Local authority leaders' boards are voluntary regional associations of council leaders that have been established in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
outside of
Greater London
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*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
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to replace certain functions of the now abolished
regional chamber
The regional chambers of England were a group of indirectly elected regional bodies that were created by the provisions of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. There were eight regional chambers, one for each of the regions of England exce ...
s. The establishment of the boards was part of the
UK Government
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, image = HM Government logo.svg
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, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
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, date_es ...
's ''Review of Sub-National Economic Development and Regeneration''. which brought forward the Government's plans to alter the structure of regional governance in England and was mandated by the
. In June 2010, the new
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
-
LibDem
The Liberal Democrats (commonly referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. Since the 1992 general election, with the exception of the 2015 general election, they have been the third-largest UK political ...
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
announced plans to remove funding from the new boards and to remove their statutory functions. It was indicated that the boards might continue as voluntary associations of council leaders.
The remaining four areas of the UK have similar voluntary or mandated associations:
London Councils
London Councils is the local government association for Greater London, England. It is a cross-party organisation that represents London's 32 borough councils and the City of London. It was formed in 1995 as a merger of the London Boroughs As ...
, the
Welsh Local Government Association
The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) ( cy, Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru) represents the interests of local authorities in Wales. It is an affiliated member of the Local Government Association of England and Wales and the regional emp ...
, the
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is the national association of Scottish councils and acts as an employers' association for its 32 member authorities.
History
Formed in 1975, COSLA exists to promote and protect the intere ...
and the
Northern Ireland Local Government Association.
The local authority leaders' boards
The leaders' boards are:
*
East of England Local Government Association
The East of England Local Government Association (EELGA) is an association of the 52 local authorities in the East of England. It is a regional grouping of the Local Government Association and the regional employers organisation. It was establishe ...
*
East Midlands Councils
*
Association of North East Councils
The Association of North East Councils was a partnership body made up of representatives of local authorities in North East England. It was a regional grouping of the Local Government Association.
In April 2009 it assumed the role of the regional ...
(closed in March 2016)
*
North West Regional Leaders Board
*
South East England Councils
South East England Councils (SEEC) is a voluntary association of council leaders from the 74 local authorities in the South East region of England. It is a regional grouping of the Local Government Association. It was established following the ab ...
*
South West Councils
South West Councils is an association of council leaders from the South West of England. It is a regional grouping of the Local Government Association and the regional employers organisation.
It was established in May 2009 following the abolit ...
*
West Midlands Councils
West Midlands Councils was a regional grouping of the Local Government Association.
It was established as the Local Authority Leaders’ Board for the West Midlands region of England. It assumed the functions previously carried out by the West Mi ...
*
Local Government Yorkshire and Humber
Local Government Yorkshire and Humber (LGYH) was the partnership of local authorities, including fire, police and national park authorities, across Yorkshire and Humber. It had links to the Local Government Association at national level and incorpo ...
(closed in March 2015)
Each leaders' board corresponds to a
region of England
The regions, formerly known as the government office regions, are the highest tier of sub-national division in England, established in 1994. Between 1994 and 2011, nine regions had officially devolved functions within government. While they no ...
.
Structure and functions
When the regional chambers were abolished, their executive functions transferred to the
regional development agencies, and their scrutiny functions became exercised by the new leader's boards. The RDA and the leader's board were to jointly produce a new Single Regional Strategy, with ministers exercising an oversight function.
The UK Government did not propose a set structure for the boards and each region was free to make its own arrangements. The Government however did aim for the boards to be:
* streamlined and manageable, able to make strategic, long-term decisions;
* representative of local authorities across the whole of their region — including representing key sub-regions, upper and lower tier authorities and the political balance of leaders;
* composed of local authority leaders and with sufficient authority to act on behalf of all the local authorities in the region.
Withdrawal of funding
In June 2010, the new
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
-
LibDem
The Liberal Democrats (commonly referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. Since the 1992 general election, with the exception of the 2015 general election, they have been the third-largest UK political ...
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
announced its intentions to abolish regional strategies and return spatial planning powers to local government. These plans include the withdrawal of funding to the existing eight local authority leaders' boards with their statutory functions also being assumed by local councils. The boards may continue to exist as voluntary associations of council leaders, funded by the local authorities themselves.
They continue to exist as regional groupings of the
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association.
The LGA is p ...
.
See also
*
Regional development agency
*
Regional spatial strategy
*
Historical and alternative regions of England
England is divided by a number of different regional schemes for various purposes. Since the creation of the regions of England, Government Office Regions in 1994 and their adoption for statistical purposes in 1999, some historical regional schemes ...
*
List of England-related topics
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to England:
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its 55,268,100 inhabitants account for more than 84% of the total UK population, while its mainland te ...
References
External links
Regional Groupings - from the LGA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Local Authority Leaders' Board
Regional planning in England
Regionalism (politics) in the United Kingdom