The Government has been accused of ‘making a mockery of Parliament' over local government reorganisation. Speaking on the first day of Congleton BC's appeal against unitary reorganisation at the High Court on Monday, Andrew Arden QC, said the secretary of state had decided the fate of several authorities before the Local Government and Public Health Bill had become law. Mr Arden, who is representing Congleton BC in the legal battle, said: ‘The Government could not assume that its legislation would pass. ‘Had the Bill not been passed, the Government would have gone so far down the road of decision-making that it would have prejudiced and impaired the role of the secretary of state under the 1992 (Local Government) Act. ‘She would have announced the results she was looking for before she could refer them to the Electoral Commission and the Boundary Committee, and she would have done so without regard to the statutory criteria.' Mr Arden said the Government ignored a common law tradition dating back to 1833, which required independent panels – such as the Electoral Commission and the Boundary Committee – to be involved in the process of reorganisation. Shrewsbury and Atcham BC and Congleton BC lost their judicial review in October, when Mr Justice Underhill rejected the councils' argument that the secretary of state did not have the legal power to invite unitary proposals. But the councils were given leave to appeal, and Congleton BC decided to carry on the legal fight. Mr Arden added: ‘In reality, the Government was deciding the fate of these authorities. ‘These words were decisions, of which there was a decent expectation of implementation.' The appeal hearing was expected to last until Wednesday, after The MJ went to press.
