Roll up that map of England
Sir: I believe that the Maud Commission's proposals on local councils have been widely misunderstood. It is true that the responsibility for all the specific services (i.e. those which are really agency services for the central government) would pass to the unitary authorities. It is not true that the local councils would be 'drained of all power' (st.EcTAToa, 14 June). In fact they would have unlimited power, so long as they were using their own money, to take what initiatives they like. This is a new con- cept in English (but not continental) local government and could open to them wide fields of public service now closed to them by the restrictive doctrines of the law. In the field of village administration we ha. e considerable experience of the need for this already. In the towns it could mean a great deal.
Charles Arnold-Baker
Secretary, National Association of Parish Councils, 99 Great Russell Street, WCI
If Mr Arnold-Baker really believes that Redcliffe-Mand would give local councils 'unlimited powers the misunderstanding is his. The strictly limited nature of thew powers is clearly set out in the Report: 'All the powers of local councils should he con- current powers, that is to say powers which should also be possessed by the main authorities' (para 382). And it makes clear that 'concurrent' in fact implies 'sub- ordinate', since in all cases 'local councils of course, need planning consent and also consent to any capital expenditure involved' (para 386), while for anything out- side the parish-c ttttt tell-type fields of local amenity and convenience 'the specific agree- ment of the responsible authority should be a required preliminary to action by the local council' (ibid).--Editor, sPecirmoR.
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