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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Phil Hope): We have had another interesting debate on regional governance in the north-west, following that which the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne) secured last week. I shall not recycle all the points that I made in that debate, but I remind hon. Members of one specific point. I make no apologies for repeating it. It is the Government's policy to instigate a far-reaching and radical programme of constitutional change and devolution. It was helpful of the hon. Member for Congleton (Ann Winterton) to say that my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has been and continues to be a committed supporter of regional government in England. Indeed, the Labour party has been committed to that in successive manifestos for many years. That is a helpful reminder of this party's commitment to successful regional development.
I regret to inform the hon. Member for Congleton that this history of support for regionalisation rather undermines her phobia, whereby this is some kind of European plot to take over the north-west. That is clearly not the case and it is not a credible argument.
Ann Winterton: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Phil Hope: In a moment. That argument illustrates not only the Conservatives' knee-jerk reaction to all matters affecting Europe and to relationships between this country and the European Union; it undermines the north-west's deserving case for far better representation at regional level for its economic future.
Ann Winterton: I was filled with hopeno pun intendedthat the hon. Gentleman would not use the argument that he has just expressed to the House. This is no phobia for my party; rather, the Government are seeking not to be truthful with the facts. They are not prepared to tell the British people what the true facts are, so that they can make up their own minds. In fact, the Government are being patronising; they should for
once decide that they will be fair and give the full picture, so that the British people can make an informed decision.
Phil Hope: Of course, the whole point of a referendum is that it gives people the chance of a choice in these mattersa choice that the hon. Lady and her party would deny people by denying them the opportunity of a referendum. The debate that we have had, are having and will continue to have is a very important one about the future economic development of this country's regionsin this case, the north-west.
We said that we would provide for directly elected regional government in the English regions in which such a demand exists, and where people decided in a referendum to support it. It is fundamentally clear that no region will have an elected assembly imposed on it; it will be a matter of choice. It is that choice that the hon. Lady and her party are denying to the people of the north-west. We are giving the people of the regions the opportunity to make that choice. Perhaps those such as the hon. Lady who oppose that policy could make it clear why they would deny the people of the north-east, the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber the right to choose through a referendum.
Two fundamental principles underline our proposal for elected regional assemblies. First, it will give the regions the opportunity to establish democratic accountability for activities that are already carried out on a regional basis by central Government, their agencies and quangos. I need not remind the hon. Lady that it was under a previous Conservative Administration that the Government offices for the regions were established. Through this means, we shall provide greater democratic accountability for those offices. Secondly, elected assemblies can use their resources and influence to improve regional economic performance. The Government remain committed to improving regional economies, and elected regional assemblies are a vital part of this framework.
Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield): Rubbish!
Phil Hope: Elected assemblies will have responsibilities for key regional issues such as jobs, skills, planning, housing and economic development, all of which have a fundamental impact on overall economic development.
The way to drive forward the UK economy as a whole is to boost regional economies, getting all of our regions firing on all cylinders. A Treasury report of last year suggested that if all of our regions raised their economic performance to the national average, the average person in the UK would be £1,000 a year better off.
The Government have already done much to boost regional economies. We have strengthened the regional tier in the UK to ensure that there is the capacity to deliver higher productivity and economic growth. Regional development agencies have been set up to promote economic development and regeneration, and regional chambers have been established to contribute to the RDAs' regional economic strategies, and to scrutinise delivery. Perhaps the Conservatives can tell us what their policy is on RDAs. They went into the last general election promising to abolish RDAs; now, we
see hints here and there that they would keep them. What is their policy on RDAs, given the huge success that those agencies are having, supported by business up and down the country, in developing our regional economies?We have given more responsibilities to the Government offices, and the role of local authorities has been strengthened, for example through the introduction of business planning zones, and generally through the Government's localism agenda.
We have published the communities plan, a regionally focused action programme for tackling imbalances between housing supply and demand. It addresses the lack of housing demand in parts of the north and the lack of supply in parts of the south. The plan seeks to develop policies that are appropriate to each region.
I shall now talk specifically about the north-west. Four of the nine new pathfinder programmes announced in the communities plan are in the north-west. The region will receive some £35 million this year to deal with early interventions.
We are investing more than £1 billion this financial year, along with European programmes and the Northwest Development Agency, on a range of regeneration initiatives. The agency currently invests more than £220 million per year to facilitate the economic, social, physical and environmental regeneration of key areas in the region.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: That is not new money.
Phil Hope: Those are facts that the Opposition seem to want to deny. They clearly illustrate the Government's commitment to effective economic regeneration in both rural and urban parts of the regions of this country. It was this Government who set up the country's first urban regeneration companiesLiverpool Vision and New East Manchester. They are sparkling examples of what partnerships between the private, public and voluntary sectors can achieve, when they have the right delivery vehicles. We are also developing programmes for Cumbria and Furness, East Lancashire and selected coastal and market towns.
The RDAs also manage 140 local regeneration partnerships, and are developing 600 land and property development schemes and rural regeneration programmes. In addition, the north-west region has been allocated £108 million for 21 neighbourhood renewal fund areas to tackle deprivation. We are also making £325 million available to six new deal for communities partnerships in the region over the next 10 years.
I want to show that there has been a range of important initiatives at a local level, addressing issues such as housing, skills, enterprise and crime. The Government's existing policies are beginning to give regions the economic levers that they need to develop their full economic potential. The Government will continue to work to identify where these can be enhanced, or where there are factors affecting economic performance that are not currently addressed in the most effective way.
The Government have set themselves the challenging task of increasing economic growth in all regions. In the long term, that means reducing the disparities in rates of growth between the historically more successful regions and the rest of the country. That will not happen overnight; trends are long established, and may take time to change. However, I do not subscribe to the view often held in other parts of the Chamber that central Government have all the answers. There is only so much that the centre can do. We need strategic decision-making and accountability at regional and local levels, as well as at national level. Scotland, Wales and London have been given new powers to take decisions that are relevant to them and promote their own regional strategies. The Opposition opposed those institutions tooth and nail, but now that they are established, they support them. I dare say that we will see a similar reversal of policy when the new regional assemblies are established and have proved their success.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: Rubbish.
Phil Hope: The Government want there to be elected English regional assemblies, where there is a demand for them. The assemblies will take decisions that bring to bear their knowledge of regional needs and circumstances. There is scope for a much greater role for strategic action at a regional level that can address regional priorities.
To pick up on a specific point made by the hon. Member for Congleton, the majority of business in the north-west consulted in the sounding exercise support a referendum for an elected regional assembly.
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