The official site of the Prime Minister's Office

16 February 2000

A new unit to co-ordinate and deliver key policies in the regions was announced today by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. The new Regional Co-ordination Unit reflects the Government’s determination to focus on the local impact of its initiatives, and implements a key conclusion from a hard-hitting report by the Cabinet Office’s Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU). The Government has accepted all of the report’s conclusions.

Welcoming the establishment of the new unit, the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Tony Blair MP said:

"This report shows that we need to do more to integrate the way different Government Departments currently operate in the regions. This is why I asked John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, to set up a new unit to co-ordinate effectively Government policies in the regions.

"I am confident that the new unit, with Lord Falconer as its head, reporting to the Deputy Prime Minister, will improve the delivery of the Government’s policies in the regions."

The PIU’s report Reaching Out: The Role of Central Government at Regional and Local Level concludes that new arrangements are needed to promote better co-ordination of key policies on issues such as regeneration, education, competitiveness, health and crime.

The main conclusions of the report are:

• Stronger and higher profile Government Offices in the Regions covering all Government policies affecting local areas are needed. The Government Offices will be accountable for ensuring effective co-ordination of policies.
• Better Ministerial and Whitehall co-ordination of policy initiatives and communication with Government Offices through the creation of the Regional Co-ordination Unit.
• Greater focus on strategic outcomes of central Government initiatives affecting local areas, with success judged against these.
• That this year’s Government spending review should look at the linking of area initiatives as a priority.
• A close working relationship between Government and Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).

Endorsing the report, John Prescott said:

"This report makes clear that we must ensure that co-ordination between different Departments is more streamlined and focused. Our emphasis on combating social exclusion is an excellent example of how important it is to work across Departments to tackle problems covering health, education, the local environment, crime and family welfare.

"A key way of achieving this is by strengthening the role of Government Offices in the regions and giving them more flexibility, so that they will be able more effectively to co-ordinate policies on the ground. By providing the focus for all Departments whose work bears upon the English regions, this unit will help us deliver a better service for local people and their communities.

"These improvements in the way Government does business will complement the performance of the RDAs."

The main functions of the new unit will be to:

• Co-ordinate the delivery of central Government’s initiatives in the regions including those affecting local areas.
• Secure more integrated initiatives on the ground, especially through promoting the use of Government Offices by Whitehall Departments.
• Encourage better working between the Government Offices and other regional and local partners.
• Manage the corporate functions of the Government Offices. The core of the new unit will be established from 1 April. The Unit will bring together the interests of a range of Departments. Its first task will be to devise and implement an action plan for taking forward the PIU report’s conclusions.

Welcoming his new role, Lord Falconer said:

"This report is an excellent analysis of the problems facing service deliverers. We now need to tackle the way in which different Departments operate in the regions and affect the same local areas. Equally important will be the better co-ordination of Departments’ regional activities at the centre, which is why I am looking forward to my new role in control of the new unit.

"In last year’s Modernising Government White Paper we committed ourselves to improving the business of policy-making by ensuring that different parts of Government worked together to deliver the Government’s strategic objectives.

"Co-ordinating Government initiatives and getting proper feedback are essential if we are to tackle the big issues like sustainable development, reducing social exclusion and promoting competitiveness, all of which cut across Departmental responsibilities at the regional and local level."

Notes to Editors

1. Media copies of the report, Reaching Out: The Role of Central Government at Regional and Local Level are available from the Cabinet Office press office on 0171 270 0043. It will also be published on the World Wide Web at: www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/innovation.
2. Other copies of the report are available from The Stationery Office on 0870 600 5522, ISBN 0-11-430163-8.
3. The Cabinet Office’s Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) is designed to help Government tackle strategic issues that cut across the boundaries of Whitehall departments. It is part of the Government’s drive for more joined-up policy making and reports direct to the Prime Minister through the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Richard Wilson.
4. Government Offices in the Regions were established in 1994 through the amalgamation of the regional offices of the Departments of Employment, Trade and Industry, Environment and Transport. At present their role is mainly confined to these areas.
5. John Denham, Minister of State at the Department of Health, was sponsor minister for the report. In this role he was responsible for the general direction of the PIU study.
6. The PIU was able to use findings from research commissioned by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) in their study. The DETR research, Co-ordination of Area Based Initiatives: Research Working Paper, is published today and explores how area based regeneration initiatives can work together. It is available from DETR Publication Sales Centre Tel: 01709 891318, price £10.00. Media copies are available from the DETR press office on 020 7890 3049.

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