§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the relevant district and borough councils regarding sleeping and barely active parishes under their jurisdiction. [35817]
928W
§ Alun MichaelWe have had a great deal of discussion with both the Local Government Association and the Natural Association of Local Councils about how best to promote the level of activity and effectiveness of parish and town councils. We have not had direct discussions with district or borough councils, but our initiatives have received a warm welcome from many local authorities. Our strategy to help parish and town councils develop a new role and give communities the opportunity to shape their future is set out in the Rural White Paper, published in November 2000. We have made considerable progress in putting in place measures to help local councils develop their potential to lead and invigorate their communities. Over the three years this includes: £15 million for Community Service Grants to help projects to maintain or introduce services which are local priorities; £15 million for Parish Transport Grants scheme for small scale projects to meet local needs; a further million to help up to 1,000 parishes draw up their own town or village plans to set out local needs and aspirations. The Countryside Agency and the National Association of Local Councils have published a national training and support strategy for parish and town councils, towards which we have allocated £2 million. In November we published a consultation paper on putting the Quality Parish and Town Council concept into practice. This sets out our detailed proposals for enhancing the role of local councils, giving their communities a better deal on local services and a stronger voice in the decisions that affect peoples lives.
§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she recommends that those parishes deemed(a) sleeping and (b) barely active should take. [35816]
§ Alun MichaelThis Government are giving unprecedented encouragement to all parish councils to aspire to the standard of the best, that is why we have put in place a range of measures to encourage all rural communities, parish and town councils to take action to shape their own future. I refer the hon. Member to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) of 31 January 2002,Official Report, column 471W, for further information.