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Decentralisation
4. Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will ensure that the English regions are not excluded from forthcoming decentralisation legislation. [9351]
The Minister for the Regions, Regeneration and Planning (Mr. Richard Caborn): A Bill to provide for regional development agencies was announced in the Queen's Speech and will be introduced in the autumn. That will be a first step towards decentralising decision taking in the British regions.
Mr. MacShane: I thank my hon. Friend for his answer. Is he aware of the welcome in the country for Labour's moves towards handing some power back to the people, after the years of corrupt Tory rule during which the Conservative party treated the state as its private property, ruled from London? As a fellow South Yorkshire Member of Parliament, is the Minister aware that, in a year or two, when we have a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly and a mayor in London, the 7 million people of Yorkshire might say, "What about us?" What plans does he have to continue the process of ensuring that the voice of the British regions is heard, and that they have more accountability and more control over the decisions that affect their daily lives?
Mr. Caborn: I thank my hon. Friend for the due modesty that he always shows in asking supplementaries. I assure him that we fought the election and won it handsomely on a major constitutional change; we shall follow that through. As I said in my answer, the first step is to get regional development agencies into being and then to encourage the formation of chambers. We shall then move towards elective regional assemblies when that has been determined by the people in the regions.
Opposition Members are obviously living in the past. I can assure them that the Confederation of British Industry, the chambers of commerce, the Trades Union Congress, local authorities and academia, through the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom, all support the move towards regional development agencies. I suggest that the Opposition should come into the 20th century, let alone the 2lst century.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton:
I recognise the importance of local government and I am personally sad that many duties and responsibilities were removed from local government in recent times. I speak as somebody who
Mr. Caborn:
The hon. Gentleman has asked an interesting supplementary. We are dealing here with regional development agencies. I know that the hon. Gentleman is extremely interested in manufacturing.
Mr. Paice:
That is not an answer.
Mr. Caborn:
There are three parts to the question which I have answered already, as the hon. Gentleman would know if he had listened.
The regional development agencies are intended to address the weaknesses in the competitive base of this nation. I know that the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) understands that as well as I do in terms of the northern region. We shall bring the local authorities together--we have made that clear commitment in our manifesto--but we shall move to regional assemblies only when that change has been determined by a referendum in each of the English regions. Those referendums may take place at different times. That is the commitment we gave in our manifesto, and that is what we were elected on.
Mrs. Ellman:
Will the Minister consider giving official recognition to regional chambers that already exist through voluntary means? In the north-west five years ago, for example, the public, private and voluntary sectors came together to form the North-West Regional Association and the North-West Partnership, which have brought public, private and voluntary sectors together to develop strategies for the region. Will my hon. Friend consider giving official recognition to such bodies pending the setting up of new ones?
Mr. Caborn:
We shall look carefully at the consultation document. As my hon. Friend knows, it went out a few weeks ago and it will conclude on 5 September. We shall reflect on all the 10 English regions in response to the document and we shall then give a considered reply. I hear what my hon. Friend said, and her point will be taken into consideration when we review the position.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
I say to the Minister, the Secretary of State and their team that the Liberal Democrats greatly welcome the honouring of the manifesto commitment to produce a Green Paper on London government. We look forward to others for the other regions of England.
Will Ministers make two points clear? First, will they ensure that the policies and finances of regional government are made much more important than the personalities? In other words, we should not get into personality politics, but should concentrate on the policies. Secondly, Ministers should make it clear that the Government have an honestly open mind in terms of
ensuring that we have electoral systems for the regions that make sure that, once we establish them, no Government who are against them can take them away.
Mr. Caborn:
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. It is a bit rich for Opposition Members to protest when we are honouring manifesto commitments, but I know that they have great difficulty in understanding that we are doing so.
Finance is one of the matters considered in the discussion document, and we shall reflect on that point after 5 September. The electoral system will be discussed when we decide to have a referendum, which will be some time down the road before we move to regional assemblies. The electoral system will be a point of discussion before we enter that debate.
5. Mr. Rhodri Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his consultations on devolution in London and the regions of England. [9352]
The Minister for London and Construction (Mr. Nick Raynsford):
As my right hon. and hon. Friends said, we have consulted on our proposals for setting up regional development agencies in England. Comments are invited by 5 September. As regards London, my right hon. Friend has today laid before the House copies of the Green Paper "New Leadership for London; the Government's proposals for a Greater London Authority". We shall consult on those proposals between now and 24 October.
Mr. Morgan:
I welcome progress on this issue, because it shows that the contagion of devolutionary democracy has spread from the banks of the Taff to the banks of the Thames, and even to the Tyne.
Mr. Raynsford:
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for welcoming the Government's response to the clear and legitimate wish of the people of England for effective action on more devolution and a more effective say over their local economies. We are interested in delivering for the people of London and the regions of England.
Mr. Clifton-Brown:
Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that that extra layer of unwanted and unwarranted bureaucracy, which will work alongside county councils, district councils, town councils and parish councils, will inevitably reopen the debate on unitary authorities?
Mr. Raynsford:
As the hon. Gentleman will no doubt be aware, in our proposals for London we are sweeping away a large number of unaccountable quangos that were set up by the previous Government, and in their place we are creating a streamlined, slimline authority. That has been warmly welcomed by those people who understand the needs of London government.
Mr. Gunnell:
In his announcement today, my hon. Friend proposed a new strategic authority for London with an elected mayor. That may be welcomed by the people in London who were distressed at the abolition of the
Mr. Raynsford:
As my hon. Friend will know, the framework that we propose for London includes a directly elected mayor working with a directly elected assembly. It is interesting to note that the Conservative party, having previously opposed that concept, has recently begun a somersault. In our proposals for the regions, we shall be keen to encourage democratic innovation. A Bill will be introduced in the other place to allow innovation in local government arrangements, including the possibility of directly elected mayors in English councils. The framework that we propose for regional development agencies will allow a good measure of discretion locally on how those arrangements can best work.
Sir Norman Fowler:
Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that, under his proposals, London will have not only a mayor, but a new Greater London authority with 32 members and a London regional development agency? Does that not create an unnecessary and expensive bureaucracy? Will he tell the House what new charges the Government are considering in order to finance that bureaucracy?
Mr. Raynsford:
In today's Evening Standard, Simon Jenkins said that there is a clear need for the new mayor of London to be subject to a framework of democratic accountability. The Government are providing that in the form of the mayor and the assembly. We are streamlining the administration of London government and establishing a framework that will ensure that Londoners will be able to get better and most cost-effective services. There is no substance whatsoever in the allegation that charges will be substantial increased to pay for that. It will be a streamlined authority that will be cost-effective and will deliver value for money for Londoners.
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