Citation 2010 c. 35 Royal assent 16 December 2010 | Territorial extent England and Wales Commencement 16 December 2010 | |
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Long title An Act to prevent the implementation of existing proposals made for the purposes of Part 1 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. Introduced by Baroness Hanham/Eric Pickles | ||
The Local Government Act 2010 (c. 35) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It revokes structural change orders that would have established Exeter and Norwich as unitary authorities and prevents the implementation of the Suffolk unitary proposals.
The implementation orders were blocked by a High Court ruling, but Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said the "zombie proposals" still theoretically existed and had to be killed off. The Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 26 May 2010. The Bill's second reading was blocked following Lord Howarth's argument that it constituted a hybrid bill. It ultimately passed third reading in Lords on 5 October.
In favour of the Bill, the Government said that halting the plan would save £40 million in reorganisation costs. Lord McKenzie of Luton, a member of the opposition Labour Party, said that the bill would "shut out Exeter and Norwich from the opportunity to become unitary councils" in "an arrogant, dictatorial and brutal way".