CHAPTER 7 The constitution of elected regional assemblies

7.1 The Government wants elected regional assemblies to be:

• democratic;
• inclusive and representative;
• small and streamlined;
• effective and efficient;
• clear about the allocation of responsibilities between their different components.

7.2 We therefore propose to set out in legislation the basic framework that would apply to all elected assemblies, but to do so in a way that allows plenty of scope for variations between regions within that overall structure. We want to use this White Paper to consult further on options for involving regional stakeholders (business, trade unions, the voluntary sector and others) in the work of elected assemblies

THE STRUCTURE OF ELECTED REGIONAL ASSEMBLIES

Assembly executives

7.3 The Government believes that there should be a split between the ‘executive’ and ‘scrutiny’ functions within an elected assembly. Such a split is straightforward for people to understand and promotes accountability. It characterises the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments, the Greater London Authority, and modernised structures for local authorities.

7.4 There is a wide range of models based on an executive/scrutiny split. The Government proposes to adopt a model for elected regional assemblies which has a leader and cabinet chosen by the full assembly. The leader and cabinet would comprise an executive of up to six members, who would be responsible for developing policies, gaining the full assembly’s assent to them, and then implementing them. But the executive would remain accountable to the full assembly and could be replaced by it at any time by a simple majority vote. This model is similar to the devolution arrangements in Scotland, the way the system in Wales has worked in practice, and also the basic model for a ‘leader and cabinet executive’ in the new constitutions for local government. Scrutiny functions

7.5 The Government proposes that each elected regional assembly should establish scrutiny committees, comparable to (but not duplicating the activities of) the overview and scrutiny committees being set up under local authorities’ new constitutions. We do not want to be prescriptive about the number of such committees and their precise functions. In some cases scrutiny could, for example, take the form of a post-event enquiry. Alternatively, a scrutiny committee could participate as a ‘sounding board’ or a source of ideas and other views as policy is developed.

7.6 We envisage scrutiny committees being an important means of holding an assembly executive to account and of probing specific policy areas in a way that would not be practicable in the full assembly. For this reason, members of an assembly executive would not be allowed to sit on scrutiny committees. There would also be a requirement that the party composition of committees would have to reflect the composition of the assembly itself.

Size of assemblies

7.7 The Government proposes that assemblies should have between 25 and 35 members. This variation would relate mainly to differences in population between regions. We believe that this range is the right one, notwithstanding arguments that regional assemblies in England should be of a size comparable with the National Assembly for Wales (60 members) or the Scottish Parliament (129 members):

• assemblies need to be focused, efficient bodies with a membership compatible with their functions. Regional assemblies will have a lesser range of functions than the devolved administrations and it is right that their size reflects this;
• assemblies need to be large enough to provide members for the executive whilst retaining sufficient ‘backbench’ members for effective scrutiny. The Government believes that 25 members is about the minimum needed for these purposes, but that more than about 35 members would be excessive;
• assemblies must also be representative of different political views and different parts of a region. Again, 25 members is about the minimum needed to secure a representative assembly using a proportional representation electoral system – but this does not mean that an assembly of, say, 50 members would be twice as representative;
• assemblies of 25–35 members will encourage the elected members to draw in unelected people with a different perspective or special expertise;
• this size would be consistent with the Greater London Authority, which has 25 elected members in its assembly. Involvement of key stakeholders

7.8 The Government is very keen that key regional stakeholders and their representatives (including business, trade unions, voluntary organisations and environmental groups) should be involved within the structure of an elected assembly. Their involvement in the existing regional chambers has been increasingly successful. In moving to elected assemblies, we would not want to lose the benefits of this participation. Close working with key stakeholders should ensure that an assembly’s policies are more soundly based and thus more likely to secure widespread support for their implementation. We also want to encourage the elected members to draw on the experience and skills of individuals in the region who may not have the time or inclination to stand for election themselves. It is partly for these reasons that we have set limits on the size of the elected membership of assemblies.

7.9 There are four main ways in which stakeholders might be involved directly in the work of regional assemblies:

• as full assembly members;
• on the executive;
• in scrutiny committees; or
• in some form of consultative/partnership forum or sounding board.

7.10 These are additional to other, less direct, ways of involving stakeholders such as business appointments to Regional Development Agencies or specific requirements for assemblies to consult other bodies on, for example, draft strategies or budgets. These proposals do not preclude elected assemblies working closely with other bodies who are active in the region, including those at local level such as local authorities and local strategic partnerships.

7.11 The Government does not believe that appointed stakeholders should be full members of regional assemblies, with the same powers as elected members. This would undermine one of the main reasons for establishing elected assemblies: that bodies operating at the regional level should, as far as practicable, be democratically accountable to people in the region and their elected representatives. We do not believe that this objection would be addressed by creating assembly seats for different stakeholder groups (such as a seat for business, a seat for trade unions, a seat for environmental groups and so on). Even if the practical problems of defining ‘stakeholder constituencies’ could be resolved, these arrangements could never the address the argument of principle that democracy should be based on ‘one person, one vote’.

7.12 For similar reasons, the Government does not believe that unelected stakeholder representatives should be eligible to sit on an assembly’s executive. Members of an executive will, jointly and sometimes singly, be taking important decisions on behalf of the assembly. It would be possible to devise arrangements so that unelected people could sit on an executive and participate in assembly proceedings (for instance, speaking in debates and answering questions, but not voting). But this would mean that not all the people taking important decisions in an assembly would be ultimately accountable to the region’s voters. The Government will encourage assembly executives to draw on relevant expertise wherever it makes sense to do so. But the leader and cabinet members must take responsibility for their decisions and be accountable for them to the assembly and the electorate.

7.13 The Government sees no issue of principle in unelected people participating in all aspects of an assembly’s work which do not directly involve decision-making. This still leaves a large degree of scope for stakeholder involvement, over and above the involvement of stakeholders in specific policy areas or in developing an assembly’s overarching regional strategy (see paragraph 4.11):

• people with specific expertise could be co-opted onto scrutiny committees, possibly with voting rights. This would be in line with existing local government practice and proposals for change in Strong Local Leadership – Quality Public Services. Even so, the number of elected members should exceed any unelected members on any scrutiny committee. As described earlier in this chapter, scrutiny could play a variety of roles, including helping in policy development;
• people with specific expertise could be coopted by assembly executives onto policy development committees or as policy advisers on specific topics;
• there could be consultative forums or sounding boards of stakeholder representatives. There is no single model for this approach. For example, there could be one body covering the whole of an assembly’s activities, several groups with each covering a specific policy area, or groups set up as necessary to deal with emerging issues. Lessons could be learnt from the arrangements put in place by other organisations, including those in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London (see Box 7.1), and the EU’s Economic and Social Committee;
• an assembly could make periodic statements, setting out what it had done to improve, for example, business conditions in the region, on which assembly leaders could be questioned by business people and their representatives, trade unions, and others. This would be additional to the annual ‘state of the region’ report (see paragraph 7.18).

7.14 We realise that stakeholders’ time is precious. The funding for regional assemblies will provide sufficient resources to allow assemblies to draw in stakeholders (see chapter 5). But we are not inclined to be prescriptive in setting out which of these roles stakeholders should fill. Circumstances will vary between regions and change over time, and a prescriptive regime for all regimes is likely to be too inflexible and also to stifle innovation. On the other hand, we are conscious that stakeholders may be concerned that elected members of assemblies may not give sufficient attention to involving unelected people and that it could be desirable for the Government to set out some basic principles or requirements.

7.15 We would like readers of this White Paper to give us their views on how to strike the right balance. What principles or requirements should be laid down by central government for all regional assemblies, or should assemblies be given a free hand? If there are to be basic principles or common requirements, should these be set out in legislation (which would be binding, but could be inflexible) or in statutory guidance (to which assemblies would only have to have regard, but which would be more flexible)?

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF ASSEMBLIES

Involvement of under-represented groups

7.16 The first elections to the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and GLA Assembly were a breakthrough for women’s representation, with women comprising around 40 per cent of those elected in each case. The Government also wants to encourage women, people from ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and other traditionally underrepresented groups to stand for election to regional assemblies, and to ensure that assemblies pay proper regard to the interests of such groups.

7.17 We propose to:

•  apply the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2001 to regional assembly elections. This will ensure that a political party, should it wish to do so, could adopt positive measures that aim to reduce inequality in the numbers of men and women elected as candidates of the party;
• apply s.71 of the Race Relations Act 1976. This would mean that a regional assembly must have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups;
• place elected assemblies under a duty to exercise their general powers with due regard to the principle of equal opportunity for all (and to report annually on progress in fulfilling this duty), to eliminate unlawful discrimination, and to have regard to the need to promote equal opportunities for all persons irrespective of their race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or religion. Openness, accountability and propriety

7.18 The Government believes it is very important that elected regional assemblies should be open, publicly accountable bodies. We therefore intend to:

• apply the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to assemblies, as it applies to most other public bodies;
• require elected assemblies to hold meetings in public, give public notice of meetings, keep records of meetings and other documents and allow people to inspect them;
• require elected assemblies to produce an annual ‘state of the region’ report. This would set out the assembly’s assessment of performance against its targets in a way that facilitates scrutiny and debate, both within the assembly and more widely in the region.

7.19 These statutory provisions will provide a foundation on which regional assemblies can build themselves as open, inclusive bodies. We want elected assemblies to keep people informed of their work, without imposing statutory requirements which could stifle innovation. But the Government will take powers to issue guidance which an assembly would be required to take into account.

7.20. If assembly executives are to work effectively with other bodies, particularly central government, some material will need to be treated as confidential, at least until such time as the executive comes forward with proposals for the assembly to consider. We will put in place suitable arrangements aimed at ensuring that information provided to an assembly executive in confidence by central government or other bodies is not disclosed without the consent of the organisation which gave it, or unless disclosure is required by law.

7.21 The Government also wants elected regional assemblies to be subject to high standards of conduct. We therefore propose that:

• elected assemblies should be subject to the same code of conduct regime that already applies to local authorities;
• the monitoring officer of each assembly should establish and maintain a register of assembly members’ interests;
• participation in assembly proceedings should be prohibited unless relevant interests are disclosed;
• although assemblies will have little involvement in direct service delivery, they should be subject to the overview of the Local Government Ombudsman;
• regional assemblies should be empowered to make payments to people who have suffered from their maladministration. E-government and e-democracy

7.22 We have set a clear target that all central and local government services to the citizen and to business should be e-enabled by 2005. This will involve the transformation of access to government services so that they match people’s needs rather than government structures. In setting up the framework for elected regional assemblies, we will ensure that they are e-enabled from the outset and learn from best practice developed in local and central government.

7.23 The Government is developing an e-democracy policy for consultation that could have a significant impact on the way regional and local government consults and involves citizens in policy and decision-making. The policy is likely to outline two interdependent tracks: electronic voting and electronic participation. The electronic participation track will look at ways in which information and communication technology could be used to enhance opportunities for government at all levels to seek the views, knowledge, and experience of people in order to improve policy and decision-making. Electronic voting is intended to provide more convenient ways of taking part in local, regional, and national elections.

Payment of members

7.24 The Government believes that members of an assembly executive and the chair of an assembly will have full-time posts and should be paid accordingly. Other members of a regional assembly will also have an important role, which is likely to require them to work for perhaps three days a week on assembly business. In order to recompense them for this work, and to attract good quality people who may otherwise be unable or unwilling to stand for election, we propose that these assembly members should receive a salary of around two-thirds of that for the executive members and assembly chair. The Senior Salaries Review Body will be invited to consider what initial salaries would be appropriate and to make recommendations.

7.25 Once set, salaries and any allowances would be a matter for each assembly. An assembly would be required to publish full details of all payments to members and to explain any changes. As noted in paragraph 6.14, MPs, MEPs and councillors could be elected to a regional assembly, but the Government will take powers to ensure that, in such cases, the individual was paid at a lower rate as an assembly member than someone who did not hold another elected office.

Staffing of assemblies

7.26 The Government estimates that a regional assembly will have around 200 members of staff, excluding staff working for the Regional Development Agency. Some of these posts will be inherited from other bodies – such as the Government Office for the region – which currently carry out functions which will transfer to an elected assembly. (Chapter 9 sets out the basic approach which we intend to take to transfers of staff in such cases.) In addition, some staff will be needed to service an assembly – for example, to provide secretarial and administrative support to assembly members and committees – and to deal with finance, communications, legal and other support services. Each assembly will have a chief executive and senior officers, including a chief finance officer and a monitoring officer.

7.27 Staff will be appointed on merit and will serve all the members of the assembly. Selection procedures will be politically impartial. There will not be a formal separation between, for example, staff serving the full assembly and scrutiny committees on the one hand and those serving the assembly’s executive on the other. However, assemblies will need to avoid potential conflicts of interest for officers and make practical arrangements to separate staff servicing the full assembly and scrutiny committees from those working directly to the executive. For instance, it would not be desirable or practical if staff working for the executive in drawing up and implementing a strategy were also advising the relevant scrutiny committee when it was investigating the executive’s development or management of the strategy.

7.28 The Government also intends to restrict the use of political advisers by parties in regional assemblies, along the lines of existing local government practice. The effect would be that any assembly could have no more than three such posts and that a majority group could not use its position to take all three posts.

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