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What is the South East England Regional Assembly?
- What is the Regional Assembly?
The South East England Regional Assembly was established in 1999 to provide a voice for the UK’s most populated region. Our vision is for a distinctive, outward-looking, accessible region of prosperous, sustainable communities, with a high quality of life and environment. The Assembly
is a regional partnership of councils and communities with members representing local authorities as well as social, environmental and business sectors.
- What is the South East region?
The South East region covers the county areas of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex. The composition of the South East was decided in 1992 when the Conservative government divided England into nine regions for the purpose of
establishing its regional outposts, the Government Offices.
- Who belongs to the Regional Assembly?
The Assembly is a membership organisation, supported by a small number of planning, policy, administration and communication staff based in Guildford. There are 111 members - 73 are councillors from each of the region’s local authorities and
38 come from a wide range of regional interests including the voluntary and community sector, town and parish councils, business, environmental interests, the New Forest National Park Authority, economic partnerships, education, sport, culture and faith groups.
- How are the 111 members of the Assembly selected?
Assembly members are chosen by the body they represent. The 73 councillors are selected by the local authorities. The other 38 members are elected or nominated by the network of organisations that they represent.
- When was it set up?
The Regional Assembly, as well as the Regional Development Agency in the South East, was established as the result of the 1998 Regional Development Agencies Act. The Act stated that the regions could establish a ‘regional chamber’ that would bring together elected local authority members
and other regional stakeholders to act as a voice for the region on a wide range of issues.
- What does the Assembly do?
The Assembly is a policy-making body rather than being responsible for delivering services. Its key areas of work can be summed up as three Rs and three As:
- Regional Planning
preparing and delivering the South East Plan, the 20-year statutory plan for the region that sets the framework for the sustainable development of the South East
- Regional Housing
chairing and running the South East England Regional Housing Board (RHB), which recommends to Government how housing funds for the region should be invested
- Regional Transport
chairing and running the South East England Regional Transport Board (RTB), which recommends to Government how transport funds for the region should be invested.
- Advocacy
pressing the South East's interests in London and Brussels, arguing for policy and investment decisions that reflect the region's needs
- Accountability
scrutinising the plans and performance of SEEDA (South East England Development Agency)
- Alignment
working to coordinate regional strategies and spending priorities across a wide range of organisations in the South East to improve the impact of public expenditure.
- How are decisions made at the Assembly?
As the Assembly is a membership organisation, the members must agree all key decisions. This can be done in a number of ways:
The 25 member Regional Planning Committee (RPC) is responsible for making recommendations on planning topics to the Executive Committee or the full Assembly. The final decision on RPC recommendations will be made by the Executive Committee or the full Assembly.
For major issues such as budget, the Assembly's business plan and the South East Plan, the Assembly will meet in full three times a year to make their decisions. All other decisions can be made by the Assembly's Executive Committee which meets six times a year and is made up of 31 members.
- How do the Regional Transport Board (RTB) and the Regional Housing Board (RHB) fit into the decision making process?
Both the RTB and RHB operate as partnership boards chaired by the Assembly which also provides a secretariat function for the boards' activities. The RTB advises Government on investment on transport priorities and the RHB advises Government on housing investment.
- What is the voting procedure at Assembly committees and meetings?
Voting at Executive and Regional Planning Committees is on the basis of a show of hands and by a simple majority. This is also the voting procedure at a full Assembly unless five or more members call for a card ballot, when a weighted voting system is used:
- The number of votes a county council has corresponds to the number of districts in the county
- The number of votes a unitary council has depends on its population
- Each district council gets one vote
- Town and parish council representatives get one vote
- All other members have two votes.
- The Assembly has a Chairman, Deputy Chair and Vice-Chairs. What are their roles?
The Chairman is the Assembly's figurehead and spokesperson. He or she is required to provide leadership for the Assembly and to represent the interests of, and act on behalf of, the Assembly as a whole. The Deputy Chair deputises for the Chairman at the Executive Committee and full Assembly meetings when required. He or she will also represent the Assembly, with the Chairman, at important meetings.
The Chairman, Deputy Chair and four Vice-Chairs, along with the Chief Executive, act as the board of SEERA Ltd, the company that looks after the financial affairs of the Assembly. The Chairman, Deputy Chair and Vice-Chairs, along with the Chairman of the Regional Planning Committee - known as the leadership group - also give guidance to the Chief Executive on issues such as the Assembly budget and major staffing changes.
- How are the Chairman, Deputy Chair and Vice-Chairs selected?
The Assembly Chairman, Deputy Chair and the Vice-Chairs are elected by a confidential card ballot at the Assembly's Annual Meeting. The Chairman must be a councillor representing a local authority as a full member. The candidate winning more than 50% of the weighted votes cast is elected Chairman.
Vice-Chairs are elected by their party and partner groups. There are three from local authorities representing parties other than the party represented by the Chairman, one from economic partners and one from the social and environmental partners. The Vice-Chairs may stand for election as Deputy
Chair.
- How is the Assembly funded?
The majority of the Assembly's budget is Government funding through the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, the Assembly also receives money from its local authority members through a subscription system.
- Who decides how the Assembly spends its funding?
The full Assembly decides how the budget is allocated. It takes advice from the Chief Executive and the leadership group but ultimate responsibility for approving the budget lies with the full Assembly.
- Do Assembly members get paid for being on the Assembly?
Assembly members do not get paid for being an Assembly member. However, the Assembly does pay allowances to those members who take on additional responsibilities on the Assembly's behalf. Therefore, the Chairman, Deputy Chair and Vice-Chairs are paid an allowance, as are
as members of the Executive Committee and Chairman, Vice-Chair and members of the Regional Planning Committee. Assembly members on the RTB and the RHB, including the boards' chairmen, also get an allowance.
- Who looks after the financial affairs of the Assembly?
The financial affairs of the Assembly are administered by SEERA Ltd, a company limited by guarantee. The leadership group and the Chief Executive, make up the company board.
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