§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are included in the Government's South-East region. [5100]
§ Dr. Whitehead[holding answer 19 July 2001]: Until 1994, and the creation of the Government Offices (GOs), Hampshire and the Isle of Wight had been part of the South-East standard region. That had been the position since at least 1974, when the English standard regions were established following local government reorganisation.
When the GO South-East region was defined in 1994, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were therefore included. Since 1994, the GO boundaries have become increasingly well established, reflecting the Government's commitment, in the "Modernising Government" White Paper, that, where possible, all Government bodies should align with GO boundaries. This need for coterminosity of regional boundaries based on existing GO configurations was also reinforced in the report by the Cabinet Office's Performance and Innovation Unit in 2000.