Regional Government (Hansard, 11 February 2004)

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on devolved government in the regions. [154386]

§ Mr. Raynsford
In the 2001 Manifesto the Government made a commitment that provision should be made for directly elected regional government to go ahead in regions where people decided in a referendum to support it and where predominantly unitary local government is established.
The Government's proposals for establishing elected assemblies in those English regions that want them, and for improving existing arrangements in all regions, were set out in "Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions (CMS511)" which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published in May 2002.
The Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 provides for referendums and associated local government reviews. My right Hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced in June 2003, following a soundings exercise, that the north-east, north-west, and Yorkshire and the Humber regions would be the first regions to progress towards a referendum for an elected assembly. Local Government reviews are under way in those regions. When the Boundary Committee have presented their recommendations orders in Parliament for referendums will be laid.
If there is a "yes" vote, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will need to introduce further legislation to provide for assemblies to be established. The first assemblies could be up and running early in the next Parliament.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the establishment of referendums for regional government. [154387]
1529W

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 provides for referendums on whether to establish an elected assembly and for associated local government reviews on options for local government restructuring.
My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced in June 2003, following a soundings exercise, that the north-east, north-west, and Yorkshire and Humberside would be the first regions to progress towards holding a referendum for a regional assembly. Local government reviews are underway in these regions. When the Boundary Committee have presented their recommendations, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will lay orders in Parliament enabling referendums to take place.

§ Mr Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent by the Department on(a) research and (b) preparation for regional referendums on devolved government. [154388]

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not spent any money on research on regional referendums. Some staff time has been spent on developing policy and preparing Statutory Instruments related to the referendums.
The cost of designing, printing and disseminating the results of the soundings exercise, that established which regions had an interest in holding a referendum, was £2,500 plus some staff costs. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will spend £500,000 in this financial year, on an information campaign about elected regional assemblies in the three northern regions.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost of running a regional referendum. [154390]

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Government are currently consulting on The Regional Assembly and Local Government Referendums (Counting Officers' Charges) (England) Order 2004, that will establish the costs of conducting the referendums. The cost will vary from region to region, depending on the size of the region, electorate, and level of turnout.
Based on the figures in the draft order the cost of holding a referendum will be £1.47 per elector, if everyone eligible votes.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department has a special unit to organise and operate referendums. [154391]

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Electoral Commission is responsible for the organisation and operation of the regional referendums.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not therefore have a special unit to carry out these functions. However, some staff time has been spent on developing policy and preparing Statutory Instruments related to the referendums.

§ Mr Rosindell
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans that regional assemblies would be able to levy taxes. [154393]
1530W

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister stated in the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice" (Cm 5511) that an elected assembly will be able to raise money from a precept on the council tax. It will not be able to levy other taxes, including varying non-domestic rates or business taxes.