Greg calls for clarity on Govt regional policy for the North East (Greg Stone)

Greg calls for clarity on Govt regional policy for the North East

March 14, 2007 12:00 AM

gs parkheadrd Regional policy 'is mired in confusion'

Mar 14 2007

By William Green Political Editor, The Journal

The North-East is being let down by ministers failing to provide clarity about their plans for regional government, it was claimed last night.

Senior Newcastle councillor Greg Stone hit out at the Government as MPs published a highly critical report on its regional policy, warning that it was mired in confusion and suffering from a serious democratic deficit.

The Commons communities and local government committee said many people did not support or fully understand the current system which centres on regional government offices, development agencies and unelected assemblies.

In a new report, it is now calling on ministers to make clear their plans for regional government - particularly in relation to city-regions which are designed to boost growth by strategically linking urban centres with the economically-linked surrounding area.

The committee is also calling for improved scrutiny of regional bodies, which are estimated to total 174 in the North-East alone - including more than 100 quangos.

It has recommended the creation of new regional select committees in Parliament and handing unelected assemblies more formal powers to hold development agencies to account.

The MPs added city-regions could be economic drivers without the need for wholesale "costly and slow" reorganisation of existing structures. Newcastle councillor Greg Stone said: "The ball is in the Government's court and we want to see what their preferred structure would be, whether that involves regional or city-region is open to question.

"The North-East is being held back by the lack of clarity and dissipation of power amongst numerous quangos that are not properly coordinated."

Committee chairman Phyllis Starkey said: "Public understanding of the current regional institutions is not helped by Whitehall's failure to think collectively and strategically about what they should do.

"Regional governance could be made much more open and accountable quite simply, if more information was in the public domain and if central Government would streamline its demands.

She added: "The success of the city-regions concept was illustrated for us by the number of submissions we received from local authorities interested in participating in such new partnership structures. However, the Government has failed to set clear parameters for, or to express a specific vision of, what is achievable within the constraints of national policy and available resources.

"This failure is causing great anxiety in non-metropolitan areas, and is impeding realisation of the policy in those cities where it has the best chance of success.

"Unless statements clarifying the Government's position are made soon the city-region movement will again lose momentum."

The latest demands for reform come after the influential New Local Government Network think-tank called for the creation of regional "super-agencies" to provide stronger leadership and boost the economy.

Report author Chris Leslie said it was time to move on from the "hiatus" following the no vote in the 2004 referendum for a North-East elected assembly and work out how to get strong but accountable regional leadership.