13 March 2008

Below is a summary of issues discussed and decisions taken at the Regional Executive Board meeting on 13 March 2008. You can download the meeting papers from the link at the bottom of the page. Formal minutes will be available following the next meeting. For more information on any of the issues discussed, contact the Assembly on 01924 331555.

Sub National Review

Members discussed developments on work involved in the Government’s Sub-National Review of Economic Development and Regeneration (SNR), which has a number of implications for regional and sub-regional level working.

While the overall direction is clear, including that Assemblies will not continue in “their current form’’ and a bigger role for Regional Development Agencies - the detail of how the recommendations will be implemented is still being developed.

A consultation paper on issues involved is expected to be published shortly, and meetings between the affected bodies are continuing to take place, looking at proposals for future decision-making structures, areas of collaboration and co-operation and the role of SEE partners in future regional working.

Members raised a number of issues, including concerns over timescales of the consultation, the need to ensure the Assembly’s work continues during the transition period and the need for new structures to be challenging and create opportunities for the region. They agreed to continue to be updated on SNR developments with a view to more detailed discussion once the consultation was issued. For more details contact Rob Warm on 01924 331562, email rob.warm@yhassembly.gov.uk.

Assembly Business Plan and Budget

Members were updated on the Assembly’s Business Plan, work priorities and budgetary principles for the next financial year 2008/09. The Plan has been prepared in the context of ‘transition’ to new regional arrangements, with an expectation that funding for Assemblies will continue during the transition period but at a reducing level.

Final confirmation on the amount of funding we will receive from Government and what we are expected to deliver for that funding is expected at the end of this month. In addition, the delay in the consultation on implementing the SNR means that the details of the transition process are not yet defined.

However, the Plan has been drawn up based on Government support of £2,182,000 and Local Authority subscriptions of £222,000. A series of key priorities have been agreed:

• Delivering ongoing partnership working and effective governance arrangements to allow the region to do business in the coming year.
• Maintaining momentum on key policy work, including climate change, energy, flooding, transport and sustainable development;
• Completing the Integrated Regional Framework - so establishing an effective sustainable development underpinning for work on the Single Regional Strategy;
• Undertaking the partial review of the Yorkshire and Humber Plan (RSS) to take account of the Housing Green Paper, to continue to grow the regional evidence base, and to secure the region’s strategy making and alignment capacity;
• Brokering the effective allocation of Single Regional Housing Pot and delivery of the Regional Housing Strategy; and
• Undertaking scrutiny of the Regional Economic Strategy until new arrangements are developed, including securing existing Social Economic and Environmental partner expertise to help shape those new arrangements.

For more details contact Chris Martin on 01924 331591, email Chris.martin@yhassembly.gov.uk.

Draft Integrated Regional Framework (IRF)

Details of the final changes to the Integrated Regional Framework- being drawn up to ensure regional strategies and investment work collectively to help improve delivery of regional priorities - were considered and agreed by members.

Following extensive consultation with regional stakeholders- along with the SNR announcements which mean the IRF will be an important aspect on the transition to a single regional strategy - ten key regional challenges- which will form the backbone of the framework- have been proposed.

They are sustainable transport, climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, productivity and innovation, higher level skills and education, housing markets and affordability, public health and obesity, violent crime, diversity and equality and regional growth.

Following agreement by the full Assembly on December 6, feedback was sought from DEFRA, the UK Sustainable Development Commission on the Assembly’s Sustainable Development Board to “tighten up’’ the document, along with work detailing how the framework will work as an appraisal tool and with Yorkshire Futures to finalise monitoring sections. A number of changes were suggested from this work to ensure consistency and add value to the framework.Members agreed the recommended changes to allow the report to be printed, distributed and used across the region. For more details contact Andrew Horrocks on 01924 331555

Eco Towns, Growth Location and the RSS Review

A focus of the early review of the Regional Spatial Strategy will be on housing issues, setting the level of longer-term growth needed in the region, the locations for that growth and the infrastructure requirements to accommodate that growth – whether it is transport or other critical infrastructure or ‘green’ infrastructure.

Following discussions by members and the Regional Minister at the full Assembly meeting in February, a letter was sent by the Chair of the Planning Board, to the Secretary of State to emphasise the importance of testing Eco Town proposals through the RSS review to ensure that the proposals fit with existing Regional Strategies.

A letter of reply from Iain Wright, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, was presented to the meeting. Across the country individual local authorities, city region partnerships, other Regional Assemblies and the ERN have all raised similar concerns about the need for Eco Town proposals to be considered in the context of spatial strategies.

Earlier this month Housing Minister Caroline Flint published a short-list of locations with the potential to be successful, along with details of the consultation which will take place.

Members discussed three key issue within this work:

• How ‘Eco Towns’ are handled within the RSS process
• How ‘Growth Points’ and other growth proposals are considered, and
• The approach to partnership working in preparing the RSS

They agreed Eco-town and other growth point proposals should be examined through the RSS process and that co-ordinated and collaborative working should be developed with city/sub-regions and individual local authorities on the RSS review. For more details contact Richard Wood on 01924 331555.

Papers from the meeting are available to download below.

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