Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab): Deep in the recesses of my mind, I seem to remember that county boroughs were established under the Municipal Corporations Act 1882. Many of those county boroughs have been subsumed into unitary or metropolitan authorities, but there are still some dotted around the country.

Robert Neill: The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. This is one of those interchangeable bits of terminology, but the purpose of the clause is to capture all directly elected authorities. It also, for the sake of fullness, includes co-opted - as well as elected - members of national park authorities and other relevant bodies, such as those that carry out planning functions.

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Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab): I want to participate in the debate because we need to sound the clarion for the people whom we, as citizens, all employ in our local authority services. Such people go to work every day and are give of themselves unbelievably selflessly as they provide public services throughout the country. If we ask an ordinary citizen, "What does the council do for you?" their stock answer will be, "They empty the bins," but is so much more than that. Although we are in a time of cuts across a range of public services, we should never miss an opportunity to celebrate the people who provide those public services that are so vital to our everyday lives, and quite often to the lives of the most disadvantaged in our society.

Each day, hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of people throughout the country look after our children, care for our elderly and disabled, keep our streets clean, collect litter, provide library services, care for our citizens in their homes, tend our parks and gardens, ensure our swimming pools and leisure centres are clean, safe and well-managed, and, of course, remove our everyday waste. They even bury our dead. At the top end, they also provide strategy, leadership, and advice and guidance to elected members, and they are capable of managing big departments in local authorities to make sure that the services from which we all want our citizens tobenefit are provided. It is important that we celebrate those people, but it is also important to ensure that there is transparency for all people who work in local government - both contractors and in house - so that everyone can see exactly who is benefitting, and in what way and from whom, from the services with which we want our citizens to be provided.

This is an uncorrected transcript of evidence taken in public and reported to the House. The transcript has been placed on the internet on the authority of the Committee. Neither witnesses nor Members have had the opportunity to correct the record. The transcript is not yet an approved formal record of these proceedings.

The full transcript may be read here.

Promoted by Ken Childs on behalf of Ian Mearns, 12 Regent Terrace Gateshead NE8 1LU