New funding for assembly?

Why are we not surprised at Mr. Foote Wood's suggestion...'cos we were just talking some weeks ago to the Director of the Assembly about that very point! It appears that they are scrambling for a solution to relieve their potential personal liability should everything go pear shaped.

Feb 21 2005
By Ross Smith, The Journal

Council tax money will no longer pay for the controversial unelected North-East Assembly under new funding plans being hatched by members.
The Liberal Democrats are to propose that the assembly is in future funded entirely by Government.
And The Journal understands that the ruling Labour group on the body is likely to agree to the motion.
The changes would come into effect when the assembly and the Association of North-East Councils are split into separate bodies in the summer.
Liberal Democrat leader Chris Foote Wood is calling for the £860,000 local authority payments to all be channelled to ANEC, which will become an arm of lobbying body the Local Government Association.
Under the plan, the assembly would be completely funded by grants from central government.
The aim is to sidestep critics of the assembly who are calling for councils to stop using taxpayers money to fund it. Mr Foote Wood said: "We recognise there has been a lot of concern about council tax payers' money going to the North-East Assembly.
"If the assembly was abolished, it would take power away from local councils as they would have to go to Government ministers in London instead.
"But the money paid by councils would go to ANEC instead, while the assembly will continue to receive a Government grant of over £1m.
"The assembly is not going to cost the councils anything in future."
A small proportion of council tax money would still need to go to the assembly for legal reasons, but Mr Foote Wood described that as "purely a paper transaction".
Assembly chairman Bob Gibson is reported to have agreed to the proposal, but he would not comment last night.
The assembly was set up in 1999 as a shadow body to an elected chamber.
It has retained responsibility for producing the regional spatial strategy and scrutinising regional development agency One NorthEast, despite devolution being heavily defeated in November's referendum.
A motion to stop payments was recently defeated at Durham County Council.
But the authority threatened to withhold funding in future years after getting what it viewed as a raw deal from the assembly's regional masterplan.
Anti-assembly campaigner Neil Herron said: "We wouldn't be against ANEC getting the money. But it would not need the level of funding North-East authorities are currently paying."
But he is still pressing ahead with plans to lodge official complaints about tax payers' money funding the assembly.