§ Mr. FabricantI beg to move amendment No. 23, in page 2, line 7, at end insert—
`( ) No order under subsection (1) above shall be made by any local authority unless it has—I asked the former occupant of the Chair to fast-rewind in his mind's eye to the young Michael Fabricant at the age of four or five, paddling along the sea front. I ask you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, to wind back to the present. The largest urban area in Mid-Staffordshire, which constituency I represent, is Lichfield. Winding forward my metaphorical video tape for a few moments, I hope after the next general election to be the Member of Parliament for Lichfield, which is the name of the new constituency following the boundary review. Lichfield is unique in many ways. It has not only a three-spired cathedral, but the largest parish council in the United Kingdom. I have tabled amendment No. 23 for that reason, among many others.
- (a) submitted a draft of the order to any parish council (or, in Wales, community council) for any part of the area proposed to be designated, and
- (b) considered any representations made to it in respect of the draft order by any such council.'.
652 Following the local government boundary commission review, greater emphasis was put on the role of parish councils in England and of community councils in Wales. My amendment asks that any byelaw tabled by a district council shall be submitted in draft form to the relevant parish or community council, so that it can make its representations to the district council. That is simply a mechanism to provide greater consultation between parish or community and district councils. Given the non-contentious tone of my amendment, I hope that the House will accept it.
§ Mr. HunterI am attracted by my hon. Friend's amendment and understand the motives behind it. It is clearly important and highly desirable that there should be full discussion, dialogue and consultation between the different tiers of local government. My hon. Friend seeks to ensure that parish councils are consulted about designations. I draw his attention to clause 2, which ensures that the Secretary of State must make regulations that include in particular a requirement that local authorities publicise the effect of their orders.
I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister can assure the House that, when the regulations are compiled, attention will be given to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant). It is presumably highly desirable that local authorities take account of representations made by parish councils and others. My hon. Friend's amendment is noted with interest, and its basic principle that there should be dialogue when compiling designations is acceptable.
§ Mr. John CarlisleAs someone who cut his teeth on parish council politics—as I am sure did many other hon. Members on both sides of the House—I support my hon. Friend's amendment. It is the intention to give parish councillors more power and influence in local affairs. One great tragedy of the present system is that for too long, the worthy men and women who serve as parish councillors for long hours, for no return, are frustrated by decisions of which they knew little in some cases, and which they cannot influence in others—such as planning permission. Any additional power that we can give parish councillors is essential.
At the heart of our discussions is the question whether the Bill is urban, rural or a mixture of urban and rural legislation—and the anxiety of some of my hon. Friends that rural areas should be protected in respect of a problem that is essentially urban. There is nothing more rural than a parish council or, if I may say so, some of the members thereof. Many local farmers are on parish councils and they are very much at the so-called grass roots. They are the ones who have the problems in their local areas, villages, playing fields, footpaths, and so on. Many people expect the parish council to be able to make some sort of a decision. One of the few powers that parish councils have is on footpaths. The parish council is influential. In many cases, it decides where footpaths should go.
§ Mr. FabricantI disagree with my hon. Friend on one point only. Parish councils are not essentially or uniquely rural. Lichfield city council happens also to be a parish council.
§ Mr. CarlisleI submit to the superior knowledge of my hon. and urban Friend and I agree with him, but in 653 the mind's eye of the public and certainly of rural communities, the parish council is closer to their needs and requirements than the town council. There has been a great fight in one of my so-called villages, which wants to become a town and, therefore, have a town council and, heaven forbid, a mayor. Yet it is more of a rural community.
To return to the essence of the amendment that my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant) has tabled, I confess that I support the amendment. Parish councils are essential to matters such as this—the mundane matters with which the House is rightly concerning itself this morning. If a message goes out from the House that we acknowledge that parish councils should have a little more power and influence on measures such as the one that we shall—I hope—approve this morning, it will be good for the rural communities, for the well-being of this place and for the Bill, which I wish good speed and which has many excellent facets.
§ Mr. Patrick ThompsonI support the remarks made by my hon. Friends the Members for Luton, North (Mr. Carlisle) and for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant). I agree with the spirit of the point about parish councils. I must explain a little more about what a parish council is. We have urban and rural Members in the Chamber. I suppose that I am mainly a suburban Member as far as the Bill is concerned. I referred earlier to Broadland district council, which has lobbied me on the Bill. There are four parish councils within the district council. They have a village character of which they are proud, but anyone driving through the area might well say that at least part of those areas—I must be careful how I put this—is suburban in nature.
It is important to realise that parish councils can cover all sorts of areas. They are often, certainly in my constituency, proud of their village status and history. I refer to Old Catton, Sprowston, Hellesdon and Thorpe St. Andrew. Those parish councils would be keen to go along with the amendment, which would ensure that they were consulted fully as far as possible. I hope that my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter) and my hon. Friend the Minister will assure me and other hon. Members that the point about parish councils is well taken and that they should be consulted under the provisions of the Bill and any measures that result from it.
§ Mr. ClappisonMy hon. Friends have made some important points about parish councils. I should like to reflect on them before considering what action I might be prepared to support at a later stage. While it would not be wise for me to give any guarantee, I shall reflect carefully on the important points that have been made. On that basis, I hope that I have given assurance to my hon. Friends, and I join my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter), the promoter of the Bill, in inviting my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant) to withdraw the amendment.
§ Mr. FabricantBecause I understand the way in which the procedures of the House work and I do not wish to 654 jeopardise the Bill, but for no other reason, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.