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Advice & support for regional bodies |
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This page provides information about the way in which the English regions can deliver sustainable development. Follow the links below for more information:
Pearson praises regional efforts to tackle 'climate change'Mr Pearson today published details of 34 pioneering activities from all nine English regions that, with Defra support, took a partnership approach to fighting climate change and securing a more sustainable future in their region. These also include actions taken by Government Offices in the regions to put sustainable development at the heart of their organisations. He also released new guidance for Regional Assemblies to further support their role in fostering and promoting sustainable development. The case studies and guidance published today come just after the first anniversary of the Government’s Securing the Regions’ Futures plan which was published in April 2006 and aims to boost regional efforts towards securing a more sustainable future. The case studies demonstrate a wide range of partnership projects, including ‘carbon coaches’ and a carbon budget website, sustainable construction checklists, a sustainability shaper toolkit, green guides, training schemes and a green Expo event. These activities, involving regional sustainable development roundtables, Regional Assemblies, Regional Development Agencies and many others and supported by more than £1 million in Defra funding over two years, and help each region to meet their own green pledges to reduce CO2 emissions and live within environmental limits . Ian Pearson said: “Communities throughout the country, and the regional bodies that support them, are working together to fight climate change, secure a more sustainable future for their region and make a real difference in their own patch. The work done by these projects, and many others, is a powerful reminder of our impact on the planet – and the effect of reducing our use of resources. This is not a purely environmental issue – it needs to be a central part of economic development, jobs, housing, transport and community planning as we move towards a low-carbon economy and put sustainable development into practice.” The new guidance for Regional Assemblies, jointly developed by Defra, Communities and Local Government, and the English Regions Network, provides ideas and case studies which will further inspire these voluntary regional bodies to contribute to sustainable development through their important responsibilities on regional housing, planning, scrutiny of Regional Development Agencies and acting as a voice for their region. Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper said “Through their responsibilities for housing, planning and scrutiny of the RDAs, regional assemblies play a crucial role in promoting sustainable development in their regions and with their partners. This guidance highlights the importance of regional bodies making a positive contribution to sustainable development.” Councillor Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the English Regions Network said: “We welcome this guidance which will support Regional Assemblies in leading sustainability in the English regions for the benefit of today’s and the future’s populations. The development of the document builds on increasing acknowledgement of the leadership role that Assemblies have within their regions. Indeed, as the guidance illustrates, we are already working with key partners and stakeholders to ensure that sustainable development lies at the heart of regional decision making and delivery. We look forward to a continued leadership role and to keeping sustainability central to our core functions to ensure that our regions develop in a way which is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.” Bronwyn Hill, Regional Director of the Government Office for the South West said: “What struck me on reading these case studies is the strength of commitment in the regions and the innovation and creativity we have unlocked. As the Defra lead for the GO network, I am acutely aware of the importance of sustainable development as a cross cutting theme for GOs. We should lead by example both for our regional and local partners and for our national stakeholders. We need to “walk the talk” in our work on business planning, staff development and developing Local Area Agreements. It is also important that we recognise the contribution to sustainable development from all teams within the GO network, not just those in Defra facing teams. I think that the case studies highlighted here capture these points”. Executive Summary: Guidance Note for Regional Assemblies on Best Practice for Embedding Sustainable Development in their Existing Core Functions. (PDF, 629KB) Guidance Note for Regional Assemblies on Best Practice for Embedding Sustainable Development in their Existing Core Functions. (PDF, 810KB) Securing the Future through Partnership and Innovation in the English Regions. (PDF, 2.07MB) Leading by Example: Securing the Future in the Government Office Network. (PDF, 1.16MB)
Notes to Editors The Nottingham Declaration is a voluntary pledge to address the issues of climate change. It represents a high-level, broad statement of commitment that a council can make to its community. The Declaration was originally launched in October 2000 at a conference in Nottingham with 200 leaders, chief executives and senior managers of UK local government.
They are represented by the English Regions Network. http://ern.smartregion.org.uk/ Securing the Regions’ Futures can be found at the following link http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/advice/regional.htm Each region has made its own pledge or ‘challenge’ to reduce its eco-footprint and carbon emissions. These pledges act as a rallying cry for their region and help generate commitment across public, private and voluntary sectors. The pledges can be seen at the following website http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/advice/regional.htm
English Regions boost 'one planet living'As part of Securing the Regions' Futures, Defra has supported each of the 9 English regions in taking forward a range of exciting activities and projects which will help contribute to 'one planet living' and tackle climate change. Each region has made its own new pledge which will galvanise efforts towards achieving 'one planet living'. Each regions aspirational goals / pledges can be seen below:
The Regional Sustainable Development Roundtables, Regional Assemblies, Regional Development Agencies and Government Offices are all working together to make these pledges and projects happen on the ground. Defra's contribution of pump-priming funding has attracted over £1,900,000 in match funding from other sources to support a range of activities and projects in each region which will help deliver these aspirational goals. The list of projects can be downloaded below, they can be viewed by theme or by region:
Strengthening Regional DeliveryThe 2005 UK sustainable development strategy sets out a number of commitments to strengthen regional leadership. One of these commitments included inviting the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) to undertake a review of regional delivery. The Next Steps: An independent review of sustainable development in the English Regions sets out the SDC's findings. Securing the Regions' Futures represents the Government's response to the SDC review and sets out 20 commitments to further strengthen regional delivery.
Key elements include:
What is the Role of Key Regional Players in relation to Sustainable Development?The Government established Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to be the strategic drivers of sustainable economic development and to have an influential role in the business community in the English regions. The RDAs have a statutory duty to contribute to sustainable development in the UK and prepare Regional Economic Strategies (RES). A joint RDA / Defra publication called 'Smart Productivity' (PDF, 4.1MB) was published in July 2006, which reveals how investment in sustainable development initiatives can contribute to long term economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion. Regional Assemblies scrutinise the work of RDAs and have a statutory duty to prepare Regional Spatial Strategies. They also play a leading role in work on integrating regional strategies and drawing up Regional Sustainable Development Frameworks (RSDFs) with key players and a wide range of regional expert groups and stakeholders. London has different governance arrangements and has the Greater London Authority, which is made up of a directly elected Mayor and a separately elected Assembly. Government Offices (GOs) represent central Government Departments in the regions. They work with regional partners to ensure the joined-up delivery of the policies of 9 departments, all of which contribute to sustainable development. Regional Directors of Public Health and their teams work with the Government Office to ensure that the public health dimensions of sustainable development are promoted and considered across a range of different policy areas. They will also work with Strategic Health Authorities to encourage links between RSDFs and the NHS. Regional Sustainable Development Frameworks (RSDFs), Integrated Regional Strategies (IRS) and Integrated Regional Frameworks (IRF).The Government believes that the regions are best placed to determine the high-level strategy arrangements they think are most appropriate and that Regional Assemblies should continue to take a lead with partners in establishing these arrangements. However, the Government does not require regions to produce separate RSDFs, IRFs or IRS and it believes there are opportunities to rationalise these documents. Though regions have discretion over the names and numbers of these types of high-level documents, the Government firmly believes that the arrangements in each region must be fully in line with the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, and that this can be achieved by incorporating the 'essential ingredients' listed below. The Government expects Regional Assemblies and other regional partners to fully take into account the UK Sustainable Development Strategy and the essential ingredients below, when they review or prepare their high-level regional strategies.
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General Links
Links to Regional Sustainable Development Frameworks:
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Updated: 14 June 2007 |
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