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Regional Planning and Development

Volume 464: debated on Monday 8 October 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities will have the power (a) to veto and (b) to amend the new integrated regional spatial strategies of the regional development agencies. (153719)

Details of how the new integrated regional spatial strategies will be developed and agreed following a consultation exercise. A consultation paper to assist this will be published later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the timetable is for the publication of the new integrated regional strategies; and how the roll-out of the existing regional spatial strategies will be affected; (153799)

(2) what the timetable is for the transfer of responsibilities on regional planning from regional assemblies to regional development agencies;

(3) whether primary or secondary legislation will be required to designate the regional development agencies as regional planning bodies.

The Government will consult on the Single Regional Strategy later this year, as indicated in the Review of Sub-National Economic Development and Regeneration. This will require primary legislation to transfer regional planning responsibilities from the Regional Assembly to the Regional Development Agency; implementation is not expected before 2010.

The existing RSSs will not be affected by the timetable for the publication of the new Single Regional Strategies.