Power game of ‘musical chairs’

Jul 18 2007 by Rob Merrick, Liverpool Daily Post

NEW government plans to devolve economic power to the region were quickly attacked as "musical chairs, from one quango to another" yesterday.

As expected, proposals to streamline decision-making and boost regeneration will scrap the unelected North West Regional Assembly, attacked as an expensive "talking shop".

The move is the final nail in the coffin of John Prescott’s dream of elected assemblies, ruined by the huge No vote in the 2004 North-East referendum.

The shake-up will see the North West Regional Development Agency (RDA) handed full responsibility for economic growth, with powers over housing, planning and the environment.

John Healey, the Local Government Minister, insisted local authorities will also enjoy a stronger role, with funding delegated to town hall level "where possible".

Funding for 14-19 education in sixth form and further education colleges will transfer from the Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs) to local authority education budgets.

And there will be much closer scrutiny of the work of the RDAs by both local councils and MPs, through new regional Select Committees at Westminster, Mr Healey pledged.

He told MPs: "We want to give local authorities , who know their communities best, a greater role leading jobs, housing, regeneration and sustainable growth."

But the Conservatives, who cheered the death of the unelected assemblies, ridiculed the suggestion that power was being devolved to communities.

Eric Pickles, the Tory communities spokesman, said: "The regional assemblies are unelected, unaccountable and unwanted. We will not mourn their passing. But this isn’t the abolition of regional assemblies. It’s just a game of musical chairs – passing their functions from one distant, regional quango to another."

Liberal Democrats spokesman Andrew Stunell said: "The RDAs will report to ministers and not the communities they are serving."

Yesterday’s "review of sub- national economic development and regeneration" is expected to lead to legislation in 2009, with the assemblies disappearing a year later. Crucially, the shake-up will tackle the problem of the two regional bodies developing different strategies which, Mr Healey admitted, had sometimes been in conflict.

Now the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), drafted by the assembly, will be merged with the Regional Economic Strategy (RES), drawn up by the development agency.

Mr Healey insisted scrutiny would be strengthened because local authority leaders would have to approve the new, combined regional strategy.

It would be up to each region to decide how many council leaders would sit on the scrutiny body.