John Mawson

The government offices for the English regions : towards regional governance?

The Government Offices for the English regions (GORs) were established in 1994 in response to mounting pressures for improved territorial coordination in the English regions. For the first time government departments with a regional presence were brought under the management control of a single senior civil servant, the Regional Director. The article explores the underlying pressures which led to their establishment, their role and functions within the regions and their relationship with Whitehall. Against the background of the governments own stated objectives for the GORs and the expectations of others the article examines some of the problems which have emerged in the first two years of their operation. The article highlights the issue of the openness and accountability of the GORs to their regions. the extent of influence over government departments and agencies outside the immediate span of control of the GORs, and how far they have proved able to have an impact on policy making at the centre. It is concluded that from the perspective of a Conservative administration the GORs have proved successful in strengthening the presence of central government in the regions and should provide the administrative building blocks for a more devolved and democratically accountable regional tier of government in the event of a change in government.

Social enterprise, strategic networks and regional development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the way in which the UK Labour Government “framed” the policy and practice debate on social enterprise, the way in which “strategic” networks were (or were not) facilitated and the extent to which scale and geography shaped policy choices after 1997.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines three phases of development through a series of examples/case studies all of which are based in the West Midlands in the UK. The paper draws upon the authors practice and experience as both a practitioner and researcher during this period. Interviews with other key individuals are undertaken to inform the authors reflections and analysis.Findings – The paper suggests that there is a risk that experience, knowledge and understanding are at risk as there seems to be poorly developed processes and systems to “capture” informed understanding and that the importance of regional networks to promote practice and to protect innovation are often poorly developed and sup...

Regional governance in England: past experience, future directions?

Purpose – To present a paper which examine the UKs approach to devolution in respect of the English regions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper seeks to understand the policy choices facing the UK Government in redesigning governance arrangements in the English regions. This is achieved by an analysis of the evolution of regional governance arrangements in the past decade drawing on secondary and semi‐structured interviews undertaken by the author.Findings – Regional governance arrangements evolved in an ad hoc manner due to the governments focus on the establishment of elected regional assemblies. In this policy vacuum existing regional institutions succeeded in establishing effective working relationships. However, with an increasing focus on cities as the engines of regional growth and the pressures to devolve responsibilities to local government the existing institutional policy framework has increasingly been challenges.Research limitations/implications – The paper critically examines different...

New development: Information for localism? Policy sense-making for local governance

Recent policy changes in the UK emphasising localism, as opposed to centrally-driven performance management, have potentially significant implications for the use of information in local policy-shaping. This article explores the challenges that this implies for framing the problem and in terms of the current and future uses of information for local governance.

Research Councils, Universities and Local Government: Building Bridges

This article examines the relationship between the UKs research councils, which are responsible for funding research in British universities and the development, execution and dissemination of that research in partnership with local government. The article focuses on the role of a partnership: the Local Authority Research Council Initiative (LARCI). The recent establishment of a national focus for the planning of local government research has opened up the exciting possibility of engaging with the research councils at a strategic level.

Local economic development and the sub-national review : old wine in new bottles?

Abstract This article examines the evolution of local government economic development activities in England against the background of central–local relations and specifically the Sub-National Review (SNR) completed as part of the Treasurys 2007 Spending Review. The exercise represented perhaps the most comprehensive assessment of this aspect of public policy ever undertaken and was notable for the enhanced status and role which was proposed for local government. This vision is assessed in the light of earlier periods of local economic development and highlights a number of recurrent themes and challenges. The article concludes by examining how far these recurrent themes have been addressed in the SNR process and considers whether the proposals truly represent a sea change in governments attitude towards the contribution of local government to regional and local economic development.

Governance in the English regions:moving beyond muddling through?

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to explore the progress of current reforms to government in the English regions through administrative decentralisation aimed at delivering economic growth and greater accountability.Design/methodology/approach – In addition to government documents the paper is informed by the views of a range of public and non‐governmental bodies on key aspects of the reforms, including the preparation of integrated regional strategies, accountability arrangements and institutional capacity.Findings – While holding out the prospect of a more effective approach to regional policy making and delivery, implementation of the reforms carries risks for the delivery of key government policies. There is little evidence that they will assist in reversing disparities in economic growth rates between the English regions or tackle Englands ingrained tradition of centralisation. There are also concerns that the prominence given to economic considerations is incompatible with delivering sustai...

Contracts versus competitive bidding: Rationalizing urban policy programmes in England and France∗

Abstract In recent years both Britain and France have initiated major reforms of the organization of urban policy which have followed the introduction of new mechanisms for the allocation of resources to urban regeneration schemes. In the case of City Challenge, local partnerships were invited to engage in a competitive bidding exercise while the Contrat de Ville was based on a process of negotiation between the state and the different tiers of local government. The perceived success of these approaches led them to become central features of new national policies. Against the background of specific political and administrative traditions of the two countries, the article compares the rationale for each approach, the developments leading up to their introduction, the form and content of the programmes, and the mechanisms by which they were prepared and implemented. The underlying differences in philosophy are outlined through a series of comparative themes.

Transforming Regional Government Offices in England: a New Whitehall Agenda

The research upon which this chapter reports was entitled: Whitehall and the Reorganisation of regional offices in England. Research was undertaken over the period late 1994 to 1997. Little research had previously been undertaken on regional offices (Young 1982). The researchers have maintained an interest in more recent debates surrounding the government offices in England. As a result the chapter includes more recent findings as well as those arising from the ESRC project itself (Mawson 1997; Mawson and Spencer 1995a and b; Spencer and Mawson 1998).