§ Mr. ParryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the recent visit to Liverpool of the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities.
§ Mr. PortilloI visited Liverpool on 14 May and 21 June. On the first visit, I met the dean of the Anglican40W cathedral, to see the development being carried out on the precinct site, below the cathedral, and to hear the dean's ideas for future initiatives in the area. I was encouraged by what I saw and heard. I then visited the Granby-Toxteth task force, and had a quick tour of the area with its leader, before touring the Liverpool part of the Merseyside development corporation's area.
During my visit on 21 June, I met the leaders of the Princes Park and Granby community council. The group recognised the value of programmes being carried by central and local government, but expressed the view that the Toxteth area was not benefiting and that there could be better co-ordination of the programmes of the statutory agencies active in the area, and improvements in consultation with the local community. I found it a helpful and positive meeting. I then met the board of the Merseyside development corporation, to discuss its recently published strategy and its future policies and programmes. I was impressed by the achievements of the corporation so far, and I encouraged it to continue to take a vigorous and dynamic role in its much-expanded area.
I look forward to visiting Merseyside frequently in future, in my roles as Minister with special responsibility for the Liverpool city action team and the Granby-Toxteth task force.