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Thursday, June 4, 1998 Published at 11:59 GMT 12:59 UK

UK Politics

Sustainable development praised

Wednesday's evening adjournment debate concerned Local Agenda 21 - a programme for sustainable development at local level.

Stroud MP David Drew explained that Local Agenda 21 derives from the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, at which the UK was among 179 nations signing up to an agenda for change in the 21st century.

Local Agenda 21 reflects the important part played by local government and local democracy, Mr Drew said.

In Gloucestershire, Mr Drew's local county, the programme is known as Vision 21 and had drawn together thousands of people across the political divide, without regard to age, sex, race or social class.

Priorities identified

Mr Drew said Vision 21 had identified six main challenges:

To enhance the physical environment, biodiversity and natural resources;

To introduce new value systems that reflect the importance of quality of life and environment, not money;

To embrace the new economy and new ways of working that value the formal and informal sectors;

To adopt new decision-making processes and structures that promote power-sharing, co-operation, local participation, empowerment and democracy;

To increase awareness of sustainability;

To bring about widespread behavioural and attitudinal change.

Mr Drew said that Vision 21 had many achievements including a number of publications, a sustainable parish regeneration project, a sustainable energy centre and a rickshaw taxi service.

Plea to cut red tape

Mr Drew recognised the government's work in this area, but called on it to help by reducing bureaucracy and cutting the load on local authorities.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Angela Eagle said the government praised the efforts made in Mr Drew's constituency.

She said the government supported Local Agenda 21 and had begun a consultation process in Feburay called Opportunities For Change.

Replies had flooded in and over the next few weeks, regional seminars would be held to offer practical guidance on producing and implementing effective strategies.

Ms Eagle summed up by echoing the prime minister's statement that Britain will never be a modern, forward-looking country if it is a place whose beauty, character, air and rivers are polluted, defaced and contaminated.