8

Chapter summary

Our proposals for the eight English regions complement those in place for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London.
Responsibility for policy areas of national importance will not be given to regional assemblies.
Local authorities will remain the community champion and the chief service deliverer in their area.
We will encourage regional assemblies to take account of the potential impacts of their actions on other regions and nations within the UK and to establish effective cross-regional working arrangements.
Most English regions already have good connections with the European Union, which could be strengthened further following the establishment of elected assemblies.

8.2 Following the example of devolution to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the Government’s aim is to strengthen England by empowering its regions – removing the democratic deficit in the regions, joining up policymaking and improving economic performance in a sustainable way. The creation of elected assemblies in the English regions does not mean the break-up of England, just as devolution has not meant the break-up of the United Kingdom as a unitary state of nations.

8.3 With the introduction of elected regional assemblies there will be a continued need to provide a coherent England-wide view and to deal with cross-regional issues.

8.4 The Government’s proposals for elected regional assemblies are designed specifically to address the needs of the English regions. Similarly, the package of responsibilities for the Greater London Authority (GLA) was designed to meet the specific needs of London which, because it is a single conurbation and the UK’s capital city, are significantly different to those of the English regions. (Details of the GLA’s powers and functions are set out in annex H.) While there may be a case to review the GLA’s powers in due course, it is not appropriate to do so until there has been some years’ experience of the GLA and of elected regional assemblies in operation. The GLA itself has been operating for only two years, and the Government believes it is too early to revisit its arrangements.

8.5 Regional assemblies will generally not remove responsibilities from local authorities. Local government will remain the community champion and more involved in service delivery, while regional government leads in the development of the strategic vision for the region. It will be important for improved performance at the regional level to support and build on the strengthened capacity of local government – as envisaged by the recent White Paper Strong Local Leadership – Quality Public Services – and to develop working relationships with the local strategic partnerships in the region. Elected assemblies will need to work with local authorities and other bodies delivering public services in the region.

8.6 However, the prospect of establishing a new regional assembly will have some major implications for governance in a region, not least for local government and the way it works. Chapter 9 details the process proposed for moving towards a referendum on an elected regional assembly, including reviewing the structure of local government within the region.

8.7 The regional chambers were designated by the Secretary of State by directions to the Regional Development Agencies under section 8(1) of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. Where a region votes, in a referendum, for an elected assembly, the Secretary of State will revoke the designation of the chamber for that region immediately before the assembly is formally established. No region will have both an elected assembly and a regional chamber designated under the 1998 Act. Chapter 7 sets out the Government’s proposals for engaging stakeholders in the work of elected regional assemblies.

8.8 Some of the issues that an elected assembly will be responsible for will, occasionally, have implications for other – usually neighbouring – regions. It will be important that regional strategies do not in any way have unforeseen or unwanted ramifications for other regions. Moreover, on many issues regions will be able to achieve more by working together. This will apply whether or not a neighbouring region also has an elected assembly; where it does not, the assembly will need to ensure it is involving all of the bodies in the other region likely to have an interest.

8.9 We will encourage elected assemblies to consult widely where their plans are likely to have implications for other regions. Some regional assemblies in England may also need to consider the impact of their activities on Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and establish appropriate relationships with the devolved administrations and other relevant Scottish or Welsh bodies. The Secretary of State will have reserve powers to intervene if he or she considers that an assembly’s strategies or actions are likely to have a detrimental impact on another region, Scotland, Wales, or the UK as a whole. Central government and elected regional assemblies

8.10 Where an elected assembly is established in a region, there will be a clear transfer of responsibility for a range of policy functions from central government and its agencies to the assembly. This will reduce the size of the Government Office and other government-funded bodies in the region. But the Government Office will continue to have a role, both on policy areas not transferred to the assembly and as the primary means by which central government will work in partnership with the assembly. In London, for example, the Government Office is now a key player in the Government’s relationship with the Greater London Authority.

8.11 There will be no change in the responsibilities which Parliament and central government have for UK-wide matters (including defence, foreign policy, relations with international bodies, and taxation). In addition, responsibility for many policy areas of England-wide importance (such as the National Health Service and schools) will remain on an England-wide basis, and Parliament will continue to have responsibility for these matters. Parliament will continue to be responsible for legislation for the English regions.

8.12 The Government re-established the Regional Affairs Standing Committee in 2001 following a 23 year gap. The Committee provides a forum for MPs to debate issues relating to the English regions. It has already met three times, and the Government welcomes its contribution. We expect the Committee to have a continuing role in considering and debating the development of the Government’s policy, up to and beyond the creation of the first elected regional assemblies.

8.13 Parliamentary select committees are also able to scrutinise the Government’s policy for the English regions. Clearly, the Transport, Local Government and Regions Committee has a key interest in regional policy, but it is also relevant to the work of a number of other Departmental select committees. (For instance, the subcommittee of the Treasury Select Committee announced in March 2002 its intention to take evidence on regional spending, including the factors behind regional disparities in economic performance.) When reporting on their inquiries, select committees might also consider recommending issues which would benefit from debate within the Regional Affairs Standing Committee; the Government and the House could find such recommendations useful. The Government will be happy to work with Parliament to build on these arrangements if Parliament wishes to do so.

8.14 The November 2001 White Paper The House of Lords: Completing the Reform set out options for the nations and regions of the United Kingdom to be represented in the reformed House of Lords. The Government is currently considering responses to its proposals. It intends to introduce legislation thereafter, incorporating decisions on the issues raised in the consultation.

8.15 While regional members of a reformed House of Lords may well want to work closely with an elected assembly if one is established in their region, they will be independent of the assembly and not answerable to it

8.16 While relations with the European Union (EU) are a matter for the UK Government, there are important relationships to be built and maintained at a regional level. Individual local authorities and regional bodies such as Regional Development Agencies have realised that, to make an impact in Brussels, they need to work together at a regional level to gain critical mass. The efforts of the UK’s devolved administrations have demonstrated the benefits of such co-ordinated action. The UK’s movement to regional constituencies for the European Parliament in 1999 further strengthened the connection between the EU and the regions, with MEPs now speaking for their entire region rather than just a small part of it.

8.17 Most regions now have strong connections with MEPs, the European institutions and regions in the EU and accession countries. All the English regions have some form of representation in Brussels: most have amalgamated their sub-regional offices to form single regional representations, controlled and financed by a consortium of local authorities, educational bodies and others. The Government is keen to encourage regions to expand and enhance their relationships with the European institutions and other European regions, where that can add value.

8.18 EU policies and legislation will have a considerable effect on many of the matters for which elected regional assemblies will be responsible. Influence within the EU begins well before the process of formal negotiations between member states and operates through many more channels than the formal EU and intergovernmental processes. Assemblies will be able to play their part in the less formal discussions with the institutions of the EU and interests within other member states. The Government’s response to the European Commission’s Governance White Paper (see Box 8.1) dealt with these issues more fully.

Box 8.1: Changes to the European Union Reforming European governance

Reform of the system of ‘governance’ within the EU is now under consideration.

The European Commission produced a White Paper in July 2001, which covers many aspects of this issue and sets out a list of priority changes that can be made without amending the EU’s treaties.

The Commission included the issue of the role that regions and other spheres of sub-national government can play in the EU system of governance. As such, the views of all such organisations will be welcome contributions to the debate. The White Paper acknowledged, however, that the principal responsibility for involving the regional and local level in EU policy would remain with national administrations.

The Government welcomes the consultation exercise and the recognition in the White Paper that Member States’ individual constitutional arrangements must be respected. The DTLR is already in consultation with local government through the ‘Central Local Partnership’. The Government has agreed a formal response to the European Commission on its White Paper as the UK contribution to the consultation process, which ended on 31 March 2002. This is available on the Government’s Europe website http://www.europe.gov.uk .

The Future of Europe debate and European Convention

At the Nice European Council in December 2000, EU Member States agreed to start a wide-ranging debate about the ‘Future of Europe’, before taking decisions in the next Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) about which changes to the EU treaties will be required. The Government welcomes this debate and will be playing a full part: its contributions will be available on the Government’s Europe website (as above). The outcome of this process should be a more democratic, accountable, and efficient EU in which nation states achieve more together than they can do alone. The Heads at Laeken (December 2001) agreed that the EU-level ‘Future of Europe’ debate should be conducted through a Convention; this started work in Brussels on 28 February 2002. The work of the Convention is public, and can be followed on its dedicated website http://europeanconvention.eu.int .

The Future of Europe debate covers a wide range of international issues, including the key objectives of the EU, the need to connect the EU better to the needs of citizens, the division of competences within the Union and underlying ‘delivery deficit’. Many of these issues will be of interest to different levels of government within the United Kingdom. To this end, the Government welcomes the inclusion of local and regional spheres of government in the Convention. The Committee of the Regions (see paragraphs 8.20 – 8.22) will have six representatives (and six alternate representatives) in the Convention. These will be drawn primarily from Europe’s constitutional regions, and from local government organisations.

8.19 The relationship between regions and the EU has been heavily influenced by the desire to obtain Structural Funds assistance. Structural Funds have been the catalyst for strengthened links between the regions and the EU, and are one of the most visible signs on the ground of the benefits of EU membership. Information on the role of elected regional assemblies in overseeing any structural fund expenditure for future programming periods is set out in chapter 4. The Committee of the Regions

8.20 The Committee of the Regions is consulted by the European Commission and the Council of Ministers on matters likely to have repercussions at the local or regional level. Its representatives are drawn from sub-national tiers of government in each EU member state.

8.21 England currently has 16 of the UK’s 24 seats on the Committee of the Regions, and a corresponding 16 of the UK’s 24 alternate seats. At present, the Greater London Authority and each English regional chamber propose one member and one alternate for nomination to the Committee through the Local Government Association (LGA), and the LGA make proposals for the remaining English seats.

8.22 These arrangements recognise the need for both the regional and local tiers to have a voice in the Committee of the Regions. The Government intends that in those regions that choose an elected assembly, the assembly will take the role for its region currently exercised by the regional chamber. We will consult on the detail of the nomination process in advance of nominations for the committee to be instituted in 2006.

8.23 Covering the whole Council of Europe is the much wider Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe (CLRAE), which consists of two chambers: one representing local authorities and one representing regional authorities in each Council of Europe member state. English members of the 2000–2002 CLRAE regional and local chambers were nominated by the LGA.

8.24 The procedure for the 2002–2004 CLRAE has been amended in recognition of the increasing importance of regional stakeholders in England. Before finalising nominations to the CLRAE regional chamber, the LGA will now consult regional interests – for this purpose represented by the English regional chambers and the Greater London Authority – on their proposals for such nominations.