Eric Pickles

Following is a written statement from Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, issued 22nd July 2010.

In our first two months in government we have demonstrated our commitment to localism, decentralisation and rolling back regional government in England. We have announced the abolition of Regional Development Agencies, abolished the Regional Strategies, ended funding for the Regional Leaders' Boards (the successors to the Regional Assemblies) and are closing the Government Office for London.

We have taken these steps because they are right in principle and as part of a fundamental transfer of power from central Government down to local councils and down further to local communities. We have done so to reduce spending on bureaucracy and protect front-line services against the backdrop of an unsustainable budget deficit and national debt.

We do not believe the arbitrary government regions to be a tier of administration that is efficient, effective or popular. Citizens across England identify with their county, their city, their town, their borough and their neighbourhood. We should recognise that the case for elected regional government was overwhelmingly rejected by the people in the 2004 North East Referendum. Unelected regional government equally lacks democratic legitimacy, and its continuing existence has created a democratic deficit.

In the Coalition's Programme for Government we said we would consider the case for abolition of the eight remaining Government Offices.

I am announcing today the Government's intention in principle to abolish the remaining eight Government Offices, subject to the satisfactory resolution of consequential issues through the Spending Review.

The final decisions on the future of the Government Offices, including arrangements for closure and for the transfer of on-going functions, will be made at the end of the Spending Review in the autumn.

The Government Offices are not a legal entity. They act on behalf of 13 Government Departments and are staffed by Civil Servants from these Departments. Communities and Local Government is the biggest contributor to Government Offices providing 41 per cent and 33 per cent of funds and staff respectively in 2010/11. The Home Office; Departments for Education; Business, Innovation and Skills; Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Transport are also employers of Government Office staff.

We are making good progress with our programme of radical reform to reduce the burden of bureaucracy on local authorities and businesses, including removing the inflated local government performance regime and doing away with the unnecessary regional tier. Consequently many of the functions Government Offices undertook are no longer necessary. By announcing our intention in principle now, we will further progress our programme of reform, allow staff, councils and departments to take account of this, and make an earlier start in the Spending Review on securing savings for the public purse.

I believe that the original intentions behind the establishment of the Government Offices for the Regions (to join up different Departmental teams outside London into a 'one stop shop) have been lost. Such functions are no longer necessary in an internet age and given the Coalition Government's commitment to genuine decentralisation and devolution of power.

There are, however, some Government Office functions, such as arrangements for resilience and civil contingencies, which will need to continue. The Spending Review process will be used to test which activities currently carried out by the Government Offices should continue, and to decide the most cost-effective on-going arrangements.

The Spending Review will also consider arrangements for the redeployment or release of Government Office staff, and for sharing as appropriate the savings, costs, assets and liabilities arising from the decision.

We should be clear: the Government Offices are not voices of the region in Whitehall. They have become agents of Whitehall to intervene and interfere in localities, and are a fundamental part of the 'command and control' apparatus of England's over-centralised state.

The following press release was put out by the Lib Dems on their website yesterday. I've highlighted a few words in red.

£1 Billion fund to help regional business Tue, 29 Jun 2010

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today launched a £1 Billion Regional Growth Fund to help areas and communities at risk of being particularly affected by public spending cuts. The fund, which will operate in 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 will help areas most dependent on public sector employment as the country makes the transition to private sector-led growth and prosperity. Both private bodies and public-private partnerships will be able to bid for funding by demonstrating that their proposal will bring in private investment and support sustainable increases in private sector jobs and growth in their area.

Speaking in Bradford after the first Coalition Cabinet meeting outside of London today, Nick Clegg said:

"While we sort out the nation's finances we can also help to foster a thriving and more balanced economy so that no region or community gets left behind.

"The Regional Growth Fund will create the conditions for growth and enterprise in the regions by stimulating investment and create sustainable private sector jobs.

"Alongside our commitment to waive some employment taxes for new businesses starting up in targeted regions of the country, this fund can make a real difference to companies during difficult times."

Nick Clegg also set out plans for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) that will bring together councils and business on an equal footing with one voice, replacing the current Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). In a joint letter sent to councils and business leaders today, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles have asked them to consider forming new Local Enterprise Partnerships that can provide strategic leadership in their local areas and create the right environment for business success and economic growth.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary said:

"We are determined to rebalance the economy towards the private sector, so it's important we create a more effective structure to drive economic growth and development across the country."

All very interesting, as I think you'll agree. But I have some questions: The areas, communities and regions of where; to which nation - England or the United Kingdom - is this press release applicable?

Call me suspicious, but the absence of any named territory in this press release, along with use of the ambiguous 'the country', leads me to conclude that it is most probably a press release that is applicable to England alone.

Since I was asking the Labour Leadership contenders, I thought I'd better enquire as to the Government's policy on St George's Day. Eric Pickles didn't answer but I received this from the Cohesion and Faiths Division of Communities and Local Government:

Thank you for your email of 9 June to Eric Pickles about St George’s Day, which has been passed to me for a reply.

You may have seen that the Government has been supportive of people who wish to fly the flag of St George as part of supporting the England football team. Grant Shapps, the Minister for Local Government, said: "Ahead of the world cup, communities across England will want to wave the flag of St George with pride. Councils should show some common sense and not be over-zealous in applying petty rules. The World Cup is a great opportunity for local communities of all backgrounds to pull together. Councils should do their bit in helping reclaim the English flag as a proud symbol of our nation's identity."

The Government is currently reviewing the approach to building cohesion. One of the issues which I expect to come up as part of that review is how we celebrate St George’s day.

I am afraid I cannot answer the three questions you pose for the Secretary of State, but clearly the Government will need to decide how to support St George’s day before 23 April 2011.

Yours Sincerely

David Anderson
Cohesion and Faiths Division
CLG
Eland House
Bresenden Place, SW1E 5DU

Supporting the BIG LUNCH 2010
http://www.thebiglunch.com/index.php

For the record my email to Mr Pickles was as follows:

Dear Mr Pickles,

Today's Guardian carries the extraordinary claim from your predecessor, John Denham, that Gordon Brown vetoed plans for a state-funded celebration of St George's Day because he feared a 'counter-reaction' from Scotland.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jun/09/labour-john-denham-rebuil...

I hope that the new coalition government will take a more enlightened approach to English national identity and celebrations of Englishness. Please can you tell me:

a) Whether you are in favour of state-funding for official St George's Day celebrations;
b) Whether you are in favour of a national holiday in England on St George's Day, and;
c) Whether the Government has any plans to recognise St George's Day?

Many thanks,

See also
Ed Balls on St George's Day
The English Liberal Democrats on St George's Day

In the following video the Conservative Party Chairman, Eric Pickles, tells you this:

At the 2005 General Election, we got 8,115,000 votes. The Labour Party got 8,050,400 votes. Under AV, despite the Conservatives polling more votes, Labour would have more MPs in Parliament. We don't need to change the voting system, we need to change this deeply discredited and pointless government.

Pickles is wrong. At the 2005 General Election the Conservatives received 8,772,598 votes and Labour won with 9,562,122. The figures that Pickles quotes are for England alone. But of course he won't say "England" because he doesn't need to. This video was shown on the Conservatives website, and as we know everything that you see on the Conservative website by default applies to England alone.

It's interesting to note that taking the English figures that Pickles quotes, the Conservatives still got fewer MPs in England, and that was under First Past the Post.

Hat-tip: TanktheTories