Clause 68
Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [Lords]
4:45 pm
Rosie Winterton (Minister of State (Yorkshire and the Humber), Department for Communities and Local Government; Doncaster Central, Labour)
Taking Yorkshire and Humber as an example of how the scheme has been drawn up, there has been agreement in that region to have, as the right hon. Gentleman said, eight members of the leaders’ board out of approximately 22 local authorities. That has been agreed by the local authorities and all councillors who are represented. Below that, there are a number of subsidiary boards relating to housing, transport, planning and economic regeneration—those are roughly the advisory committees.
In Yorkshire and Humber—I am sure this applies to other regions as well—there has been a keenness to involve people who might previously have been on the regional assembly. That is sometimes achieved as part of a scrutiny role, and sometimes there has been consideration of co-opting people on to some of the boards that have been established, such as people from the voluntary sector and the trade union movement, and representatives of the faith movement or environmental groups. There are a number of ways in which people can remain involved in the decision-making process.