Fiona HowieCampaign to Protect Rural England

Paul de ZylvaFriends of the Earth England

How Green is My Region?

• July 2007 - 5 days before SNR

• RAs + RDAs: assess policies

• Environmental sustainability: toward / away from

• Barriers: reasons for any lack of progress

Findings…

How Green is My Region?

• Regions the right place:

- Good work + many good paper policies

- But these need implementing• Mind the gap:

- Good individual policy ≠ sustainable overall

- No region close to SD, lots to do

- Cumulative effect of RSSs / RESs

How Green is My Region?

• Do not pass GO:

- Efforts in all regions hindered

- Habitual pursuit of ‘business as usual’

- Often to satisfy Government pressure

• Policy conflict: Aviation White Paper vs carbon reduction commitments

How Green is My Region?

• Economical with the environment:

“RDAs require more inquiry to check that their approach to environmental sustainability is more than having some ‘green’ initiatives while continuing unsustainable economic activity overall”

SNR: Empower regions and localities to spread economic

opportunity to all…

Sub-National Review: Aims

• Reduce disparities• Poor regions to match average• Would = £60bn to UK economy

“This review puts businesses at the heart of our policy by setting regions just one over-arching goal - to improve the rate of growth in the region.” Stephen Timms MP, Competitiveness Minister

Sub-National Review: Aims

• RDA sharp focus: set growth objective

• RDAs rule Okay: spatial, planning, economic development, transport…

• Single strategy

PSA Delivery Agreement 7:

Improve the economic performance of

all English regions and reduce the gap in

economic growth rates between regions

“…experience has shown that regional economic performance has not converged in practice” SNR, p1.19, page 16

How to converge? And at what cost?

Business as usual: Economic

development with implicit damage?

Or: taking us in the right direction?

Ministers apparently telling regions:

“This is a fundamental change to

the way you operate”

What will be different?

“Each region will have an over-arching objective aimed at

making sustainable improvements in the economic performance of the

region."

Hazel Blears MP, Communities SecretaryLetter to CPRE, Friends of the Earth England, WWF-UK,

August 2007

“…the region’s economic, planning and housing ambitions

will be delivered in an integrated and environmentally and socially sustainable way."

Hazel Blears, MP, Communities SecretaryLetter to CPRE,WWF-UK, Friends of the Earth, August 07

SNR: Our view: Balanced thrust

• HMG high level priorities: dominance of economic + housing growth

• Complement with SD aim: carbon / eco-footprint

• Vital for priorities to

- a) reflect complementary approach

- b) signal to regional / local levels

 

SNR: Our view: Balanced thrust

• HMG providing a “Permissive framework, not much guidance”

• Agree small basket of priority aims but…

• …Raises stakes: if ‘sustainable growth’ means something new this requires proper integration of priority aims

• So far economic + housing growth not rooted in sustainability, low carbon + ecological footprint approaches

SNR: Our view: Balanced thrust

• Unpack PSA7: make it mean something  

• First time the Government has defined Sustainable Growth:

“…economic growth that can be sustained and is within environmental limits, but also enhances the environment and social welfare, and avoids greater extremes in future economic cycles.”

SNR: Our view: Balanced thrust

• Regional distinctiveness: “Even where market + government failures have been overcome… convergence between places (GVA) may still not occur…places have different compositions, endowments and histories.”

SNR, p1.22, page 16

SNR: Our view: Balanced thrust

• Regional distinctiveness: Unpack how this will work in practice

• Dangers:

- Regions play ‘catch up’ and become ‘identikit’ to boost GVA

• Blunt GVA measure: masks inequality

• Regional Index of Sustainable Economic Wellbeing avoids growth at any cost

SNR: Our view: Transform RDAs

• RDAs ► Sustainable RDAs (SRDAs)

• Unambiguous SD duty not ‘where applicable’ as currently

• Stakeholder role: Regional eNGOs

• Resourced to engage properly

• Historically close to business and has easy ways in to business sector(s)

• Regional Strategy: build on what we have

SNR: Our view: Democracy / scrutiny

• RDA relationship with LAs / regional LGA

• RDA devolved funding of LAs

• Regional Ministers – role?

• Possibly Regional Select Committees – awaiting recommendations of Modernisation of House of Commons

• Role of Lords?

 

SNR: Our view: Democracy / scrutiny

• Local authorities: sign off draft integrated regional strategy

• Whitehall: joint sign off by SofS Communities + Berr (only)

• Select committees: Lords/Commons

• Regional ministers: democratic accountability

SNR: Our view: Democracy + How SNR is seen locally

• Regional tier below radar: not widely understood + harder to convey

• Sense of being overwhelmed: volume of current changes + unsure how to engage

• Other reforms: seen to conflict with language of involvement / participation

SNR: Our view: implementation

• Need to see the consultation but…

• Regional Strategy: timing of EIP

• Transition: not start from scratch

• Scrutiny: LAs role when also beneficiaries + proponents of ‘pet projects’

• New RDA role: Board structure, membership, engagement, skills, staffing…

SNR: Our view: implementation

• How Green is My Region? found:

- Good policies on paper but lack of delivery on the ground

- Sub-regional matters undermining otherwise good intentions

• Beyond HMGs high level priorities how other issues are handled (water efficiency)

SNR: Our view: bill passage

• SD duty for RDAs

• Select Committees / Parliamentary scrutiny in whatever form

• Role of Regional SD Frameworks

• Ensure build on present ‘goods’ (e.g. quality consultation not post-hoc)

SNR: Joint work?

 

• Consultation responses (areas of mutual agreement)

• Passage of bill

• Clarifying role of LAs (scrutiny versus funding)

• Share information

Summary

• Lock in: carbon intensive development and other unsustainable trends

• One size: fits all

• RDAs: must raise game on SD• “sustainability will be a key underlying

principle” – meaning what in practice? Hazel Blears MP, Communities Secretary

Letter, August 2007