Tag Archives: regions

BIS guidance on Regional Growth Fund

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Came across this on a publicly accessible forum so see no issue with reproducing it here. It’s a cut & pasted guidance note written in the wake of a BIS meeting on the Regional Growth Fund. Of particular interest is the dismissal of some RDA projects and anything which could be counted as the ‘public realm’.

This is on the periphery of my study area, there’s nothing here about the low carbon economy which forms part of the guidance on Local Economic Partnerships. It is of interest as one of the programmes which will take up the reins from the RDAs. It’s also one of the few government policies which seems happy to use the word ‘regional’.

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GOne – Government Offices in the regions axed early

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In our first two months in government we have demonstrated our commitment to localism, decentralisation and rolling back regional government in England. We have announced the abolition of Regional Development Agencies, abolished the Regional Strategies, ended funding for the Regional Leaders’ Boards (the successors to the Regional Assemblies) and are closing the Government Office for London.

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The death of regions? Leaders Boards next in line…

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Prior to next week’s Emergency Budget, Chief Secretary Danny Alexander has just made a special announcement on cuts made to spending agreed since the beginning of the year. Amongst the high-profile programmes, loans and capital projects being axed are the Local Authority Leaders’ Boards.

Although not its only raison d’etre, the Boards’ disappearance isn’t particularly surprising following the abolition of Regional Strategies, which they were to collaborate on with Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).

Although its early days in the Cameron Government, it’s clear that regional tier organisations are being swept away pretty rapidly. leaving questions on the fate of RDAs and the Government Office network.

The Conservatives have spoken approvingly of local authority collaboration in the past, but this announcement signals a further step towards the dismantling of the regions which have formed the? framework for collaboration under Labour.

Put simply, authorities can collaborate in whatever way they wish…but must find the funds themselves.