Northumberland Economic Assessment
To navigate this website or to return to the main InfoNet Website use the menu to the left of the screen.
Background to the Economic Assessment
In 2006, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that as part of the next Comprehensive Spending Review, a review of sub-national economic development and regeneration in England would be undertaken. This Sub-National Review (SNR) (link to external website), as it has become known, had a clear aim – to help maximise prosperity in all parts of England by stimulating economic growth and improving housing supply.
In order to deliver this, the SNR, published in July 2007, set out a number of structural reforms that:
- strengthen the local authority role in economic development, including a new statutory economic assessment duty
- support effective collaboration by local authorities across functioning economic areas – for example, by establishing Multi Area Agreements or Economic Development Companies
- streamline the regional tier and introduce single regional strategies (outside London), with the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) designated as regional planning bodies
- give regions a greater say in the distribution of funding in each region, through a second, extended regional funding allocations exercise
- sharpen the focus of central government on sub-national devolution – with clearer objectives and responsibilities and improved accountability arrangements; and regional Ministers as regional champions.