THE COMMUNITIES MINISTER WWW.LIBDEMS.ORG.UK/STEPHEN_WILLIAMS BACKGROUND
LOCATION
Stephen Williams: Obviously I don’t know the argument locally but if you think their actually frustrating Community Rights then we would like know about it. What we do with specific examples is to write to local authorities saying you should be doing this and this is how you could be doing it. Andrew Simpson: OK… Stephen Williams: These rights are for people, not for councillors or officers. I think that’s the problem. Andrew Simpson: Right, we’ve got a thousand members in our organisation, we are nearing democratic legitimacy. I think when we meet these officers next week I will say we’ve had this conversation –
Cardiff City Hall Stephen Williams: Drop me a line, this might be useful evidence. If there is something that their doing that we think is not right then we will write. CONVERSATION
This conversation took place between Lewes Phoenix Rising and the Communities Minister Stephen Williams after his ‘key-note’ speech at the Locality Convention. Andrew Simpson: Can we ask you a piece of advice? How would you engage a local authority that is not interested in working with the Localism Act’s Community Rights and community groups that propose them? Stephen Williams: We are finding this a problem around the Country. I wasn’t minister when the Bill was drafted, but I can only imagine that they assumed that local authorities would at least embrace it or just be neutral. What we’re finding in different parts of the country is some of the local authorities are being wilfully obstructive. Andrew Simpson: YES. Stephen Williams: Sometimes it’s just the officers who are there and wield power and sometimes maybe the members. There doesn’t seem to be any political angle to it. Andrew Simpson: What would you say to officers and what would you would say to a director of regeneration
Andrew Simpson: Thank you very much indeed. Stephen Williams: A pleasure.
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The Locality Convention was held in November 2014. Locality describes themselves as “a national network of over 700 inspiring, ambitious and dedicated communityled organisations and 200 associate partners. All our work aims to inspire local communities to change and improve. We help people to set up locally owned and led organisations. We support organisations to exchange ideas and best practice on community asset ownership, community enterprise and social action. We work to influence government and others at national and local level to build support and investment for the movement.” Locality is a commissioning body funded by the DCLG to administer the ‘Big Society’.
of a local authority who says were going to sell that land to maximise our income and were not interested in the community.