Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Williams Excerpts
Wednesday 8th February 2012

(12 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Oliver Letwin Portrait Mr Letwin
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I hope the hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends will help me to do so, because distinguished members of his party totally back the big society, including the former Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband), who tells him and his colleagues:

“We should be for the Big Society.”

I therefore hope the hon. Gentleman will join me in putting across the idea that we should welcome the giving back of power to communities and individuals to change their own lives for the better.

Mark Williams Portrait Mr Mark Williams (Ceredigion) (LD)
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One of the ways the big society will succeed is through the dissemination of successful projects, for which the big society awards were intended to be one of the vehicles. What progress has been made with the awards?

Oliver Letwin Portrait Mr Letwin
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I am happy to be able to tell my hon. Friend that the big society awards are alive and well and happening, with successive tranches of people coming in to get them. The Prime Minister is hugely devoted to this. It is important to recognise what communities and community groups are doing the length and breadth of the land.