Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 13 March 2018.
Absolutely. I think active and activist community and town councils are a hugely important part of our democracy. Local knowledge can't be underestimated. For example, when I was a community councillor, we had people on there with an encyclopedic knowledge of the local footpaths. We were responsible for them and they were maintained as a result of that. That was very well felt in the community, because they could see the footpaths being maintained. So, it is important to see what we can do, first of all, to have consistency in terms of the sustainability of community and town councils, and then look to see what powers they can be given—as I've said, there are bound to be big differences in size—to see what powers are appropriate for whatever size community or town council they might be.