Members of Parliament voted to establish select committees for each of 8 English regions.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 12 November 2008, columns 851-862, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | NLGN press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs said that a House of Commons Select Committee should be created for each region of England, so that MPs could scrutinize the work of regional development agencies.
Source: Regional Accountability, Third Report (Session 2007-08), HC 282, House of Commons Modernisation Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jul
An article examined the contribution of the Government Offices for the Regions to regional and local governance. Although increasingly expected to act as a bridgehead between national and sub-national government and a focus for regional policy co-ordination, the potential role of the Offices in filling the missing gap in English regional governance had not yet been fully grasped.
Source: Graham Pearce, John Mawson and Sarah Ayres, 'Regional governance in England: a changing role for the government's regional offices?', Public Administration, Volume 86 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
The government published a framework setting out central government departments' collective priorities for the network of Government Offices for the English Regions. The framework described how Government Offices would fulfil their role in influencing policy-making, using their expert knowledge of places to deliver better public services and aligning regional strategies.
Source: Strategic Priorities Framework 2008-11, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236) and others
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report welcomed government plans for greater empowerment of local and regional government in England in the area of economic development and regeneration: but it raised concerns about delivery mechanisms.
Source: Olga Mrinska, Decentralisation in England: How far does the Sub-National Review take things forward?, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report | IPPR press release
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report said that government quangos were largely run by people from London and the south east region of England. It said that 'national diversity' should be taken into account when recruiting people to manage and run quangos.
Source: Chris Leslie and Owen Dallison, You've Been Quango'd: Mapping power across the regions, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Report | NLGN press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb