3

Chapter summary

The next step in our programme of constitutional change is to give people the opportunity to choose whether they want to have an elected assembly for their region.
We will decentralise power to elected regional assemblies and bring decisionmaking closer to the people.
Assemblies will add value by providing more effective and accountable regional decision-making.
These proposals for decentralisation to the English regions build on experience of successful devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and of Londonwide governance.

3.1 The development of the regional structures outlined in chapter 2 has brought many benefits to the English regions. It has promoted joint working. It has brought together key stakeholders and interests at the regional level. It has also provided a regional dimension to important issues such as economic development and sustainability, and built capacity to address them. There is thus already a considerable amount of work on regional policy in the regions, and growing capacity in the regions to think strategically about regional issues. Nonetheless, there are limits to this approach: greater devolution of power to a region must ultimately be matched by greater accountability in exercising that power.

3.2 England has a well-established history of elected local government, which represents and serves well the needs of our cities, towns, and rural areas. But there has been no equivalent democratic development at the regional level. Now, however, public interest in elected regional government has increased and campaign organisations have been established in a number of regions. The poll conducted for the BBC’s ‘Devolution Day’ in March 2002 appears to indicate significant interest, with 63 per cent of respondents across England suggesting they are in favour of regional government.

3.3 The Government recognises the growing desire in some English regions for greater decentralisation and autonomy. We are now looking to consolidate and build upon existing arrangements. Elected regional assemblies can play an important part in further strengthening regional structures, and therefore further improving the performance of their regions. The Government has made it clear that it will take forward elected assemblies in regions where people vote for them in a referendum. We will therefore introduce legislation during this Parliament to give the people of each region the opportunity, over time, to opt for an elected regional assembly. Chapter 9 sets out our proposals for implementing these referendums, including the implications for local government.

3.4 The Government believes that elected assemblies could make a real difference in the regions. The role of elected assemblies will be to make regional governance more effective, and more accountable to the regional electorate. In many respects the two go hand in hand: the Government believes that greater accountability will itself lead to a more effective decision-making process. In turn, giving an elected assembly the strategic lead on regional issues will help to improve regional performance. Each elected assembly will be responsible for promoting economic prosperity, social welfare, and public health and well-being. Improved effectiveness

3.5 An elected assembly would improve efficiency and deliver better regional outcomes:

3.6 Elected assemblies will have a strategic focus with real power and resources to influence delivery of the regional strategies they develop. They will have a different role from local government and will undertake different functions – although they will sometimes need to work closely with local authorities. The general approach to regional assemblies’ functions has been to take power from central government bodies and quangos, not from local government. More detailed information about the specific functions for which assemblies will be responsible is set out in chapter 4 and annex F. The way in which assemblies will work is covered in chapters 5 to 7, and their interactions with other governmental bodies is in chapter 8. Improved accountability

3.7 Increasingly, people want decisions which have a regional dimension to be taken by people from the region and not by Ministers and officials in Whitehall or by public bodies that are not accountable to the region. The proposals set out in chapter 2 go some way towards achieving these goals by decentralising more responsibilities to regional institutions and encouraging better co-ordination at regional level. A regional assembly, however, would provide greater accountability:

3.8 Elected regional assemblies will need to be inclusive bodies whose policies reflect the interests of communities of all kinds, across all parts of the region, and encourage participation. Assemblies should value their region’s diversity and seek to make it an asset in their pursuit of regional development. The expertise of different stakeholders will make a valuable contribution to an assembly’s work. By bringing together and involving different stakeholder groups – including the business community, social and environmental partners, and elected representatives from other tiers of governance – within the region, an elected assembly could also provide a valuable opportunity to create a stronger sense of common identity and belonging within the region. Chapter 7 sets out more detailed options for involving stakeholders.

3.9 It is important to learn from and build on the progress made so far. The starting point for England is not the same as it was for Scotland and Wales before devolution. The four component parts of the United Kingdom have their own histories and distinct national identities. The English regions are different, not least in respect of their administrative structures, size and population. The Government recognises – and, indeed, wants to encourage – the diversity of the English regions, and these proposals reflect that.

3.10 We want all parts of the UK to benefit from applying the principles of decentralisation in a way that best suits their needs. As around 84 per cent of the population of the UK lives in England, devolution to an English ‘Parliament’ or national assembly would have relatively little practical effect or benefit. It would not bring people in the English regions any closer to the decision-making process.

3.11 Experience in London will be valuable both for central government in developing proposals for elected assemblies in the other English regions and, in due course, for regional assemblies themselves. However, London – as a ‘city region’, and the UK’s capital – is unique. It has some significant differences from the other English regions, which need to be reflected in ensuring that English regional assemblies have the most effective package of responsibilities and mechanisms to deliver their objectives.

3.12 Our proposals to strengthen the English regions make sense in the context of our policy for the rest of the UK. They also make sense within a wider European context. The UK has for several centuries operated on the basis of a centralised constitution. This contrasts with the framework of most other European states, particularly in the post-war period during which regional tiers of government have played an increasingly important role. Indeed, the English regions outside London – home for some 40 million people – are now virtually the only regions in Europe which do not enjoy some form of regional democracy or some form of regional representation. Countries like Germany, Spain, and Italy have given their regions the opportunity to develop coherent strategic approaches which have strengthened regional and national performance.

3.13 Annex E sets out the experience of other countries which have a regional tier of government, building on studies carried out by the (then) Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and by the Constitution Unit at University College London. The examples include countries such as Spain where regional assemblies have a wide range of levels of responsibility – a system known as ‘variable geometry’, comparable to the model emerging across the UK.