The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Act 2010 (c. 21) is an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 to amend the Sustainable Communities Act 2007

Sustainable Communities Act 2007

The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was a Private Member's Bill....

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Alistair Burt MP (Conservative) introduced the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill into Parliament. The Bill received wide cross party support being co-sponsored by David Drew MP (Labour) and Julia Goldsworthy MP (Liberal Democrat).

The Aims of the Amendment Act:

• Rolling Programme for Proposals - Accordingly, clause 2(2) on subsequent invitations and proposed new section 5B on the power to make regulations provide the opportunity to set a date both by which the next round should commence and for regulations to come forward to ensure that this will be a continuing process.
• Involves parish and town councils – The second aim of clause 2 was to include parish and town councils. As town councils are technically and legally part of the parish council domain, there was therefore no need to put the term “town council” in the original bill. Where councils use the processes in the 2007 Act, parish and town councils have to be represented on the citizens’ panels that they are required to establish in order to involve and reach agreement with their electors on the ideas for action to be put to the Secretary of State (SoS). It also enables county associations of parish and town councils to be directly involved in the process and to put suggestions for local action to the SoS.
• Involving Citizens - The Act aims to involve citizens by enabling them to petition for a referendum on issues if their council refuses to use the Act. There is a requirement of 5% of electors which has to be met before a referendum can be held and if successful the council must ‘opt in’ to the 2007 Act.