§ 3. Dr. WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to promote the use of citizens juries in local government and planning matters. [7853]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Sir Paul Beresford)We are currently undertaking, with the local government associations, research on issues surrounding public participation in local government, which could include citizens juries.
§ Dr. WrightMay I ask the Minister to be slightly more interested in the reply that he has just given me and to give the House a sense that he genuinely wants to know about some of the innovations and experiments that are going on in local authorities throughout the country? For example, there is a scheme in Lewisham, involving young people on drugs; and one in Hertfordshire, involving local people in waste management issues.
Is the clue to the Government's attitude to be found in the letter from the Deputy Prime Minister that appeared in newspapers recently, describing the Government's approach to public services and saying that they were not attracted by the idea of new democratic bodies, because they attracted the enthusiasts?
§ Sir Paul BeresfordWe are certainly interested, and I am aware of the cases to which the hon. Gentleman 741 refers; hence the conclusion that we might examine the matter in the research. The difference is that, in court juries, the selection is random and, as critics have pointed out, juries of the kind that he is talking about are not. I am sure that he would not want juries, whether on planning or on personality selection, to be rigged.
§ Mr. WilkinsonIt would be an excellent idea to have a jury in the local government area of Hillingdon, where the socialist borough council is seeking to foist on local people plans for social housing in green-belt land, on the St. Vincent's hospital site and on Field End recreation ground. Those plans are bitterly opposed by local people. Is it not the case that, if local people were properly consulted and if the council heeded the objections of the Department of the Environment, such monstrosities would not be foisted on the electorate?
§ Sir Paul BeresfordMy hon. Friend is aware that there was a spontaneous jury in his area: about 4,000 objections were received at the second stage of the unitary development plan, and that is probably a record.