Scathing report throws future of regional assemblies into doubt

13 April 2012

The 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."

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