G Pearce

Governance in the English Regions: The Role of the Regional Development Agencies

In the absence of regional government, New Labour has pursued a process of administrative decentralisation in the English regions outside London, including the appointment of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), charged with stimulating economic modernisation and assisting in reducing regional economic disparities. They have acquired a key position as strategic power-brokers situated between the agendas of Whitehall and the demands of sub-national interests. RDAs operate, however, within complex, competing structures, tied to meeting nationally determined targets and too little attention has been given to capturing their overall effectiveness. Reflecting New Labours rejection of the need for a more even spread of economic activity between regions, RDAs also lack sufficient resources to make a significant impact on economic disparities. Treasury-led reforms could see the agencies taking responsibility for preparing single regional strategies, but there are contradictions between their remit to increase economic growth and deliver social and environmental objectives.

Climate change performance measurement, control and accountability in English local authority areas

Purpose - This paper aims to consider how climate change performance is measured and accounted for within the performance framework for local authority areas in England adopted in 2008. It critically evaluates the design of two mitigation and one adaptation indicators that are most relevant to climate change. Further, the potential for these performance indicators to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation is discussed. Design/methodology/approach - The authors begin by examining the importance of the performance framework and the related Local Area Agreements (LAAs), which were negotiated for all local areas in England between central government and Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). This development is located within the broader literature relating to new public management. The potential for this framework to assist in delivering the UKs climate change policy objectives is researched in a two-stage process. First, government publications and all 150 LAAs were analysed to identify the level of priority given to the climate change indicators. Second, interviews were conducted in spring 2009 with civil servants and local authority officials from the English West Midlands who were engaged in negotiating the climate change content of the LAAs. Findings - Nationally, the authors find that 97 per cent of LAAs included at least one climate change indicator as a priority. The indicators themselves, however, are perceived to be problematic – in terms of appropriateness, accuracy and timeliness. In addition, concerns were identified about the level of local control over the drivers of climate change performance and, therefore, a question is raised as to how LSPs can be held accountable for this. On a more positive note, for those concerned about climate change, the authors do find evidence that the inclusion of these indicators within the performance framework has helped to move climate change up the agenda for local authorities and their partners. However, actions by the UKs new coalition government to abolish the national performance framework and substantially reduce public expenditure potentially threaten this advance. Originality/value - This paper offers an insight into a new development for measuring climate change performance at a local level, which is relatively under-researched. It also contributes to knowledge of accountability within a local government setting and provides a reference point for further research into the potential role of local actions to address the issue of climate change.

New Patterns of Governance in the English Region: Assessing their Implications for Spatial Planning

Compared with the constitutional changes introduced elsewhere in the United Kingdom, in the English regions a more cautious approach has been adopted based on administrative decentralisation. A key feature of the governments reforms has been the strengthening of regional spatial planning and the transfer of the regional planning function to unelected regional assemblies. We examine how far these reforms have assisted regions to achieve greater discretion over planning policies and a more corporate approach to spatial planning. Our central argument is that, given the absence of elected regional government in England, there are outstanding institutional, cultural, and resource obstacles to extending regional freedoms and flexibilities. Nonetheless, the introduction of new statutory regional spatial strategies, together with a greater commitment in Whitehall to coordinate regional budgets, offers a potential way forward.

Back to the Local? Recalibrating the Regional Tier of Governance in England

By contrast to the far-reaching devolution settlements elsewhere in the UK, political agreement on the governance of England outside London remains unsettled. There is cross- party consensus on the need to ‘decentre down’ authority to regions and localities, but limited agreement on how this should be achieved. This paper explores the welter of initiatives adopted by the recent Labour government that were ostensibly designed to make the meso-level of governance more coherent, accountable and responsive to meeting territorial priorities. Second, it explores the current Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalitions programme of reform that involves the elimination of Labours regional institutional architecture and is intended to restore powers to local government and communities and promote local authority co-operation around sub-regions. Labours reforms were ineffective in achieving any substantial transfer of authority away from Whitehall and, given the Coalitions plans to cut public expenditure, the likelihood of any significant recalibration in central–local relations also appears improbable.

Achieving Personal Data Protection in the European Union

Actions aimed at exploiting the benefits of information and communication technologies have become a major focus of European Community (EC) policy.The new technologies offer considerable benefits to consumers, businesses and governments, but there is growing concern that their widespread use may threaten the privacy of personal information. Increases in transborder data flows, within the EC and globally, imply that a EC‐wide, and ultimately a global, approach is more appropriate than one based upon national rules. This article examines the evolution of EC personal data protection policies and concludes that, whilst considerable progress has been made towards establishing a regulatory framework, advances in technology and continuing variations in national responses seeking to protect personal privacy, are major obstacles to achieving data protection equivalence, both within the EC and in third countries.

Central government responses to governance change in the English regions

The consequence of recent devolution is that territories in the UK are now governed in different ways. Elected government has yet to be extended to the English regions but they, too, have experienced institutional change in the form of administrative decentralization. Regional governance should provide the opportunity for increased co-ordination of regional strategies but it is frustrated by lack of policy co-ordination within central government. Drawing upon recent interviews with Whitehall civil servants the article examines how government is responding to this challenge. It suggests that responses among central government departments to ‘regional working’ are far more diverse than had previously been realized and that there are considerable obstacles to more ‘joined up’ approaches to policies with a regional dimension. We conclude that while the government has made some progress in responding to the need to build a territorial dimension into its activities, the prospect of regional government will give rise to pressures for new government machinery to manage intergovernmental relations.

Sub-national Responses to Climate Change in England: Evidence from Local Area Agreements

Abstract The machinery of governance to address climate change at the sub-national level in England continues to evolve. Drawing on documentary evidence and the views of civil servants and local authority officials from the English West Midlands, this article explores the process through an examination of the inclusion of climate change indicators in the recent round of Local Area Agreements (LAAs), negotiated between central government and local authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships. Considerable popularity has been accorded these indicators nationally, but there are important variations in the pattern of take up. Moreover, significant uncertainties surround the contribution of local measures to reduce CO2 emissions and the targets attached to measures to adapt to climate change are seen as undemanding. Conversely, the impending Carbon Reduction Commitment will act as a powerful incentive for public bodies to cut CO2 emissions from their estates. Although potentially contributing to greater coherence in tackling climate change, achieving collective action through LAAs will prove problematic.

Modernising local government:a role for parish and town councils

Recent initiatives for modernising local government have ignored the potential contribution of parish and town councils. This article critically examines English parish and town councils in the context of the current debate about the need for government to be more responsive to community needs. It considers measures to enhance the capacity of these grassroots councils by recalibrating the responsibilities and resources between tiers of local government. It concludes by setting out possible reforms to facilitate the contribution of these local councils to the modernising agenda as both representatives of the community and potential providers of local services.

Building regional governance in England: the view from Whitehall

Constitutional arrangements in parts of the UK have been transformed by political devolution. In the English regions the Government has pursued a more cautious approach based upon reinforcing the regional tier through administrative decentralisation. Nonetheless, such reforms represent a significant strengthening of the machinery of regional governance and open up opportunities for the recalibration of intra-state relations. Drawing on the views of Whitehall civil servants, this article explores how central-regional relations are being adapted and how government is building a regional perspective into its activities. We conclude that the implications of increased regionalisation for government have not been fully grasped and that greater attention needs to be given to regional priorities in the development of national policies and the adoption of a more co-ordinated approach to regional strategy making and implementation.

A Whitehall perspective on decentralisation in England’s emerging territories

Decentralisation is a key thread running through current UK policy making. The Coalition Government has abolished New Labour’s regional legacy in favour of a new set of strategies around growth and development that has tapped into the localist agenda. Drawing on a series of recent interviews conducted with civil servants, this article explores government initiatives aimed at enhancing local autonomy in England and provides new empirical insights into decentralisation from a Whitehall perspective. It examines departmental aspirations for decentralised structures and Whitehall perceptions of the capacity of local arrangements to successfully manage territorial development in an era of austerity. The article concludes that, in the fields of economic development, planning and transport, there are signs of enhanced local policy and fiscal autonomy. However, there are different levels of enthusiasm for decentralisation across and within Whitehall departments that continue to undermine a more cohesive approach.