Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37169 on Neighbourhood Boards, what steps her Department plans to take to allow (a) public scrutiny and (b) questions from communities.

Undertaking meaningful engagement with the local community is a central pillar of the Plan for Neighbourhoods. Building trust and empowering the local community requires consistency, dedication and time, and evidence that people’s priorities have been acted upon. Together the Neighbourhood Board and local authority should ensure that residents, businesses, and grassroots organisations are actively involved in programme design and decision-making to ensure delivery reflects the priorities of local people and helps build capacity within the community.

In line with the principles of public life and to ensure the local community can hold the board to account, the board’s operations must be transparent. The board should publish membership and governance arrangements (including minutes of meetings and decision logs) on the lead council’s website. Boards should establish their own practices in line with the Nolan Principles and Managing Public Money principles.