Member

My noble friend’s question about the geography is much more illustrated by reference to Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire, on the face of it and under the Bill as we see it, would have a strategic development strategy for Oxfordshire, the county. However, in Oxfordshire, three options are being presented for the unitary authorities. One of those would entail South Oxfordshire District Council and the Vale of White Horse merging into a single unitary authority with West Berkshire. On that basis, it is very difficult to see how a strategic development strategy for Oxfordshire would make sense in relation to local planning for a unitary authority with a non-contiguous geographical area, so we have a rather interesting question about the sequencing of this. Maybe now is not the moment for it.