East of England region

The East of England Regional Assembly is the regional assembly for the East of England region of the United Kingdom. It is based at Flempton, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Regional Assembly is a title which has universally been adopted by the English bodies established as regional chambers under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. ... The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. ...

History

The assembly was created as a voluntary regional chamber in 1998 by the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. The first meeting was held in March 1999. In July 2003 the assembly was reconstituted to combine its existing functions with those of the regional arm of the Local Government Association and of the Regional Employers Organisation. The Local Government Assocation is a body for advancing the interests of local authorities in the England and Wales. ...

Role

The assembly acts as the representative voice of the region and works to promote its economic, social and environmental well-being. [1] The key functions of the assembly are:

• Co-ordinate the public expenditure of local authorities
• Act as regional planning body
• Scrutinise the work of the East of England Regional Development Agency

Regional Development Agencies are Non-Departmental Public Bodies, sponsored by Central Government Departments, for the development of each of the UKs Government Office regions. ...

Assembly members

Membership of the assembly is not by direct election. The assembly has 102 members made up as follows:

• 54 members from local government (one from each of the local authorities)
• 16 further members from local government, drawn to reflect political balance
• 31 members nominaed by stakeholders (must total 30%)
• 1 member from the Broads Authority

Membership lasts one year and begins in July. The Broads Authority is the agency which has statutory responsibility for The Broads National Park. ...

Leadership

• Chair of the Assembly, Leader of the Conservative Group - Cllr Sue Sida-Lockett (Suffolk County Council)
• Deputy Chair, Leader of the Community Stakeholder Group - Michael Allen (Stakeholder)
• Deputy Chair, Leader of the Labour Group - Cllr John Kent (Thurrock Borough Council)
• Deputy Chair, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group - Cllr Chris White (Hertfordshire County Council)

Suffolk (pronounced SUF-fk) is a large traditional and administrative county in the East Anglia region of eastern England. ... Thurrock is a unitary authority in England. ... Hertfordshire (pronounced Hartfordshire and abbreviated as Herts) is an inland county in the United Kingdom and part of the East of England Government Office region. ...

External links

• East of England Regional Assembly
• East of England - Integrated Regional Strategy (PDF)