This bulletin summarises the proceedings of the Executive Committee of 24 January.

REGIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

The Executive Committee of 24 January approved, with minor modifications, the publication for consultation of the draft Regional Strategy for Waste Management.

The Strategy, which forms a part of the current review of the South East's Regional Planning Guidance (RPG9), aims to provide regional guidance on land use planning aspects of waste management. It addresses all the main waste streams that are currently subject to regulation - municipal, commercial and industrial, and construction and demolition waste.

Unlike the earlier strategies- transport, tourism and renewable energy- the Waste Management Strategy proposes that the consultation process be focussed on two, rather than one, strategic options. One, which has been termed the preferred option, seeks to exceed the national and international targets for recovery and treatment of waste and reductions in landfill. The other alternative option would, at least in the shorter term, concentrate on ensuring that targets are fully met but are not exceeded, thus allowing the region to focus on achieving the best mixes of different forms of treatment and recovery. Following the consultation period, members will then be able to decide which of the options the region should pursue or whether a variation, or 'hybrid', of the two is preferable.

The Strategy, and its accompanying synopsis, will be formally launched for consultation on 24 March at Oxford Town Hall. This will be followed by a 13 week consultation period which will include a number of stakeholder workshops around the region.

REGIONAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY

The draft Regional Transport Strategy was passed to the Secretary of State for Transport for his consideration on 20 January.

The Secretary of State is conducting a consultation on the proposed Strategy between 20 January and 17 April. Around 2,000 people and organisations have been written to, inviting comments on the proposals. However, the views of all interested parties are being sought. Comments should be submitted to the Panel Secretary by email (thepanel.gose@go-regions.gsi.gov.uk) or in writing to: The Panel Secretary, Bridge House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4GA.

An Examination in Public (EIP) of the Regional Transport Strategy will be held in the week commencing 21 July 2003 at the Hexagon in Reading. The independent panel overseeing the EIP will be chaired by Corrine Swaine OBE.

Copies of the draft Strategy, its accompanying supporting document and the comments form are available from the Regional Assembly secretariat (secretariat@southeast-ra.gov.uk). They can also be found in the transport section of this website.

REGIONAL SOUNDINGS

The Executive Committee agreed an initial report on the regional soundings exercise currently being undertaken by the Government. The soundings are to test opinion on whether the South East should have a referendum on a directly elected regional assembly. The results of two surveys currently underway - one of Assembly members, and a public opinion survey undertaken by MORI for county councils - will be reported to the Assembly plenary on 5 March in order to inform a response to Ministers.

SEEDA ACCOUNTABILITY

The Executive Committee was asked to consider and comment on SEEDA's draft Corporate Plan for 2003-2006. The Corporate Plan sets out SEEDA's specific contribution to the Regional Economic Strategy and also serves to provide Government with an overall plan of how SEEDA intends to achieve its agreed PSA targets.

The Committee expressed certain concerns about the Corporate Plan, including:

• The limited extent of implementation detail that the Plan actually adds to the RES.
• The lack of explanation for many of the significant shifts in resource distribution across the policy themes.
• The absence of geographical detail concerning resource allocation.

It was agreed that a working group of Assembly members and officers would meet with SEEDA representatives to discuss the Assembly's concerns prior to the Plan's submission to Government in late February 2003.

GOSE REPORT

Over the next four months, GOSE will be conducting a stakeholder survey into the performance of SEEDA. The survey, which will be conducted by MORI, will include one-to-one interviews with between 200-300 organisations from across the region, including all the local authorities. The interviews will begin at the end of February and the final report will be available in April/May.

The Executive Committee was also briefed about the Communities Plan- "Sustainable Communities- Building for the Future". The Plan is expected to be published in the week commencing 3 February with a regional launch event in Ashford.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Review of Assembly's Constitution
The Executive Committee received the report of the review group set up last autumn to review the Assembly's constitution. Because consensus has yet to be reached on a handful of outstanding proposals, the Committee agreed to postpone consideration by the full Assembly in order to allow more time for discussion by the party and partner groups.

Budget and Subscription Arrangements 2003-2004
A budget for 2003-04 was approved in November but it was acknowledged then that it would be necessary to revise this in the light of direct Government funding for regional planning. The Executive Committee agreed to recommend to the full Assembly:

• To return to a rate-per-vote subscription system linked to voting power in the Assembly.
• To agree a budget for 2003-2004 of £2,300,000.

It was agreed to invoice district councils for next year's subscriptions now as no change is proposed to the rate already set for those authorities.

Southern and South East England Tourist Board
The Executive Committee agreed to appoint Cllr Harry Rees (Isle of Wight) as the Assembly's representative on the newly merged Southern and South East England Tourist Board.

South East view on EU Cohesion
The Executive agreed a position paper on the future of EU cohesion policy and structural funds after enlargement. This has been prepared in consultation with local authorities and SEEDA, and will be published shortly.

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Last updated: 21 August 2007