§ Lord Bridgesasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is appropriate that the current revision of the regional strategy of the East of England Development Agency should be undertaken without consultation with individual non-governmental organisations, other than directly through the region's voluntary regional chamber. [HL4406]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is fully committed to a dialogue with organisations and individuals from across the region during the consultation on the revised strategy. Over the next three months, EEDA board members and senior managers will be meeting with and giving presentations to a wide range of regional organisations and I am placing a copy of the organisations to be consulted in the Library of the House.
Five thousand copies of an information leaflet have been distributed to explain the review process and to invite organisations and individuals to contribute. In addition, representatives of external organisations are members of EEDA's strategy implementation teams, which will review the comments received.