The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Don Foster)
I have today published the summary of consultation responses and next steps on making it easier to set up new town and parish councils.
Although there are almost 10,000 parish councils in England, only a handful are to be found in urban areas. So, while around 90% of the country is covered by parishes geographically, only around a third of the population is represented by one.
Parish councils are a fundamental part of our local democracy. Town and parish councils can run local facilities such as leisure centres and theatres, manage parks, establish byelaws, run job clubs, and fund community groups. They can also use the community rights established under the Localism Act 2011, for example to help stop the clock on the sale of important local assets such as pubs and green space. We will also shortly be extending the power to use the Sustainable Communities Act to town and parish councils. Many of our bustling towns and cities would benefit from the neighbourliness and local insight of the parish perspective.
Consultation, which concluded earlier in the year, set out options to make it easier for people, wherever they live, to close up the democratic gap in their own community by creating their own parish council if they do not have one. The document published today explains that we will:
cut by a quarter the number of petition signatures needed to start the new parish creation process—from 10% of the local population to 7.5%
reduce the time local authorities can take to decide on parish council applications to a maximum of a year
make it easier for community groups that have created a “neighbourhood plan” to kick-start the process—removing the need for them to produce a petition
The Department for Communities and Local Government will also be supporting the National Association of Local Councils and County Associations of Local Councils to help campaigns for new town and parish councils and provide them with resources.
The process for creating parishes will continue to be robust, with the local authority retaining the power to decide whether a new parish should be set up. But campaigners and local councils will benefit from a far easier and quicker process.
I am arranging for the document to be placed in the Library of the House.