Sustainable Communities Act 2007

My honourable friend the Minister for Decentralisation (Greg Clark) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am today announcing ways in which the Government will further redistribute power from Westminster and Whitehall to people, neighbourhoods, communities and local institutions. Sustainable Communities Act 2007 The Secretary of State has today issued decisions on whether to implement proposals submitted by local authorities under the Sustainable Communities Act. The Government are grateful to the Local Government Association for undertaking the role of selector and for shortlisting 199 proposals in December 2009. The Secretary of State has examined all the requests for assistance contained within the proposals in light of the spending review and the coalition agreement and, in accordance with the Act, discussed them with the selector. I am pleased that the Government will take action to implement, or implement in part, 37 per cent of requests. We will also work with councils on 25 per cent of requests to explore the issues more closely, or explain how existing powers can achieve the desired outcome. The Secretary of State has today invited all local authorities to once again submit proposals under the Sustainable Communities Act. The invitation will be placed on the department’s website. The Government intend to revise the role of the selector in light of this invitation and will update the House in the new year. I have placed copies of the Secretary of State’s decisions under the Sustainable Communities Act and his invitation to submit further proposals in the Library of the House. Barrier busters to remove barriers to local action I have today launched an online portal to make it easier for councils, community groups, local institutions and individuals to highlight bureaucratic barriers preventing them from taking action that they believe would improve their area. The online portal, available at http://barrierbusting. communities.gov.uk, will also make it easier for councils to submit proposals under the Sustainable Communities Act. Councils will be able to submit directly to the Secretary of State rather than an external selector and at a time of their choosing, not to a centrally imposed deadline. I have established a specialised team within the Department for Communities and Local Government that will work with those who submit requests for assistance through the portal and will try to remove the barrier identified. This online portal will ensure that our commitment to decentralising power is made as transparent as possible. Members of the public will be able to see how we are dealing with requests and hold us to account accordingly.