Of the 38 projects being funded through the community assets programme, some are in rural areas, such as the Pelton Fell community resource centre in north Durham and the Wigton market hall project. The evaluation will look at projects from a range of areas, including rural communities, and will report in 2010.
I thank my right hon. Friend for that information. Does he agree that we could all do much more to use the wealth of buildings in rural areas—principally village halls, churches and other community buildings—for a variety of alternative purposes? Is that what the Government have in mind? If so, how does the programme bring those ideas forward?
My hon. Friend speaks a truth that will be apparent to hon. Members in all parts of the House. We all know of places in our constituencies where there are community assets that we do not feel are being properly used and which we would like to be used properly by the community for the benefit of that community. The intention of the programme is to bring together third sector organisations and local authorities, so that together they can play a role in ensuring that the projects are properly used for the benefit of the community. My hon. Friend makes an important point, which is that we need to think how we can ensure that not only the community assets programme but other programmes like it properly benefit rural communities. I can assure him that we will be doing that in relation both to the community assets programme and forthcoming announcements.
If the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster wishes to ensure the more effective use of community assets, will he please work closely with the one organisation that reaches into every community in the country, namely the Church of England?
Absolutely. The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the role that religious groups, including the Church of England, can play in providing proper buildings and facilities for the benefit of the local community.
I very much welcome this programme. It is okay to hand over existing schemes, but what encouragement will my right hon. Friend give to local authorities to hand over surplus buildings to community groups, rather than selling them to balance their books?
My hon. Friend makes an important point. We face a big challenge. In a way, part of the intention of the programme is to show local authorities—not just those that are successful in applying, with community organisations, for the programme—what they can do by working with the local community. The process is partly one of culture change, saying to local authorities that they can sell assets at below market prices to local community organisations for the benefit of the local community. My hon. Friend makes an important point about a cultural change that we need to build on.
To what extent has the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster estimated that the transfer of community assets will be used by voluntary organisations as security to attract further investment?
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, which is that the community assets base can make a big difference to voluntary organisations’ ability to borrow or have much greater security of funding. Some of the best examples around the country are where local authorities are partnering with community organisations, and perhaps renting out some space—as in a part of my constituency—which provides not only an asset base for the voluntary organisation but a stream of revenue funding.
I am delighted that Gorse Covert in my constituency is one of the schemes that will, I hope, be successful and followed through. Following the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Linda Gilroy) made about local authorities releasing schools, for example, I have two old schools in my constituency that the local authority has sold on. The community wants to get hold of one of them. Is there a way that a partnership can be formed even though the school has already been sold, so that the community can take that asset? Nothing else will be done with it—it will sit there empty and become derelict. Can my right hon. Friend work through the programme to bring those sorts of partnerships together in the future?
I congratulate the people and groups in my hon. Friend’s constituency on successfully getting through the first stage of the community assets programme. He raises a wider and important point about how much further this programme could go. I very much agree that we should work with him to look further into the issues he raised.
Does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster agree that statutory bodies should maximise the social value of an asset, not just its financial value?
The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. Part of the challenge is how to incentivise local authorities and others to understand that they should maximise that value. As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins) earlier, it is partly a process of culture change. Hopefully, the community assets programme will start to show local authorities just what can be achieved by working with local community groups.
My right hon. Friend mentioned Pelton Fell in my North Durham constituency. Will he join me in congratulating the community, Councillor Steve Barr and Chester-le-Street district council on their involvement in that project and in the wider redevelopment of Pelton Fell, which shows that local authorities working in the local community can actually make a difference?
I certainly will join my hon. Friend in congratulating those he mentioned, who did such a brilliant job in bringing forward the bid for Pelton Fell. I was talking to my hon. Friend the other day about what would be happening in his constituency through the Pelton Fell project. It is a very exciting example of how community assets can be the catalyst for transforming a community.