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Scathing report throws future of regional assemblies into doubt
Last updated at 23:37pm on 05.03.07The future of regional assemblies has been thrown into doubt in a scathing report endorsed by Labour ministers.
It found that bureaucrats and unelected "assembly" members across the nine English regions are costing the taxpayer at least £360 million a year - double the level of just five years ago.
And the inquiry by a left-wing think tank called for a "redesign" of regional assemblies and warned that it is possible they may be abolished.
The verdict from the New Local Government Network may herald the end of the regional assemblies which were championed by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.
Their future has looked in doubt since voters in the North East rejected the offer of an elected regional assembly by a three to one majority in a referendum three years ago.
But Labour has continued to pour money and effort into promoting the assemblies and trying to give them new powers over key areas like planning new houses, airports and roads.
The think tank report - written by a former Labour minister and published with the support of two current Treasury ministers - said that the running of the regions should be rethought to give more power to elected local councillors and elected national MPs.
It said: "Improving accountability will be particularly challenging to the existing regional assemblies, who often face a significantly altered role or even abolition. "It is in our view important to first secure the assent of local government and regional MPs in their preferred governance arrangements, rather than strive to retain the existing regional assembly arrangements at all costs."
The report added that without backing of elected politicians regional assemblies would "look out of touch or marginalised" and that they should start considering their own "redesign" before they suffered "erosion of confidence".
The think tank said that regional assemblies cost typically between £2 million and £4 million a year to run.
Regional development agencies, quangos supposed to encourage business and jobs to their patch, cost another £23 for each region.
Then each of the nine regions has a Government Office - which critics say have been set up mainly to negotiate with Brussels and accept EU grants - and these cost £15 million a year on average.
Total costs are £360 million, and the price to the taxpayer goes up to close to £500 million a year if costs of regional arts councils, sports quangos and social housing bureaucrats are thrown in.
The report was written by former minister Chris Leslie and won support from Treasury ministers Ed Balls and John Healey.
They said in a foreword: "Without necessarily condoning all the recommendations, it is clear that the regional development agencies and other regional bodies must constantly explore how best they can work together."
Regional assemblies were first promoted by Mr Prescott after Labour's 1997 election victory, largely as a method of spreading the idea that devolution applied in England and not just Scotland and Wales.
But the report acknowledged that their rejection by voters in the North East was "overwhelming".
Tory local government spokesman Caroline Spelman said: "The cost of the Labour's unelected regional government has now left the taxpayer to foot a bill of hundreds of millions, at a time when council tax has nearly doubled since 1997.
"This extra tier of unwanted bureaucracy sucks power up away from local people and leaves them with less say over their local communities. "Abolishing unelected regional assemblies would bring down costs as well as improving local democracy and accountability, and I sincerely hope that Labour ministers will take action."
Reader views (12)
50,000 people have asked for a democratically elected Cornish assembly to replace all the unelected quangos, so why does the government refuse?
The price we pay to have no Democracy
Apart from the powerful influence the Duchy has over decision making in Cornwall, Kernow, as you may know, is largely governed by unelected, unrepresentative, undemocratic government bodies and quangos. Before I go on let me just introduce a couple of new words to help describe the Cornish situation. Cornwall, like the English counties in the rest of the South West peninsula, is run by a quangocracy, it is governed by quangocrats. These quangos that we cannot choose and who we have no control over have got more expensive. More than 36 million pounds was needed to run the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA), the South West Regional Assembly (SWRA), and the Government Office for the South West (GOSW) last year. In 2000/01 the cost was 17 million pounds, a whopping 114% increase.
As well as these 'running costs' regional development agencies are also handed generous budgets to carry out their work. For example the UK government gave the SWRDA about 62 million pounds in 2000/01, and 150 million pounds by 2005/06. The chief executive of the body can expect an annual salary, bonus and pension package of more than 170,000 pounds. At the same time administrative costs at the GOSW have shot from 8.71 million pounds to 14.82 million last year.
- Philip Hosking, Penryn Kernow
Having long opposed the Regional Assemblies I now find an upper "transnational" or "cross-border" region covers the coastal Counties of England. It is called 'Arc Manche' with a capital and its President based in Paris. On observing the South East England Reg. Assembly meetings many times an unsavoury element is emerging, our Councillors are being subsumed and even sometimes bullied by bureaucrats and businessmen who are furthering private agendas. Prescott's Code of Practice has made this possible, for Councillors are constantly under threat of appearing before the Standards for England Board when they do their job of putting their constituents' wishes first. The entire regional structure of Regional Assemblies, Regional Development Agency, and Gov. Offices should be abolished because it is too vulnerable to fraudulent activites while Councillors are increasingly sidelined. Furthermore, the huge cost of massive bureaucracy is being borne by taxpayers simply to implement an EU regulation ordained in the EU Constitution, for which the public have never been allowed a vote. Our established County, District and Parish Councils are cheaper by far and certainly far more popular with the people.
- Jenny Sleep, Maidenhead, Berkshire
My local Conservative MP for the Sackville Ward won't even respond to my request to confirm whether or not he has one foot in our Regional Assembly for the South East. This tells me he has both feet in but dare not make it public. As Catherine Tate would say - "what a fanciful liberty".
- Meg Stevens, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, UK
Unelected, unwanted, unaccountable. If the Conservatives serving on the RA`s (and collecting the allowances and expenses) resigned en mass the whole thing would collapse. Perhaps they are hoping for a plum job when county councils are abolished and RAs replace them.
Yes, David Cameron says he wants to abolish them, but he must know that the European Union would never allow that to happen.
- Edward Huxley, Thorpe, Surrey
Regional Assemblies are a requirement of the EU, and as long as we remain in the EU, they will stay, irrespective of who wins the next General Election. The only way we can get rid of Regional Assemblies, which are a waste of time and a vehicle for further EU control, is to get out of the EU. Unfortunately all 3 of the main political parties are committed to continued membership of the EU, as well as the Greens, so that only leaves UKIP (or the BNP; not likely).
- Peter Day, Cadnam, Hampshire
Out with the damned RAs, here come the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) RAs spelt differently. Here come Unitary Authorities, how many ways can you spell RA, Greater community "empowerment" will be trickled down to Town and Parish Councils unless the County Council decides to go "Unitary" then the Town and Parish Councils together with the community "empowerment" evaporates. Hey Ho!
- Patrick Harris, Portsmouth, England
Interesting - only one part of the country was asked if they wanted an ELECTED regional assembly - the North East. They gave an overwhelming "NO" to the idea. So instead we are given UNLELECTED regional assemblies.
Does this sound like a government that really care about what the people think?
I hope that abolishing these wasteful and unwanted tiers of bureaucracy will be given the prominence it should at the local elections this May. After all, this would actually enable a CUT, albeit a modest one, to be made immediately to our bloated council tax bills. Any party making such a proposal should be on to a winner.
- John Petley, Herstmonceux, East Sussex
It is no coincidence that the regional authorities areas of Great Britain are exactly those planned by the EU and no coincidence that they have an EU liason Officer or Offices in Brussels. These Unelected and unwanted assemblies spend OUR money taken from the county councils and ignore local wishes. Just like their masters in Brussels. At last people are wakening up to our loss of sovereignity over OUR OWN AFFAIRS. Prescott who initiated this was not just a fool, but a dangerous fool who was an MEP in the EU for many years before he became Tony Blairs monkey.
- Mr M.Penn, Rustington West Sussex
"Regional assemblies were first promoted by Mr Prescott after Labour's 1997 election victory, largely as a method of spreading the idea that devolution applied in England and not just Scotland and Wales."
Er, no, actually. Devolution is just a smokescreen. Prescott's real motive is to ease the UK into the EU superstate, where national identity is to be suppressed by having region compete against region for funding.
If you doubt this, ask yourself this simple question. If the Regions and their Assemblies are all the invention of Prescott, how come their borders exactly match those laid down by the EU? Coincidence? I think not.
- Marcus, Oxford
These Assemblies drew up the unpopular Regional Spatial Strategies that replace County Structure Plan.
Public consultation on the East of England Plan that would make Harlow a city closes this Friday.
- Nigel Clark, Hunsdon, Herts
The South East of England Regional Assembly (Seera) is manned by 38 "regional planners" plus 1 European liaison officer, the board is made up of "appointed" Councillors elected in places as far north as Milton Keynes, east to the English Channel and west to Dorset, recently the board has approved plans to build 240,000 houses in the south east (the plan is undergoing an examination in public exercise due to finish this month). Keith Mitchell is the board chairman and was elected in Oxford, what does he know about the needs and aspirations of the people that live in the south of Hampshire?, Very little I suspect but he has presided over the plans to build 80,000 houses there. Locally elected councillors in the south of Hampshire have had their hands tied and of course get the blame, the decision makers headed by Mr. Mitchell have no democratic price to pay for they live hundreds of miles away from the scene of the crime. The Tories, who incidentally, "dislike" RAs, make up 51 of the 74 "appointed" councillors to Seera, if they dislike the RAs so much let them withdraw support and Bingo, Seera gone in one fell swoop.
- Patrick Harris, Portsmouth, England
The North East of England knew this when they voted against them in 2004 and a "think tank" is "thinking" perhaps we where right. If it wasn't so stupid and a downright disgraceful waste of tax payer's money it would be laughable, and what is worse the "think tank" will be getting a packet for "thinking" about it! MADNESS!
- Eleanor Justice, Gateshead England
