Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

The Minister said one did not have to be a practising member of a local authority to bring one's perspective to bear. I disagree. As a practising member of a local authority, one is aware of what is happening in the local authority at any given time. I bring to the House my perspective on problems with local government funding, housing programme delivery and so on. I do not just know that there is a housing issue, I know the minutiae because I know the problems that arise at local authority level.