DEVOLUTION AND REGIONALISM IN THE UK
REPORT OF THE LA POLICY ADVISORY GROUP

2 The New Constitutional Framework

Separate papers describing the new constitutional arrangements and structures in all parts of the UK, and their initial impact on the library and information world, are available on the LA website. They provide a more detailed coverage than would be appropriate here.  Readers should be aware that they represent a snapshot of the situation at the time of writing, November 2000-February 2001, and that this will need regular updating to keep pace with a landscape where change is the constant. This section and the next explore some of the major features of that landscape and should be read in conjunction with the diagrams outlining UK, national and regional bodies and their responsibilities within the political, economic and cultural domains, lifelong learning and for LIS itself. One point is already clear: the roles of the committees in the various national parliaments and assemblies are much more powerful than at Westminster – they encompass review, scrutiny of legislation and policy development – and mirror ministerial portfolios.

2.1 England

At the moment there is a tripartite set of official government organisations at the centre of the eight English regions (nine when Greater London is included) which are: Government Offices for the Regions, Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and Regional Chambers. The regions are the East Midlands, East of England, London, North East, North West, South East, South West, West Midlands and Yorkshire.

The Government Offices for the Regions are administered and funded largely by the Department for the Environment, Regions and Transport (DETR), Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and each is headed by a Regional Director accountable to the relevant Secretaries of State. The roles of each Government Office include holding local and regional partners to account in delivering Government programmes; integrating central government input to local and regional strategies; administering cross-cutting programmes on behalf of Central Government; and influencing Central Government policy related to the regions. Under the Regional Development Agencies Act (1998)eight Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) were established in April 1999 with powers relating mainly to economic regeneration, social regeneration and environmental sustainability. Regional Chambers, consisting of councillors from local authorities and other stakeholders in the region, were also established by the same Act and designated for each region between May and July 1999. The latter are not elected bodies and have only a consultative role in relation to the work of RDAs and Government Offices.

There are grounds to suggest that there will be further reform and more devolution of power to the English regions. Certainly a number of organisations are restructuring themselves along the new regional lines and this includes the NHS, which is planning for co-terminousity of all its regions with those of RDAs by 2004 – perhaps perversely the Arts Council for England may be diluting its regional profile (see Section 3). There are also strong hints that a new Labour Government could well inaugurate elected assemblies in the regions where a local mandate can be shown.

2.2 London

The Government Office for London is similar in nature to the other GOs – with the exception of its role to the Greater London Authority (GLA) and its management of this. The new Greater London Authority was established by the Greater London Authority Act (1999) and vested on 1 April 2000.

The GLA:

• Controls a budget of £3.3 billion
• Is run by an elected Mayor
• Is scrutinised by an elected Assembly that must approve its budget
• Manages a range of pan-London functions such as Planning and Transport
• Oversees a number of important agencies, such as the London Development Agency and the Cultural Strategy Group for London.

2.3 Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Assembly was established as a result of the agreement reached by political parties in Northern Ireland in 1998 to establish a peaceful, inclusive, prosperous, stable and fair society, firmly founded on the "achievement of reconciliation, tolerance and mutual trust, and the protection and vindication of the human rights of all". It is a vision also based, in the words of the "Good Friday Agreement" on "partnership, equality and mutual respect as the basis of relationships within Northern Ireland, between North and South and between these islands". In this respect it differs from the experience of both Scotland and Wales in the sense that the Assembly is not seen as an expression of the political will of the people of Northern Ireland but rather as a mechanism by which that political will can be redefined in new ways so that conflict can be resolved, in future, by peaceful means.

The powers of the New Northern Ireland Assembly are set out in the Northern Ireland Act (1998). They are usually referred to as Devolved Powers, with the residual powers of the UK Parliament deemed Reserved Powers. Unlike Scotland there is a further category which remains with the UK Parliament (Retained Powers - notably policing and the criminal justice system) which could be transferred to the Assembly at a later stage if the security situation and the success of the Assembly allowed it. The main areas of the Assembly's responsibilities include: health, education, local government, economic development, the arts and culture, tourism, transportation, sport, public records and statistics, environment and heritage, agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Some of these areas, however, are administered on a joint basis with the government of the Republic of Ireland through the North/South Ministerial Council and the establishment of the following new institutions: Waterways in Ireland, the Food Safety Promotion Board, the Trade and Business Development Body, the North South Language Body, the Special EU Programmes Body and the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission.

2.4 Scotland

In the 1980s rising support for constitutional reform in Scotland, following on from an unsuccessful attempt in the 1970s to establish devolution, and fuelled by a lack of sympathy within Scotland with the policies being followed by the UK Government in the 1980s and early 1990s, as well as an increasingly confident sense of Scottish cultural identity, led to a decision by the incoming Labour Government to hold a referendum on the issue in September 1997. The referendum result, which confirmed strong support among the Scottish electorate for a Scottish Parliament, led to the passing of the Scotland Act (1998), the founding statute of the new Parliament. The first elections to the Scottish Parliament took place on 6 May 1999, and the Parliament met for the first time on 12 May 1999.

Powers, which are the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament, are termed Devolved Powers; and those that remain with the UK Parliament are called Reserved Powers.  The Devolved Powers of the Scottish Parliament are as listed under Northern Ireland and in addition: criminal law, civil law, and income tax through a limited right to vary the basic rate by up to three pence in the pound. The Reserved Powers, or the principal powers that remain reserved to the UK Parliament, are: UK constitutional matters, foreign policy, defence, economic, fiscal and monetary policy, corporate law and regulation, employment and equality legislation, social security, transport safety and regulation, and a range of other matters, including nuclear safety, broadcasting, assisted area designation, the National Lottery, the Ordnance Survey, abortion, human fertilization and embryology, control and safety of medicines, and vivisection. The Scottish Executive is carrying out a Review of Public Bodies in Scotland, and the outcome of the Review will be announced in June 2001.

2.5 Wales

The most fundamental and crucial change in Wales – underpinning most funding and organisational structures – is the creation of a devolved administration and elected assembly.  The Cardiff based National assembly for Wales (NafW) has taken over the majority of the powers and responsibilities of the former Welsh Office and has the right to pass secondary legislation.  This elected body is supported by a cadre of National Assembly officials who report ultimately to the elected representatives.  The Assembly in relation to the library world has responsibility for public, further and higher education and health libraries as well as the National Library for Wales.

No-one party has an overall majority in the NAfW, although the Labour party is the largest single group and since the late Autumn 2000 has exercised control in partnership with the Liberal Democrats.  The policy structure of the body is in simple terms, three fold, namely:-

• Ministers with policy portfolios e.g. the Minister for Culture encompasses responsibility for public libraries;
• Committees with parallel remits e.g. the Culture Committee which is lead by non-Ministerial members of the Assembly although the appropriate Minister is a member of the Committee;
• Assembly plenary debates e.g. October 2000 saw a plenary debate on public libraries

3. The emerging landscape