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The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) is the regional assembly
Regional Assemblies in England

"Regional Assembly" is the name which has been adopted by the England bodies established as regional chambers under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 and of the elected London Assembly....
 for the South West region
South West England

South West England is one of the regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area, and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly....
 of England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, established in 1999. It is based in Taunton
Taunton

Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the non-metropolitan county of Somerset....
. The SWRA is a partnership of councillors from all local authorities in the region and representatives of various sectors with a role in the region's economic, social and environmental well-being. It covers an area of 23,829 square kilometres including Cornwall
Cornwall

Cornwall , constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain....
, Devon
Devon

Devon is a large Counties of England in South West England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county but often indicating a shire....
, Dorset
Dorset

Dorset , is a Counties of England in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester, Dorset, situated in the south of the county at ....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a Counties of England in South West England England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Somerset
Somerset

Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a Ceremonial counties of England in the South West England of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire....
 and the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornwall of Great Britain. Traditionally administered as part of the county of Cornwall, the islands are now a unitary authority and have their own council....
, and represents a population of almost five million people.On Tuesday 17 July 2007, Local Government Minister John Healey
John Healey

John Healey is a United Kingdom politician. He is the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Wentworth and Minister of State in the Department for Communities and Local Government....
 MP announced Government plans to abolish regional assemblies
Regional Assemblies in England

"Regional Assembly" is the name which has been adopted by the England bodies established as regional chambers under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 and of the elected London Assembly....
.






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The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) is the regional assembly
Regional Assemblies in England

"Regional Assembly" is the name which has been adopted by the England bodies established as regional chambers under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 and of the elected London Assembly....
 for the South West region
South West England

South West England is one of the regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area, and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly....
 of England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, established in 1999. It is based in Taunton
Taunton

Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the non-metropolitan county of Somerset....
. The SWRA is a partnership of councillors from all local authorities in the region and representatives of various sectors with a role in the region's economic, social and environmental well-being. It covers an area of 23,829 square kilometres including Cornwall
Cornwall

Cornwall , constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain....
, Devon
Devon

Devon is a large Counties of England in South West England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county but often indicating a shire....
, Dorset
Dorset

Dorset , is a Counties of England in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester, Dorset, situated in the south of the county at ....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a Counties of England in South West England England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Somerset
Somerset

Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a Ceremonial counties of England in the South West England of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire....
 and the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornwall of Great Britain. Traditionally administered as part of the county of Cornwall, the islands are now a unitary authority and have their own council....
, and represents a population of almost five million people.On Tuesday 17 July 2007, Local Government Minister John Healey
John Healey

John Healey is a United Kingdom politician. He is the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Wentworth and Minister of State in the Department for Communities and Local Government....
 MP announced Government plans to abolish regional assemblies
Regional Assemblies in England

"Regional Assembly" is the name which has been adopted by the England bodies established as regional chambers under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 and of the elected London Assembly....
. Functions of regional assemblies are planned to pass to Regional Development Agencies in 2010.

Organisation

The assembly is not a directly elected body but is made up of 119 mostly elected members, of which:

  • 79 come from the 51 Unitary, County and District Authorities in the South West
  • 2 represent the National Parks Authorities in the region.
  • 2 come from the Association of Local Councils.
  • 36 represent the region’s Social, Economic and Environmental Partners (SEEPs). The SEEPs are drawn from a range of sectors including businesses, the voluntary sector, education and training, environmental bodies, faith communities, trades unions, tourism, health, agriculture, Racial Equality Councils, co-operative agencies, Learning and Skills Councils, Business Links and Culture.


Membership is reviewed by local authorities every year, and changes reflect political proportionality across the region after local elections. The SEEP representatives are nominated by regional Groups and these are reviewed at least every four years, so the Membership is fairly fluid.

Role

The main functions performed by the SWRA include:

  • Channelling regional opinions to the business-led Regional Development Agency
    Regional Development Agency

    A regional development agency is a non-departmental public body established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of one of England's Government Office regions....
    ,
  • Carrying out advocacy and consultancy roles with national government bodies and the European Union
    European Union

    The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
    ,
  • The Assembly is the Regional Planning Body with a duty to formulate a Regional Spatial Strategy
    Regional Spatial Strategy

    Regional Spatial Strategies provide a regional level planning framework for the Regions of England of England, outside London where spatial planning is the responsibility of the Mayor of London....
    ,
  • The Assembly is also the Regional Housing Body responsible for producing the Regional Housing Strategy (RHS).


Opposition to SWRA

Englandsouthwest
There was much opposition to the formation of the South West Regional Assembly with critics saying it is an unelected, unrepresentative and unaccountable "quango", and the area covered is an artificially imposed region and not natural. This opinion is based upon geography, arguing that having the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall in the same region as Gloucestershire would be comparable as linking London with Yorkshire. The feeling is especially strong in Cornwall where in July 2000 Mebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow

Mebyon Kernow is a minor political party in the United Kingdom. The main objective of MK is to establish greater autonomy in Cornwall, through the establishment of a legislative Cornish Assembly....
 issued the "Declaration for a Cornish Assembly
Cornish Assembly

The Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolution regional assembly for Cornwall in the United Kingdom along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly....
". In Oct 2007 Lib Dem
Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems or just Lib Dem, are a Liberalism political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by merging the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party ; the two parties had been SDP-Liberal Alliance for seven years, from shortly after the formation of the SDP....
 MP Andrew George stated in a press release, "Just because the Government has approached the whole Regional Devolution agenda in entirely the wrong way, does not mean to say that the project itself should be ditched. If Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 and London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 are benefiting from devolution then Cornwall should learn from this and increase the intensity of its own campaign for devolution to a Cornish Assembly."

External links



See also

  • South West of England Regional Development Agency