Local authority leaders' boards are voluntary regional associations of council leaders that have been established in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

outside of

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

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 excep ...

s. The establishment of the boards was part of the

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

'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

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (c. 20), or LDEDCA,Gatehouse ChambersIt’s LDEDCA, not HGCRA – obviously! published 10 February 2012, accessed 26 November 2023 is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliam ...

. In June 2010, the new

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

- LibDem

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

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 collective of local government in 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 A ...

, the Welsh Local Government Association, 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 int ...

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 established ...

* East Midlands Councils * North East Regional Employers' Organisation * North West Employers *

South East England Councils South East Councils (SEC) is a voluntary association of council leaders from the 70 local authorities in the South East region of England. It is a regional grouping affiliated to the Local Government Association. It was established following the ...

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 Employers * Yorkshire and Humber Local Authority Employers' Association Each leaders' board corresponds to a region of England.

Structure and functions

When the regional chambers were abolished, their executive functions transferred to the

regional development agencies In the United Kingdom, regional development agencies (RDAs) were nine non-departmental public bodies established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of England's Government Office regions between 1998 and 2010. There was one RD ...

, 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

- LibDem

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 may continue to exist as regional groupings of the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local government in England, local authorities in England and Wales. Its core membership is made up of 317 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the ...

or as

regional employers organisations There are nine regional employers organisations in England, corresponding to the regions of England, and one each for Wales and Northern Ireland. Structure They represents the interests of local authorities as major employers, specialising in human ...

References

External links

Regional Groupings - from the LGA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Local Authority Leaders' Board Regional planning in England Regionalism (politics) in the United Kingdom

The local authority leaders' boards

Structure and functions

Withdrawal of funding

See also

References

External links