Nicholas Soames has today voted in support of the Sustainable Communities Bill.

The Bill which has been put forward by Mr Soames’s colleague, Nick Hurd MP as a Private Members’ Bill, aims to empower local people to make their own decisions on how best to tackle community decline and to transform local councils into the collective instrument of local people rather than the local outposts of central Government.

Nicholas Soames said; “The Bill will significantly alter the balance of power in favour of local councils and local communities by giving greater powers on local spending priorities. I am therefore delighted that the Bill has today successfully passed its Second Reading and will now be developed in detail in Committee. I call upon the Government to recognise the cross-Party support for the measures in the Bill and to give the Bill its support and return local decision making powers and choices to local people.”

Notes

• David Cameron MP published the Sustainable Communities Bill in November 2006

• The Bill was drafted by Conservatives in conjunction with Local Works (the cross-Party campaign for stronger local democracy)

• The debate will be available online from Monday 22nd January via www.parliament.uk