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Parish Councils (Planning)

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) on securing the debate and on making a strong and powerful case for improving, increasing and clarifying in some cases the role of parish councils in respect of planning. Wider than that, planning matters clearly affect many other decisions and issues about which parish councils are rightly concerned on behalf of their local communities. The hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew), who is no longer in his place, also made a very strong contribution, by emphasising both his own experience and his passionate interest in the subject. Similarly, the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr. Hollobone) emphasised the importance of parishing those parts of the country that are not yet parished. Of course, with that comes the twin-pronged problem of parishing an area and then having to admit to the councils in that area that they have no powers and the fact that the councillors who end up serving on those councils and on higher-tier authorities are compromised as a result of becoming engaged in any of the more important issues that the parish councils consider, as was exposed in an intervention by the hon. Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor). The issue that we are debating has not suddenly sprung up in recent years: an honourable tradition goes back before William Godwin, Kropotkin, Cobbett and, more latterly, Schumacher, all of whom emphasised the importance of giving communities a genuine say in the conduct of their affairs. In fact, that honourable tradition is exemplified by the way in which parish councils operate when they are at their best and by the way in which we as politicians want communities to have a genuine influence on the conduct of their affairs in taking that issue further forward. The hon. Member for Stroud has now returned to the Chamber. He referred to Stephen Wright, the director of Gloucestershire rural community council and a good friend of mine. I think that Stephen Wright stole the words to which the hon. Gentleman referred from me. Many years ago, I went to Action with Communities in Rural England, and I often said that parish councils were the highest tier of government because they were closest to the people, and thus in a better position to reflect people’s interests. I am sure that I nicked the idea from someone else—probably Stephen Wright—but we can argue about that. At their worst, parish councils are open forums for settling local scores and pursuing narrow parochial interests and do not help the greater good of the local community. However, when they operate at their best, as they do on most occasions throughout my constituency—this can be said of local authorities of different levels—they represent the best interests of their communities extremely well. Such councils are in the best position to take decisions. The Government have to make important decisions both on the unfinished business of devolution and on the related matter of the role of parish councils. If the Government genuinely think that devolution is a process of letting go instead of holding on for dear life and realise that it is appropriate to devolve a number of powers further down the authority spectrum, they must recognise that they can negotiate a business case for parish councils taking on a range of decision-making responsibilities. Such responsibilities might include planning. My hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome cited the example of Taunton Deane, as well as the situation in other districts and boroughs. That demonstrates that parish councils are in a good position to monitor situations—district councils are incapable of doing that. They would be in an especially good position to monitor the enforcement of conservation measures and whether all properties in a parish had appropriate planning permission before work was carried out on extensions, for example. Planning law is flouted to a great extent, so parish councils could take on the responsibility for addressing the problem from higher-tier authorities. I take on board my hon. Friend’s point about risk. Parish councils could be at legal and financial risk if they took decisions on matters that another authority might delegate to them. It would be possible to make a business case for establishing a system through which parish councils would fully understand their legal and financial responsibilities when taking decisions. If the district council engaged in the process, it could supply parish councils with any appropriate professional assistance and expertise that was required. It is not beyond the wit of man or woman to create a system of delegation that would work. Parish councils are in a much stronger position than other authorities to discharge duties on a whole load of matters, including planning, environmental matters and waste management.