committees to which reference has been made in this House. The estimates committee is being set up to give the local authority an opportunity of keeping in touch with the financial situation of the council during the financial year.
