Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
2:00 pm
Bob Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst, Conservative)
This morning we discussed whether there is a hidden and perhaps unrecognised demand for parish councils in London. I maintain that there is no evidence of that: there has been nothing on it from any of the representative bodies, nor from any of the major academic commentators such as Tony Travers, nor from the representatives of London’s civic, residents and amenities societies. None of them has suggested that there is a hidden demand that is not being picked up on.
The question is not just one of demand—there are also some practical issues on how parish councils will work in a city where there is no tradition of them. The report of the Commission on London Governance drew attention to concerns that are not unique to the Opposition: how parish councils will interface in practice with ward councillors and with existing devolved structures in London, and how duplication and confusion of roles can be avoided.
I refer to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate. I recognise that, particularly in London, there are still villages and communities that have strong senses of identity. I know that as well as anyone, because my own constituency is full of such communities—Hayes, Bickley, Chislehurst and so on. The borough of Bromley as a whole is like that too—there are some 80 residents associations in the borough, all of which are active and which push for their area. But they work satisfactorily in co-operation with their ward councillors, and not one has ever said that there was a need for a parish council to advance its interests.