A Whitehall perspective on decentralisation in England’s emerging territories

Decentralisation is a key thread running through current UK policy making. The Coalition Government has abolished New Labour’s regional legacy in favour of a new set of strategies around growth and development that has tapped into the localist agenda. Drawing on a series of recent interviews conducted with civil servants, this article explores government initiatives aimed at enhancing local autonomy in England and provides new empirical insights into decentralisation from a Whitehall perspective. It examines departmental aspirations for decentralised structures and Whitehall perceptions of the capacity of local arrangements to successfully manage territorial development in an era of austerity. The article concludes that, in the fields of economic development, planning and transport, there are signs of enhanced local policy and fiscal autonomy. However, there are different levels of enthusiasm for decentralisation across and within Whitehall departments that continue to undermine a more cohesive approach. </jats:p

Regional Governance and Democracy

The aim of this chapter is to explore the relationship between regional governance and democracy. Enhancing local democracy is often cited as one of the motivations behind regionalism, alongside efforts to boost economic development and transform public services. Many scholars associate regional governance with improving the legitimacy and accountability of political institutions and fostering political participation (Escobar-Lemmon and Ross, 2014; Wills, 2016), promoting the growth of regional economies (Krugman, 2011) and increasing the efficiency of public services (Channa and Faguet, 2016). Global nations have, therefore, been implementing regional reforms in distinct and unique ways

Negotiating regional futures:the successes and failures of the West Midlands Regional Development Agency Network

The introduction of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in the English regions in 1999 presented a new set of collaborative challenges to existing local institutions. The key objectives of the new policy impetus emphasise increased joined-up thinking and holistic regional governance. Partners were enjoined to promote cross-sector collaboration and present a coherent regional voice. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an RDA on the partnership infrastructure of the West Midlands. The RDA network incorporates a wide spectrum of interest and organisations with diverse collaborative histories, competencies and capacities. The study has followed partners through the process over an eighteen-month period and has sought to explore the complexities and tensions of partnership working 'on the ground'. A strong qualitative methodology has been employed in generating 'thick descriptions' of the policy domain. The research has probed beyond the 'rhetoric' of partnerships and explores the sensitivities of the collaboration process. A number of theoretical frameworks have been employed, including policy network theory; partnership and collaboration theory; organisational learning; and trust and social capital. The structural components of the West Midlands RDA network are explored, including the structural configuration of the network and stocks of human and social capital assets. These combine to form the asset base of the network. Three sets of network behaviours are then explored, namely, strategy, the management of perceptions, and learning. The thesis explores how the combination of assets and behaviours affect, and in turn are affected by, each other. The findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge and understanding surrounding policy networks and collaborative governance

Building regional governance in England:The view from Whitehall

Constitutional arrangements in parts of the UK have been transformed by political devolution. In England, however, reliance has been placed on strengthening the regional tier through administrative clecentralisation. Drawing on the views of Whitehall civil servants, this article explores how central-regional relations are being recalibrated and how government is building a regional perspective into its activities. We conclude that, in the absence of regional govern ment,Whitehall is pursuing a cautious approach to regional working and greater attention needs to be given to incorporating regional priorities in national spending programmes and developing a more coherent approach to regional strategy making

Place leadership and regional economic development: a framework for cross-regional analysis

This paper examines the leadership of places – cities, regions, communities – in Australia, Finland, Germany, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom and explores the capacity of vignettes to generate new, theoretical and empirical insights. It uses vignettes to identify the features of place leadership evident in 12 case studies across six nations. The research finds significant commonalities in place leadership with respect to the importance attached to boundary spanning, the role of government officials in responding to the prospect of regional decline or growth and how the nature of the challenge confronting a locality determines the adequacy of the response

Emerging Patterns of Governance in the English Regions: The Role of Regional Assemblies

The case for elected English regional government outside London has lost momentum, but the machinery of regional governance continues to expand. This article explores the significance of this process through an examination of the evolution of Regional Assemblies. Each has progressed differently, but all Assemblies lack political legitimacy and resources and have struggled to mobilize influence in Whitehall and their regions. Although contributing to greater coherence in regional governance, their future is uncertain and there is a need to systematically assess what tasks Assemblies should perform, and why, and the resources required for their delivery

Molecular absorption in transition region spectral lines

Aims: We present observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) of absorption features from a multitude of cool atomic and molecular lines within the profiles of Si IV transition region lines. Many of these spectral lines have not previously been detected in solar spectra. Methods: We examined spectra taken from deep exposures of plage on 12 October 2013. We observed unique absorption spectra over a magnetic element which is bright in transition region line emission and the ultraviolet continuum. We compared the absorption spectra with emission spectra that is likely related to fluorescence. Results: The absorption features require a population of sub-5000 K plasma to exist above the transition region. This peculiar stratification is an extreme deviation from the canonical structure of the chromosphere-corona boundary . The cool material is not associated with a filament or discernible coronal rain. This suggests that molecules may form in the upper solar atmosphere on small spatial scales and introduces a new complexity into our understanding of solar thermal structure. It lends credence to previous numerical studies that found evidence for elevated pockets of cool gas in the chromosphere.Comment: accepted by A&A Letter