Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to enhance the (a) remit and (b) powers of Town and Parish Councils following the replacement of District and County Councils by unitary authorities; and what the proposed relationship between those two levels of local authorities will be after reorganisation.

The English Devolution White Paper was clear that we know people value the role of governance at the community scale. All levels of local government have a part to play in bringing improved structures to their area through reorganisation. We will therefore want to see stronger community arrangements when reorganisation happens in the way councils engage at a neighbourhood or area level.

Local authorities act independently of central government. Town and parish councils can work with other tiers of local government to determine how they can best serve their communities in their area.