Clause 6
Business Rate Supplements Bill
4:15 pm
Bob Neill (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Bromley and Chislehurst, Conservative)
I am impressed by the points made by the hon. Member for North Cornwall. Bromley does not have parish councils. I had the pleasure of serving on the Committee that considered the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, where I had some lengthy debates with the Minister about whether at some point in our history there might have been a parish council in Pratts Bottom. Thanks to that legislation there is one now. Pratts Bottom is adjacent to the Kent parish of Badgers Mount.
There is now a power to set up parish councils in London, so the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich and I might find that we have parish councils at some point and that they wish to be involved in the activities that flow from the Bill. Last weekend I happened to be in Wiltshire and had the chance to meet members of and candidates for the new unitary authority, along with some of its officers—the transition team. It is clear, and I take the point, that whatever one’s views, such bodies are a fait accompli in some parts of the world. There is clearly the scope and the desire across the political spectrum to give parishes and local councils an enhanced role in those structures, as you will know, Mr. Atkinson, from your experience in Northumberland, so it is timely to recognise their legitimate role. Hexham is an example of a town council that is probably involved with businesses in its area, so it has a legitimate locus in these matters. I hope that the Ministers will look favourably on an amendment that does not create onerous burdens, but opens up opportunities for those bodies in the current circumstances.