Meg Munn, Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, speaking at a Local Government Information Unit conference, said that local authorities are best placed to understand the particular migration challenges their city, town or neighbourhood faces. It is only at a local level that tensions relating to migration can be felt and addressed. Only local authorities have the democratic mandate to co-ordinate differing interests, reconcile diverse views and provide the space for open debate and dialogue.She highlighted principles on which councils have based their success in responding to migration challenges. They include strong leadership and engagement, developing shared values, building understanding and resilience across communities, planning how to respond in a crisis and tackling inequalities.
ASSEMBLY CONSULTS ON REGENERATION PLANS
Consultations have begun on major plans for the regeneration of East Wales. The Welsh First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, has launched the process to gather views on the investment of up to 200 million pounds in the region as part of the European Union’s Regional Competitiveness and Employment Programmes under which the area has been allocated 97 million pounds. The total will be made up by match funding.
WELCOMES AND WARNINGS GREET BARKER REVIEW
Proposals to improve the flexibility and responsiveness of the planning system and to make more efficient use of land have been set out in a report by the economist Kate Barker. She wants to see a faster local plan-making process, tailor-made delivery agreements between developers and planning authorities and a sharp reduction in the number of applications delayed by being called in by ministers.