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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to (a) reform and (b) enhance the (i) powers, (ii) financial responsibility and (iii) wider responsibilities of parish councils through the process of local government reform.

The English Devolution White Paper is clear that the government wants to create new opportunities for communities to have a say in the future of their area and play a part in improving it. Ensuring that parish councils are effective and representative of their communities will contribute to this goal.

The government has consulted on necessary reforms to the local government standards regime, including in parish councils. The consultation closed on 26 February 2025 and government will respond in due course. We have also consulted on aims to enable stronger financial oversight of parish councils following the publication of our ‘Strategy for Overhauling Local Audit in England.’ The consultation closed on 29 January 2025 and we will respond in due course.

We want to see stronger community arrangements when reorganisation happens in the way councils engage at a neighbourhood or area level. Proposals will need to explain plans to make sure that communities are engaged. Where there are already arrangements in place it should be explained how these will enable strong community engagement. Town and parish councils can work with other tiers of local government to determine how they can best serve their communities.