South East Forum For Sustainability

Since the announcement of the general election the future of regional level planning has been up for debate. Even now the results are mainly in, the future is uncertain. The Conservatives have increased their hold on seats in the region but for the first time there is a Green MP. We don’t know how things will pan out in the scheme of a hung parliament but SEFS will be discussing the issues at the General Meeting on Tuesday 15^th June (details on the SEFS website). SEFS will be discussing the issues post the election at the General Meeting on Tuesday 15^th June (click for details). We do hope you will be able to join us then to engage in our debate. In the meantime this is what the different parties are saying about regional level planning in their manifestos:

Conservatives:

• Abolish regional tier including RSS and building targets.
• Councils/business to have the power to form partnerships instead of RDAs but allow them to have regional based enterprise partnerships if they want them.
• Any quangos that do not perform a technical function or a function that requires political impartiality, or act independently to establish facts, will be abolished.
• Hold referendums on whether to have directly-elected mayors in 12 of England’s largest cities outside London; allow local people to trigger referendums on “issues of local importance” by amassing petitions signed by 5% of local people over a six month period; use Cabinet Office budgets to fund the training of independent community organisers to help people establish and run neighbourhood groups.

Greens:

• Referenda on local govt decisions if called for by 20% of electorate.
• Revive local government, with the introduction of proportional representation and with grassroots democracy spreading through the use of smaller community and district councils. Such authorities should have enhanced powers, and in due course new tax-raising powers.

Labour:

• Enhance RDAs and Regional Ministers.
• Enhanced role for local government.
• Regional growth fund.
• Help for city regions to enable them to become powerhouses of growth and innovation with devolved power to shape transport and skills. With the possibility of directly elected mayors.

Liberal Democrats

• Reform Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to focus solely on economic development, removing duplication with other parts of government and allowing substantial budget reductions. We will give responsibility for economic development to local authorities. Where existing RDAs have strong local support, they may continue with refocused economic development objectives. Where they do not, they will be scrapped and their functions taken over by local authorities.
• Scrap govt offices for the regions/Regional Ministers.
• Implement the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill, which gives local communities the right to propose actions in their area to improve sustainability.
• Scrap nationally-set targets and performance indicators.
• Give councils control over housing and planning.