Latest information
NEWS E-UPDATE
March 2010
Dear colleague,
This e-update brings you news of the work we have been progressing ahead of the new regional governance arrangements that come into force on 1 April 2010 when the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act becomes law.
The enactment of this legislation gives local authorities, One North East and Northumberland National Park Authority joint responsibility for drafting, implementing and monitoring the delivery of the North East Strategy. Together as the responsible regional authorities we will begin the formal stages of work towards developing the strategy.
We recognise that to produce a strategy that truly represents the needs and aspirations of North East England, effective engagement and participation is essential. Partnership working has been key to the preparatory work we have been doing over the past few months.
We have been developing the evidence base for the North East Strategy and produced the draft North East Analytical Report, which we consulted on from January to March. Our call for evidence asked stakeholders to let us know if the key messages identified in the analytical report needed to be changed or, alternatively, strengthened. This informal consultation has now closed and we will be analysing the responses and presenting a revised report on the information we received.
Our draft community involvement statement, which sets out how we plan to communicate and consult with our stakeholders, has been available on our website for comment. We also held a stakeholder engagement workshop in Newcastle with around 30 partners and gained valuable feedback on this. Comments are being considered and a revised version of the statement will be published.
The Association held a consultation on the establishment of a leader’s board scheme for the North East. The consultation started on 6 January 2010 and closed on 26 February 2010 and the scheme has been submitted to the Government for approval by the Secretary of State.
We have been continuing to engage with key partners through the Futures work and have had some useful discussions with a wide range of organisations from across all sectors. This programme of work is vital and we value the input from all partners as it provides qualitative insights to complement the quantitative information we have been collecting.
The first phase of the Futures work has now ended and we are preparing to host a series of workshops for phase two during spring 2010. These workshops will build on the outcomes of phase one, presenting scenarios of what the future might look like, based on different development pathways that North East England could take.
These scenarios will help us to discuss what sort of future we want and how we need to focus policy and implementation to achieve it. We will look at how to balance social, economic and environmental priorities to achieve the type of place that we want to live in.
If you or your organisation have expressed an interest in participating in Futures phase two, we will be contacting you in due course to coordinate a session. In the meantime if you require further information please email the North East Strategy team at enquiries@northeaststrategy.co.uk or you can visit our website www.northeaststrategy.co.uk
We look forward to working with you and encourage you to get involved.
Margaret Fay, CBE Cllr Paul Watson
Chairman Chair
One North East Association of North East Councils
20 Apr 2010: North East England Education, Employment and Skills Priorities 2011-2016 (EES Priorities) - ... more
23 Mar 2010: North East Strategy E-Update March 2010 - ... more
