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Sustainable Communities Bill

Of course I can comply with that; my hon. Friend represents the constituency of Cleethorpes and I know Immingham very well—my family originated from that part of the world—so I am more than happy to do so. In fact, I plan to attend the annual general meeting of the Lincolnshire parish councils, at which all the parishes in the county—I think that there are several hundred of them—will be represented. Let me make two points. The House might be amazed—if not frightened—to learn that under existing legislation the Secretary of State takes detailed decisions in respect of parishes. Just before Christmas, I was asked to approve a capitalisation request to purchase the front door of a civic hall in a parish in the part of the world of the right hon. Member for West Dorset. I honestly did not enter politics or the Government to make those sorts of decisions, and I do not think that anybody should. On a more serious note, the proposals to allow the powers of byelaws to be set locally, without the Secretary of State’s decision, are a genuinely devolutionary measure.