Local Markets

Ann Coffey
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what assessment she has made of the potential role of local markets as social spaces in delivering the Government’s social inclusion policy objectives;

(2) what steps the Department is taking to support and develop the role of local markets in helping deliver its social inclusion policy objectives; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. McFadden
The Action Plan on Social Exclusion, launched in September 2006, deliberately focuses on a series of immediate changes and pilots built around a lifetime approach to tackling exclusion, primarily aimed at helping the most disadvantaged. I am aware of the recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation research that highlighted the significant role that markets can play as a site of social interaction and civic engagement—particularly for vulnerable and isolated members of the community. However, to date, no assessment has been made of the potential role of local markets as social spaces in delivering the Government’s social inclusion policy objectives.