§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the policy announcements since March 2000 which have been subject in advance to an assessment of their impact on the regions. [158497]
§ Ms Beverley Hughes(holding answer 23 April 2001]: I have been asked to reply.
The Regional Co-ordination Unit (RCU) was established in April 2000 as the centre of operations for the Government Offices for the Regions. A key role of the RCU is to consider proposals for new or extended area based initiatives. Formal arrangements for assessing the impact of such policies on the regions came into force in November 2000. Since then the following initiatives have been subject to the 'double key' assessment involving both the RCU and the Government Offices: Children's Fund, Creative Partnerships, Neighbourhood Management, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Playing Fields and Community Green Spaces, Safer Communities Initiative and Sports Action Zones. The RCU has also considered a large number of other initiatives not subject to the full 'double key' procedures.