division_name: Orders of the Day &#8212; Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
motion: <p class="" pid="b.1144.4/1" pwmotiontext="yes">I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.</p>
  
  <p class="" pid="b.1144.4/2" pwmotiontext="yes">The Bill implements the majority of the proposals set out in "Strong and prosperous communities", the local government White Paper, which was published in October. Local government has a long and proud history as a driving force behind public services and the success of our towns and cities. The House will be familiar with some of local government's great historic figures and their achievements&#8212;for example, Joseph Chamberlain, Mayor of Birmingham, who left the city, in his words "parked, paved and improved", or Herbert Morrison, who did much to shape the London we know. Let us not forget the more than 1.5 million men and women working in local government on whom we rely, day in, day out. We are never more aware of their service than in times of adversity, such as the current storms. I pay tribute to them.</p>
  
  <p class="" pid="b.1155.0/1" pwmotiontext="yes">I beg to move,</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b.1155.0/2" pwmotiontext="yes">That this House declines to give a second reading to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill because it fails to provide the freedom and powers to meet the needs of communities as claimed by the White Paper; would lead to further centralisation because of the new power for the Secretary of State to direct councils to restructure; would lead to the costs of restructuring falling on over-burdened council tax payers; fails to return powers on housing, planning, transport, learning and skills from unelected regional bodies to local government; fails to impose an upper limit for the number of performance targets used by central government to micro-manage local government; fails to give NHS patients and the public an independent and investigative public services watchdog, or a national voice for patients; and fails to fulfil the Government's pledge in the White Paper 'Our health, Our care, Our say' to give local councillors a commissioning role in public health.</p>
  
  <p pid="b.1245.1/1" pwmotiontext="yes"><i> Question put, </i>That the amendment be made:&#8212;</p>
  
  <p pid="b.1245.1/2" pwmotiontext="yes"><i> The House divided:</i> Ayes 206, Noes 283.</p>