The Brown Agenda

SOLACE East Midlands Seminar Monday 29 th October 2007 De Montfort University

Introduction – the key differences

• Focus • Funding • Friends

Focus

• Blair focus was on people – joining up, ASBOs, womb to tomb • Blair – underlying delivery of constitutional reform • Brown – focus on economic performance – new duty • Brown – focus on places and spatial scales – regions, sub-regions/cities

1997-2007 The Blair/Brown System

• Lead on domestic policy • Public spending reviews each three years • Public Service Agreements between Departments and the Treasury • Public Service Agreements with local authorities

Brown’s economic model

• Growth best identified at sub-regional/city scale • Economic regeneration is dependent on housing and transport infrastructure in areas of success • In slower growing areas, concentration on social infrastructure investment rather than physical infrastructure

The background to this?

• OECD • EU’s new policy of territorial cohesion • Competitive regions • Spatial implications of all public policy • HMT Devolved Decision Making 2 and DDM3 • Sub National Review of Economic Development and Regeneration 2007

Devolved decision making : 2 the regions 2004

• Proposed that the key to achieving change was a more localised approach • Principle approach is a gap analysis about places – where are they now? Where do they need to be to punch at their weight?

• Policy interventions to focus on local culture to achieve change i.e. localist not universal solutions

Brown’s Regional Model

• Change in regional governance model – move to senates as part of House of Lords reform and to replace regional assemblies?

• Regional scrutiny – joint Parliamentary Committee • Regional Development Authority rather than Agency • Regional Investment Programme – Regional Funding Allocation, Infrastructure tax??

Devolved decision making: 3 Cities 2005

• Indicated that the role of city region was the most crucial scale at which to develop the UK economy • Level which worked sustainable – make best use of existing infrastructure investment • City region also unit of EU comparison • Cultural differences work at this scale

Brown’s sub-regional/city regional model

• Set out in sub national review of economic development and regeneration • Based on economic footprint • Does not relate to administrative boundaries • Based on transport and economic development to be followed by planning and housing • Can be extended to rest of LAA agenda

The Brown System - Funding

• LAAs – CLG • CAAs • MAAs - HMT • Regional Funding Allocations • Public Service Delivery Agreements – targets for Departments – also include actions for las

Issues

• The relationship between LAAs and MAAs – the Treasury and CLG • Do Public Service Delivery Agreements include more targets?

• Deliver national infrastructure requirements through the new RDAs • Creating sub regions based on economic footprints?

• Democratic arrangements for new sub-regions?

Some practical requirements within any local authority

• Increasingly local authority PLUS partners • Increased role of LSP and Sustainable Community Strategy • Single evidence base across la and partners • Single approach to consultation and participation across la and partners • Single delivery programme for LSP