Vol. 513 No. 1
78 Ms Clune asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the proposals, if any, he has to introduce a community warden service; the type of duties he envisages will be carried out by the wardens; the timescale for the introduction of the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1694/00]
The community warden service which I propose to establish will focus generally on improving liaison between the local authority and the community, particularly on enhancing the environment through better enforcement of a range of regulatory functions for which the local authority is responsible. It is also proposed that it will have duties in relation to traffic and litter management.
I have decided that the best way to progress the proposal is to pilot the service in a small number of authorities with a mix of urban and rural responsibilities. To this end, I am currently securing the commitment of selected authorities to the pilot service. They will then be required to put representative and expert task forces in place to develop detailed pilot implementation proposals.
It is envisaged that the pilots will commence in the latter part of this year and will operate for a period of three years, whereupon they will be evaluated before deciding on wider introduction of the service.
