§ Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what research has been undertaken into the organisation and activities of neighbourhood councils.
§ Mr. FreesonMy Department has sponsored research on neighbourhood councils in England by the Institute of 377W Local Government Studies at the University of Birmingham. A report on the research, which covered the organisation, election and financing of neighbourhood councils, their activities and impact and their relations with local authorities, was published last month. The report also considers neighbourhood councils in relation to inner cities, to ethnic minorities and to small towns, and includes a case study of three urban parish councils. The report has provided valuable information about representative bodies at the most local level, and I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.