1 Scrutiny in the South East
Abolition of the Regional Assemblies
1. The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA)
was created in 1999, following the Regional Development Agencies
Act 1998, as a partnership of the region's councils and communities
to represent the interests of South East England. The 111 Assembly
members, including 77 councillors plus representatives from South
East England's business and voluntary sectors, were tasked to
bring councils and communities together to make decisions on the
South East region's priorities for planning, transport and housing,
prepare the Regional Spatial Strategy and scrutinise the Regional
Development Agency (RDA). In July 2007, the Treasury's Sub-National
Review (SNR) of Economic Development and Regeneration announced
the abolition of the existing regional assemblies. The South East
England Regional Assembly was dissolved on 31 March 2009.
Why have regional select committees?
2. The Government proposed the establishment of Regional
Committees in its Green Paper, The Governance of Britain,
in July 2007.[1] The Green
Paper announced that the Government's regional policy should be
subject to formal and consistent parliamentary scrutiny and, in
common with the Communities and Local Government Select Committee,
the Government believed that this scrutiny could be achieved through
the establishment of nine regional select committees. Such committees
could provide an effective examination of the work of regional
bodies and would be well placed to call Ministers to account.[2]
3. Following publication of the Green Paper, the
House of Commons Modernisation Committee conducted an inquiry
into Regional Accountability, which concluded that there was "clear
evidence of an accountability gap at regional level", and
that although RDAs and other bodies were accountable to Ministers,
"many of their activities in the region are not subject to
regular, robust scrutiny".[3]
It therefore concluded that the "most effective way"
to strengthen regional accountability to Parliament was to establish
a system of Regional Grand and Select Committees, recommending
that there should be one Grand and one Select Committee for each
of the administrative regions in England.[4]
Each Regional Committee was given the remit to "examine
regional strategies and the work of regional bodies" in their
region.[5]
Membership of the Committees
4. The eight Regional Committees were established
by the House of Commons on 12 November 2008.[6]
Only Labour members were appointed to the Committee, as other
political parties declined to take up their places. The Committee
has attempted to follow the practice of other select committees,
and to carry out its work as impartially as possible.
5. We were disappointed
that some Councils refused to engage with the Committee for party
political purposes or because of their opposition to regional
organisations. Regional Government has been established by Parliament
and Regional Committees have likewise been established by Parliament
to oversee those arrangements and it is in the interests of our
communities that whilst such arrangements are in place we put
our differences aside and collaborate on making these arrangements
work as effectively as possible. We recommend, therefore, that
these Councils review their position and engage openly and fully
with future enquiries.
6. We want to
ensure that there is clear parliamentary accountability for the
South East Region. We hope that the political disagreements regarding
the establishment of Regional Committees will be resolved shortly
and look forward to welcoming opposition Members joining us in
this important work.
Role and responsibility of our
Committee
7. The current boundaries for the South East region
were formalised in 1998.[7]
The region encompasses 19 county and unitary authorities and
55 districts, covering Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex,
Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.
The South East is home to over eight million people in some three
million households.
8. During our first inquiry, we were eager to ensure
that the Committee was representative of the region as a whole
and held meetings in the region in Aylesham, Kent and Brighton
ensuring both rural and urban locations were used.
Selecting our first inquiry
9. During a time described by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. Alistair Darling MP, as "the most
serious global economic turmoil for over 60 years",[8]
we believed it was important to explore how regional government
was assisting the South East during the economic downturn by examining
the role, responsibilities and accountability of the South East
England Development Agency and the effectiveness of its South
East Regional Economic Strategy. Our terms of references questioned
the effect of the financial and economic situation on businesses
in the region and the support the region was receiving from regional
government.[9]
- We announced our inquiry on 25 March 2009. Between
11 May and 6 July we held three evidence sessions. We took evidence
from the South East Regional Development Agency, Government Office
for the South East, representatives from local business and local
Councils, and Jonathan Shaw MP, Regional Minister for the South
East. We are grateful to those submitting oral and written evidence.
1 The Governance of Britain, Ministry of Justice,
CM 7170 Back
2
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local
Government and the Regions Committee, Fourth Report of Session
2006-07, Is there a future for Regional Government? HC
352-I Back
3
Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons, Third
Report of Session 2007-08, Regional Accountability, HC
282 Back
4
Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons, Third
Report of Session 2007-08, Regional Accountability, HC
282 Back
5
Standing Order 152F Back
6
The establishment of a ninth Regional Committee for London, was
agreed by the House of 25 June 2009. Back
7
National Statistics, Beginners guide to UK geography, www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/gor.asp Back
8
HC Deb (2008-09), 22 April 2009 col 237 Back
9
Full terms of reference for the inquiry can be found at: www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/se/secpn01.cfm Back
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