Member

Amendment 5, also tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, would remove public safety from the areas of competence for strategic authorities. I note from the noble Baroness’s explanatory statement for this amendment that her intention in tabling it is to probe what is meant by “public safety”, which I understand. The English devolution White Paper was clear that mayors and strategic authorities should have a role in public safety. We have seen the importance of mayoral leadership in responding to public safety incidents within their areas, whether that is terrorist attacks, fires or serious flooding.