Regional Assembly Plans 'Need Powers Boost'

By Andrew Woodcock, PA Political Correspondent
Thursday, January 06, Scotsman


Government plans for regional assemblies have failed to fire the imagination of the general public because the powers of the proposed bodies were too limited, a report by a committee of MPs said today.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott’s regional government project has been on the backburner since the overwhelming rejection of an elected assembly by voters in the North-East in a referendum last November.

Today’s report, by the House of Commons committee which scrutinises Mr Prescott’s department, insisted that any attempt to revive it should involve assemblies with more powers over issues like transport, skills training and economic development and a greater ability to raise their own funds and decide how they spend them.

But a controversial proposal for the assemblies to be allowed to issue their own separate council tax bill split the committee. Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs backed the report, but the sole Conservative member Sir Paul Beresford voted against it.

The Labour and Lib Dem members argued that having a separate bill would make regional assemblies more accountable, by making it clear to voters how much they cost. County, district and unitary councils had previously complained that having a single bill would mean they would be blamed for any tax hikes to cover the cost of a regional assembly.

But Tories said the other parties were trying to impose a new regional tax.

“Higher council tax just to pay for more politicians and bureaucrats is exactly what people in the North East rejected so decisively last year,” said regional affairs spokesman Bernard Jenkin.

“Isn’t it time Labour and the Liberal Democrats started listening to people instead of dictating to them?

“Under Tony Blair, council tax has shot up by 70%, and looks set to soar even further in any third Labour term through the introduction of new, higher council tax bands and revaluation next year used to increase the tax take. Now we find out that Labour and the Lib Dems are in favour of even more tax burdens being heaped on hard-working people.

”Today’s report said that any future legislation to create regional assemblies would have to be “more ambitious” than the draft Bill put forward by Mr Prescott.

“The scope of the powers and responsibilities which the Government was prepared to give to assemblies was disappointing and would limit their effectiveness,” said the report.

It proposed an increase in the maximum size of an assembly from 35 to 50 members, and suggested that members should receive full-time salaries, in order to ensure that people of working age were attracted to stand for election.

Under Mr Prescott’s proposals, too many of the assemblies’ powers would be taken from local council and too few devolved down from Whitehall.

The 78%-22% vote against a North-East assembly showed that voters had not been convinced it would offer value for money, said the report.