Power to the People

The Commission for Rural Communities new report 'Participation Inquiry: Strengthening the role of local councillors' highlights that nearly half of rural residents feel unable to influence local decisions directly affecting their lives. The Commission hopes the report's recommendations will help citizens to more fully engage in local decision-making, enhance the democratic role for rural communities and create a stronger, more effective voice for local councillors. The report's recommendations include:local government should be supported and encouraged to create neighbourhood budgets and involve local people in spending decisions; central government should meet the costs of local elections in all tiers; strong push toward more elections in parish councils rather than co-options; the creation of powerful new unitary authorities; Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements, supported by central and local government, should clearly commit to supporting parish and market town plans.