Communities and Local Government written question – answered at on 26 November 2009.
Robert Walter
Conservative, North Dorset
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department provided to the South West Regional Assembly in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09; how much funding he expects to provide to the South West Councils/South West Strategic Leaders Board in 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of the reduction in his Department's expenditure in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) in subsequent years following the abolition of the South West Regional Assembly.
Ian Austin
Minister of State (Regional Affairs) (West Midlands), The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
The Department has provided the following funding:
| Body funded | Amount (£) | |
| 2007-08 | South West Regional Assembly | 2,469,811 |
| 2008-09 | South West Regional Assembly | 2,300,164 |
| 2009-10 | South West Strategic Leaders' Board | 2,070,148 |
In 2009-10 the saving to my Department will be in the order of £230,016.
In 2010-11 the South West Strategic Leaders' Board will undertake functions connected with the production of regional strategies under part 5 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. For this work the amount to be allocated will be subject to receipt of a business plan. In subsequent years funding for this work will be subject to the outcome of the next comprehensive spending review.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
