§ Mr. BerryTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the outcome was of the Government's consultation on the proposed fund for regional chambers. [4971]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe have had a very positive response to the consultation on strengthening the regions which my right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor launched earlier this year.
I am therefore announcing today the go-ahead for the new £15 million fund for regional chambers—£5 million this year, and in each of the next two years. This will help them to enhance their role in providing regional input to, and scrutinising, the plans and work of the Regional Development Agencies, and to develop their position as the strategic focal point for the regions. The aim is to provide a stronger framework for representing the regions' views, not to impose burdensome new procedures on the RDAs or others.
In 2001–02, £500,000 is available for each chamber to develop its scrutiny role, with a further £1 million set aside for initiatives, supported by the chambers collectively, on setting up the new regime. While we envisage that bids would normally be for the first year only, we have not ruled out the possibility of bids for two, or even three, years' worth of funding where that is what the chambers want. The deadline for receiving bids has been extended to 29 July.
Detailed arrangements for allocating the funding in the following two years will be settled in the light of further discussions with the chambers. The future of the funding beyond the current three-year period will be a matter for the next spending review.