§ Ms MoranTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will publish guidance dealing with the preparation of community strategies; and if he will make a statement. [125356]
§ Ms ArmstrongI am today publishing draft guidance to local authorities on the preparation of community strategies. This will be the subject of wide-ranging consultation over the course of the summer. We aim to issue final guidance to authorities in the autumn.
The draft guidance, "Preparing Community Strategies", recognises that the key to any effective community planning process lies in engaging local communities, listening to their concerns and addressing their needs and priorities.
Community strategies will represent a significant shift in the way local organisations work together and the way that they relate to local people. Strategies should bring together public, private and community sector organisations, and focus their activities on responding to local needs articulated by local people.
250WCouncils must fully involve local residents, business people and voluntary groups in the preparation of strategies which:
Establish an agreed vision for the area—setting out the sort of communities that, in the longer term, people want to live in;identify the priorities for action that will help realise that vision; andsecure the commitment of the various partners to specific actions to help meet those priorities.Community strategies must be holistic. They should look at all the needs of local communities—jobs and wealth creation, social conditions and the quality of the built and natural environment. They must plan for sustainable, inclusive communities which promote economic, social and environmental aims and contribute to a better quality of life for all.
I have placed copies of the draft guidance in the Libraries of both Houses.