Bulletins: January 2007
|
This Bulletin reports the main issues covered at the Executive Committee meeting of 19 January. LYONS REVIEW RESPONSEThe Committee agreed to send a further response to the Lyons inquiry into Local Government, highlighting the role of regional bodies. The response stresses the importance of the Assembly's work on implementation of the South East Plan, infrastructure and the success of planning on a partnership basis. It pulls together key issues raised by the Eddington (transport), PPS3 (housing), Barker (planning) and Leitch (skills) reviews which released reports at the end of last year. The submission argues that partnership working in the South East has shown the value of regional leadership and decision making, such as through the Assembly chaired Regional Transport Board. It also argues for more devolution to the regional level (eg through the Regional Funding Allocations) and the simplification of funding streams. See the consultation page for more deatils. The Regional Planning Committee will be considering the detailed implications of the Barker, PPS3 and Eddington reviews at its next meeting on 31 January. IMPLEMENTATION PLANSince the publication of ‘Delivering the South East Plan’ in October 2006, the Assembly has been working with partners to take forward implementation initiatives and fill gaps in the Implementation Plan. The committee received a report updating them on progress with:
2012 OLYMPIC TRANSPORT PLANThe Committee felt that the transport plan was too focused on London issues and expressed concern about complacency over the huge challenges faced in hosting a successful games. A robust response to the consultation will be sent on the Assembly’s behalf stressing the importance of the region’s gateway role for many of those arriving in the country to visit the games. ASSEMBLY BUSINESS PLANThe Committee agreed the Assembly's business plan for the forthcoming three years (2007-10) and recommended the 2007/08 budget for approval by the full Assembly meeting in March. Government grant for 2007/08 is expected to be almost £3.78m, supplemented by member subscriptions. The business plan reflects increasing emphasis on delivery and engagement, with more resources to be focused on the Regional Housing Board role, sustainability, the Assembly's conformity work and consultation. IMPLEMENTING THE RESThe Committee agreed a Regional Economic Strategy implementation framework presented by SEEDA. The framework sets out the relationships between the 14 RES targets and shows how the cross-cutting themes relate to those targets. It also identifies the partners needed to deliver against the targets. The next stage is to bring together this wider partner network to further develop actions. Paul Lovejoy, SEEDA Director of Strategy and Sustainability, explained the document was the first stage of a delivery plan for the RES to make sure the right people and the right issues were clearly identified. Previous versions of the RES had sometimes not fully recognised the need for partnership working to meet objectives. LEARNING AND SKILLSNorman Boyland, Chair, Henry Ball, Regional Director and Sue Samson, Regional Director of Learning, Planning and Performance attended the Executive Committee on behalf of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). They updated the Committee on the LSC's recent restructure, which resulted in a stronger regional focus. The LSC has four regional priorities around:
The Committee was also told that the LSC regionally will have a statutory role following the Further Education Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTSThe Committee agreed a report on SEEDA's performance in relation to social enterprise. It heard that this is a very important area with a turnover of £498m a year and employing over 21,000 people in the region. Although there was praise for SEEDA’s range of activity and effort, the scrutiny committee were unsure how integrated support for social enterprise was within the organisation, and were worried that SEEDA has a narrow definition of social enterprise. There was also some concern about the lack of coverage of social enterprise in the RES. Recommendations included:
Business support and business links The Committee also agreed the recommendations of the select committee on SEEDA's management of business support in the South East. The Committee heard there had been an interesting debate at the scrutiny sessions with a wide range of participants involved. The overarching feeling was that there was a lack of coherent strategy for business support across the region. It was suggested that SEEDA developed such a strategy as part of the RES delivery plan. Another key recommendation was that the business support simplification programme must not lose momentum. Formal responseSEEDA will give a formal response to both reports at a future Executive Committee meeting. SEEDA REPORTPaul Lovejoy, SEEDA Director of Strategy and Sustainability, reported on SEEDA's recent work. Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07) There has been progress on a number of strands of work around the spending review. SEEDA is engaged with Treasury in modelling work on funding options. MOD announcementsHMS Sultan in Gosport, which provides marine engineering training will close in 2017. There will be large implications of its closure, and SEEDA is already beginning to plan to mitigate them. The Borden and Whitehill complex is to be downsized, but will maintain a vehicle recovery operation. Changes, as yet unspecified, will affect Arbourfield, in the Thames Valley but it appears no change is likely in Winchester. SEEDA is looking into these. SEEDA continues to work with councils and the MOD on the reviews of Portsmouth naval dockyards. GOSE REPORTRolande Anderson, GOSE Regional Director, updated the Committee on: Local Area Agreements (LAAs)The National Audit Office is due to report on the impact of LAAs on the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in spring 2007. VCS engagement has increased during the third round of LAAs, partly due to a new dvd highlighting good practice in developing LAAs. Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07) Representatives from the Treasury, DCLG and the DTI visited the region to meet with representatives from businesses, local authorities, the Assembly, GOSE and SEEDA. The Treasury is looking at the alignment between regional strategies and what a sub-regional tier should look like. They have received a consistent message from the South East regarding the importance of the region as an economic driver and the need to invest to maintain its success. Communities EnglandA proposed new agency will bring together the functions of English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation, and a range of work carried out by DCLG, including delivery of decent homes, housing market renewal, housing investment and urban regeneration. MEETING DATES IN 2008The Committee agreed the following meeting dates for 2008: Full Assembly meeting (Wednesdays):
Executive Committee (Fridays):
Regional Planning Committee (Wednesdays):
Help us reach a wider audience. Please copy and circulate this Bulletin in your organisation. Want to receive Bulletin by email? Please let us know by emailing secretariat@southeast-ra.gov.uk Last updated: 21 August 2007 |
||||||||||||
