§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what expenses and allowances are available to members of the shadow South West Regional Assembly. [41139]
§ Dr. WhiteheadExpenses and allowances are a matter for the Assembly. Its accounts are published annually.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will set out the division of functions between the shadow South West Regional Assembly and(a) the South West Regional Development Agency, (b) the Government Office of the South West, (c) county councils, (d) district councils and (e) unitary authorities; and if he will make a statement. [41135]
§ Dr. WhiteheadThe South West Regional Assembly is a voluntary body. It has not statutory duties and568W proportion of local government expenditure has been met by (a) Government grant, (b) business rates and (c) council tax in each of the last five years. [40775]
§ Dr. WhiteheadEnglish local authorities have reported the following funding of revenue expenditure:
determines its own functions. However, I understand that its top priorities for the next two years are to:
further develop its role as the voice of the South West;continue to identify present and future needs of the region; andencourage and promote integrated policy-making for the delivery of regional objectives.The Secretary of State in approving the Regional Planning Guidance (RPG10) recognised the Regional Assembly as the Regional Planning Body for the South West. The Regional Assembly is therefore responsible for implementation, monitoring and reviews of RPG. I understand that the Regional Assembly is also taking forward the Regional Sustainable Development Framework, which it signed up to in December 2000.
The purposes of Regional Development Agencies are set out in s.4 of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998:
to further the economic development and regeneration of their area;to promote business efficiency, investment and competitiveness in their area;to promote employment in their area;to enhance the development and application of skills relevant to employment in their area; andto contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom, where it is relevant to their area to do so.The Government Office for the South West manages spending programmes in the region on behalf of a range of Government Departments, carries out certain regulatory functions, sponsors the Regional Development Agency and provides a regional perspective which helps inform the development of Government policy.
The functions of local authorities are set out in many different pieces of legislation and are summarised, for 569W example, on the website of the Local Government Information Unit www.lgiu.gov.uk. In summary:
counties provide the following services: education, libraries, social services, trading standards, waste disposal, highways and transport, strategic land use planning.districts provide the following services: housing, parks, sports, arts and entertainment, land use planning permission, environmental health, waste collection and recycling, street cleaning, council tax collection, council tax and housing benefits, electoral registration and administration.unitary authorities are responsible for all the functions carried out by a county and district where there are two tiers of local government.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) when he will hold a referendum to determine whether to proceed to an elected South West Regional Assembly; and if he will make a statement; [41130]
(2) if he will list the policy areas for which the proposed South West Regional Assembly will have executive authority. [41137]
§ Dr. WhiteheadThe forthcoming Regional Government White Paper will set out our proposals for elected assemblies for the English regions.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the budget(a) this year and (b) next year is of the shadow South West Regional Assembly. [41132]
§ Dr. WhiteheadThe Assembly receives funds from a number of sources and is responsible for its own budget. Its accounts are published annually. The Department has made available £0.5 million for the Assembly in this financial year and proposes to make available £0.6 million in 2002–03.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what powers, deriving from which statutes, can be exercised by the shadow South West Regional Assembly. [41131]
§ Dr. WhiteheadThe Assembly is a voluntary, non-statutory body. As such, it does not exercise any statutory powers or duties, and does not need specific statutory authority to carry out the activities determined by its members. However, the Assembly could not take an effective role in scrutinising the activities of the regional development agency for the South West unless the agency was required to play its part. Accordingly, provisions in the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 allow the Secretary of State to designate a chamber for the region (which is the Assembly), and to direct the agency to have regard to the chamber's views and to consult it about the exercise of specified functions.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the terms of reference are of the shadow South West Regional Assembly. [41134]
§ Dr. WhiteheadThe Assembly has no "terms of reference" set by Government. However, I understand that the Assembly has set as its top priorities for the next two years
570Wto further develop its role as the voice of the South West;to continue to identify present and future needs of the region; andto encourage and promote integrated policy-making for the delivery of regional objectives.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the members of the shadow South West Regional Assembly, indicating in each case the reason for their membership. [41138]
§ Dr. WhiteheadMembership is a matter for the Regional Assembly.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many staff are employed by the shadow South West Regional Assembly; and how many staff will be employed next year. [41133]
§ Dr. Whitehead"South West Regional Assembly" is the name used by the regional chamber designated by the Secretary of State under s.8 of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. It is not a "shadow" body of possible future elected regional assembly for the South West, but a voluntary body which has been recognised by Ministers for the purposes of scrutiny of the South West Regional Development Agency.
Staffing levels are a matter for the Assembly.