REGIONAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY CONSULTATION DRAFT

The consultation draft of the Regional Transport Strategy - "From Crisis to Cutting Edge"- was launched on 25 June 2002 in Brighton and Hove.

The launch was attended by over 80 representatives from a wide variety of stakeholders including local authorities, statutory bodies, transport service providers and members of the public. Chaired by David Brooks-Wilson, CBI representative on the Assembly's Executive Committee and Vice-Chair of the Regional Planning Committee, the event included contributions from Charlotte Dixon, Acting Regional Director at GOSE and Janis Kong, Executive Chairman at BAA Heathrow and SEEDA board member. Stephen Potter, Senior Research Fellow at the Open University, gave an independent view on the transport challenges we face in the South East.

Both the Strategy and its Synopsis are available on this web site. Libraries throughout the South East will also have reference copies. Additional copies of the Draft Strategy can be purchased from the Assembly for £25 (incl. VAT). Copies of the Synopsis are available from the Assembly free of charge. The Assembly will also be holding three stakeholder workshops around the region - at Winchester, Reading and Chatham.

HEALTHY REGION FORUM

The Forum convened once again on 19 June with a full and engaging agenda covering:

• The annual report of the Regional Director of Public Health;
• The role of the newly created Workforce Development Confederations;
• The Health implications of the Regional Economic Development Strategy; and
• The latest progress on the modernisation of the NHS in the region.

Mary Amos, the policy officer seconded to the Assembly to support the Forum, presented a work programme for the year that will see the Forum covering a wide range of public health, social inclusion and health policy concerns.

REGIONAL WHITE PAPER

The White Paper on Regional Governance- "Your Region, Your Choice - Revitalising the English Regions" was published by the Government on 9 May.

Although the White Paper focuses most of its attention on elected regional assemblies - how they will come about, their composition and responsibilities - it does include a number of measures for strengthening the role of current regional chambers such as our own. Some of these are already in place, and include:

• Stronger and more explicit scrutiny responsibilities in respect of the RDA, supported by direct Government funding;
• Co-ordination and integration of regional strategies, principally through the regional Sustainable Development Framework;
• Regional Spatial Strategies will become statutory documents and funding for regional planning work will come direct to assemblies rather than as at present via the block grants to strategic local authorities;
• A 'new relationship' with the Government Office Directors and other regional body heads, who will be required to discuss their work with the Assembly;
• Input to the annual comprehensive spending review process.

The Assembly will agree its formal response to the White Paper at its full plenary meeting on 17 July in Brighton and Hove. In the meantime, the Executive Committee agreed at its meeting on 21 June to establish, on a task and finish basis, a small, representative review group to review the Assembly's constitution in light of the White Paper. That group will make recommendations to the January 2003 Executive and thence to the March Assembly plenary. The group will be chaired by Economic Partners Vice-Chair, Mike Geddes and includes one representative from each of the constituent groups of the Assembly as follows:

REGIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

At the Executive Committee of 21 June, Paul Bevan gave a report about the programme of accountability work anticipated in the Assembly's business plan for the forthcoming year. The work includes the Assembly's arrangement for scrutinising SEEDA as well as its dialogue with other key agencies.

Scrutiny of SEEDA
The Assembly's scrutiny work with SEEDA will continue on four main fronts:

• Continuation of SEEDA reports to the Executive Committee and of Assembly member participation in SEEDA board committees.
• A further full Assembly "hearing" on the response to the RES consultation document on 17 July 2002.
• Liaison and debate in the autumn on SEEDA's rolled forward corporate plan to implement the RES as amended.
• Two further select committees in this financial year.

The first of these select committees will be in October to review SEEDA's impact on rural diversification. The committee will be chaired by Social and Environmental Vice-Chair, Jeremy Leggett and other members will be nominated at the 17 July plenary.

Environment Agency
The Assembly and the Environment Agency, have agreed to hold an annual meeting in order to facilitate an in depth "accountability dialogue" on the Agency's plans for the future as wells as its achievements. The first of these meetings will take place on 19 September and will be chaired by Liberal Democrat Vice-Chair, Keith House. Nominations to the task and finish group to meet with the Agency on this occasion will be invited at the 17 July plenary.

Healthy Region Forum
Health is the third strand of the Assembly's accountability work this year. This takes place through the Healthy Region Forum, the terms of reference of which the Executive Committee agreed to amend in order to incorporate the social inclusion agenda.

NEWS IN BRIEF…

Birthday Honours
Congratulations to two Assembly Members who received honours in the Queen's Birthday List. Cllr Gordon Keymer of Tandridge District Council was awarded a CBE, while Faith Matyszak from the South East Region Trade Union Congress (SERTUC) received a MBE.

Joint European Committee (JEC)
The Executive Committee of 21 June agreed to the reconstitution of the JEC which was established by the Assembly and SEEDA in October 1999. It was agreed that the overall objective of the committee would be sharpened and its composition would be amended to include representatives of the four sub-regional European partnerships in the South East.

GOSE update
Charlotte Dixon reported to the Executive Committee about the division of the DTLR's work between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the new Department of Transport (DoT). The ODPM, under John Prescott, will now be responsible for regional policy and the work of the Government Offices.The Executive Committee was also informed about the appointment of the new Regional Director at GOSE. Paul Martin, who is currently Chief Executive of Peterborough City Council, will be taking up the position at the beginning of September.

Social Inclusion Statement
The South East Region Social Inclusion Statement was launched by Barbara Roche MP on 26 June 2002 in Aldershot. The Statement is the work of seven regional agencies in the South East, including the Assembly, RAISE, GOSE and SEEDA. It sets out the region's commitment to tackling social exclusion and maps the contribution each regional partner is able to make. The Statement's action plan will be implemented by a Social Inclusion Task Group consisting of the current regional partners and other bodies including the local Learning and Skills

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Last updated: 21 August 2007