It is now just over a year since Regional Ministers were created by the Prime Minister for each of the English Regions. It has been my privilege to have been the Minister for the East Midlands since January, when I replaced Gillian Merron, the first Minister for the East Midlands.
Role of Regional Minister
Some of you may be wondering what Regional Ministers do and what value they bring. I see that recently Nick Clegg has been saying that Regional Ministers are ineffective and expensive and should be scrapped. I am sure you are not expecting me to agree with that conclusion but I do think it is important that as your Regional Minister I set out how I am working with you and others in the region and what my priorities are. I will work
- To help provide leadership to the region. I want to work with members, officials and representatives from all sectors to get beneath the headlines and understand the problems and challenges facing the region – and to look for the solutions. I meet regularly with David and with Bryan Jackson, the Chair of emda to discuss how we can work together to meet the region’s challenges. And I want to bring together – say every six months or so - the key regional leaders from a wide range of sectors and organisations so that we can debate and agree the priorities for the region and how jointly we can best tackle them;
- secondly, by being the champion for the government in the region, by speaking at regional events and talking to organisations about the impact of government policies and helping to join up policies so they secure better outcomes and have a greater impact; and
- finally, by being the region’s champion – your champion – in Whitehall. I will champion the needs of the region and ensure its voice is heard. I want Whitehall to understand what the East Midlands has to offer too so that future government policies better reflect our needs.
And it is this last point I want to particularly emphasise. I can be your voice, but you too need to tell the story of the region and what we have to offer. I feel that sometimes compared to other regions the voice of the East Midlands is not heard. I want to change that and raise the profile and image of the region. Those of us who live and work in the region know what it has to offer and what potential it has. I want the East Midlands to realise this potential, and to ensure;
- that we attract the investment we need for growth and prosperity,
- that we are ambitious for our people and businesses, and
- that the region and its people are vibrant, innovative, and above all, successful.
Priorities
As Regional Minister I have identified five clear priorities where I want to add value to realise our potential:
- jobs and economy – we need to improve the sustainable economic performance and productivity of the region. For example, I am working with the region’s creative industries – particularly the film industry – to promote their talents and the region itself as a place to do business.
- skills – as a former Skills Minister I know of the need to increase and improve our skill levels to remain successful in an increasingly competitive world. I am leading the drive to get more of our public sector organisations to sign up to the skills pledge and to encourage more employers to invest in the skills of their workforce.
- managing growth and the provision of housing and infrastructure – we are facing difficult times at presenting the housing market but we do need to create a step change in housing supply by creating the right conditions so that more sustainable homes are built in the right place and at affordable prices.
- reducing social exclusion – as the responsible cabinet office minister I am keen that we reduce disadvantage and the disparities that occur in the country and the region. It is vital that the benefits of a strong economy in the region are shared across all our communities. Earlier this year I convened a group of experts and practitioners on Adult Social Exclusion to challenge the region to agree and identify ways to improve the life chances of vulnerable groups such as adults with learning disabilities.
- transforming and driving up the delivery of public services to make them more focused on the customer and delivered by the best providers, whether public, private or third sector. I am delighted that every local authority in the region has been involved with its partners in successfully negotiating nine Local Area Agreements with government setting out key priorities and targets for the next three years. I congratulate all those involved ensuring successful sign-off. I was impressed by the collaboration between districts and counties – for example the leading role taken by Harborough on Leicestershire’s housing negotiations. I hope these partnerships will be further strengthened by joint working on the challenges posed by the Sub-National Review for Economic Development and Regeneration (SNR).
The Sub-National Review (SNR)
Last month saw the closing date for the consultation period on the government proposals for taking forward the Sub-National Review for Economic Development and Regeneration. I know that for many some of these proposals are difficult and controversial, particularly as the SNR signals the end of Regional Assemblies in their present form from 2010 and particularly as I know that this Assembly has always taken its role seriously and has made a strong contribution to regional working and the scrutiny of the RDA.
I am not here to debate the detail of the SNR today. Over 500 responses to the consultation have been received and the government will consider carefully the views expressed by many to the consultation and will publish its response in the autumn. However, I want to make a few points to underline the rationale behind the SNR and the changes it will introduce. It is important that the region grasps the opportunities presented by the SNR.
The SNR is driven by the need for central and local government and other partners to work together to maximise prosperity in all our regions and to tackle social deprivation and inequality. It is about devolving decisions to the right level and to those that are best placed to take them.
The empowerment White Paper published last week reinforced this approach by government. The White Paper sets out plans to pass more powers to communities, and to give real control and influence to more people. I am delighted too, that it sees a strong role for the third sector organisations by recognising that many in our communities learn the skills needed to contribute to democracy from these organisations.
The SNR is about giving regions and sub-regions more control over the decisions that affect the people who live in the region and its communities. It gives new roles and responsibilities to the RDAs, especially in the development of a single regional strategy to deliver sustainable economic growth. It also gives local authorities new powers and incentives.
But above all the SNR is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. It is about working together to drive up sustainable economic growth and prosperity for our people and businesses.
I will therefore be taking a close interest in the implementation of the SNR in the region. I want to see the region raise its game and grasp these opportunities. I see my role as challenging and supporting all of us to deliver more for the people and businesses in the region. My role is to add value. Your role, too, is to add value.
I know that the SNR has created much discussion and concern among many of you. I have two challenges for those leading the implementation of the SNR in the region.
First, what is your vision and aspiration for the region? A single regional strategy is nothing unless there is ambition and vision so that people and organisations know and understand their role in delivering the strategy.
The second challenge is to make sure that this ambition and strategy is sharply focused on making a real difference for the people who live and work in the region. And it is this point I want to emphasise. It is important that we do not forget what it means to ordinary citizens. They will not be interested in structures or the regional architecture of how decisions are taken and how strategies are developed. They will be interested in what it means for them. We must therefore focus our efforts on making the changes brought about by the SNR mean something real for people. And to communicate with them in a way in which they can understand the benefits it will bring to them in terms of:
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the quality of their life
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in raising their skills
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in increasing their opportunity to work
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and to live in houses they can afford.
And so that businesses understand what difference it will make to
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help them to grow and prosper
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give them the right support and advice
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access people with the right skills and qualification to remain competitive.
Parliamentary Scrutiny
The way we work together to deliver these outcomes is likely to come under even closer scrutiny in the near future. Some of you will have seen that the modernisation committee of the House of Commons has last week recommended that there be nine select committees, one for each region together with at least one grand committee a year. The government will shortly be giving its view, but ultimately it will be for the House to decide.
But my view is clear. I welcome a sharper accountability and the increased scrutiny it will bring. This will give focus to my role and to the organisations in the region that have the responsibility for delivery of public services in the region. But it will also require us to be able to answer as a region, not just on behalf of our organisation or sectors. So the questions are: How will we account for ourselves as a region? And how do we ensure that Parliamentary and Regional scrutiny compliment one another?
Conclusion
These arrangements will be put to the test over the coming months. The forthcoming Regional Funding Allocation exercise will provide a test for the region and its organisations to make sometimes difficult choices on the region’s future investments. Last time round the East Midlands faced up to this challenge and gave the government robust and well evidenced advice. This raised considerably the region’s profile and standing. I want to work with you to provide similar well evidenced advice this time.
So as the region faces up to the new challenges, roles and responsibilities – and the opportunities – that the SNR will offer I have a number of key issues and questions which I want to leave with you as we implement the SNR in the region:
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what is our ambition and vision for the region?
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how can we build the necessary government and delivery structures so that all parts of our community have a chance to contribute?
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how can we develop and implement a single regional strategy in a way that leads to increased prosperity for all and leads to a joined up approach to delivery so that new housing is linked to transport and access to new jobs?
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And how can we work together to put the East Midlands more firmly on the map of England as a region that not only can do the business but is good for business?
And finally, and most importantly,
- what will this mean for the people who live and work in the East Midlands? How can we make it ‘real’ for them in making a real difference to their lives?
I am enjoying my role as Regional Minister and the challenges of working across a breadth of policies which impact on the regional agenda. I look forward to continuing working with you to deliver the outcomes that people living in the East Midlands deserve.
