Councils to benefit from €550,000

Twenty local councils with special needs will next week benefit from over €550,000 in government funds, according to Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said.

Speaking during the Local Councils Association annual meeting, Dr Said listed a number of initiatives which local councils benefited from.

Three local councils were granted funds to draw up detailed reports on sustainable towns and villages, he said.

During the past year, a record number of applications had been submitted for EU funds from local councils, amounting to over €20 million, Dr Said said. The cultural activities fund for councils was so successful this year that the government decided to double it for 2010, Dr Said said.

From October, local councils will start opening on Saturdays to become more accessible to residents. They will also be encouraged to take note of residents' complaints and place more focus on cleanliness.

The local enforcement system will be totally overhauled and the new changes will be introduced by the end of this year, the parliamentary secretary said.

The amendments were drawn up after a detailed and extensive consultation process was held with all the stakeholders over the summer.