Who Runs the North East … Now?

WHO RUNS THE NORTH EAST … NOW? A Review and Assessment of Governance in North East England Fred Robinson Keith Shaw Jill Dutton Paul Grainger Bill Hopwood Sarah Williams June 2000 Who Runs the North East … Now? This report is published by the Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Durham. Further copies are available from: Dr Fred Robinson, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3JT (tel: 0191 374 2308, fax: 0191 374 4743; e-mail: [email protected]) Price: £25 for statutory organisations, £10 for voluntary sector organisations and individuals. Copyright is held collectively by the authors. Quotation of the material is welcomed and further analysis is encouraged, provided that the source is acknowledged. First published: June 2000 ISBN: 0 903593 16 5 iii Who Runs the North East … Now? CONTENTS Foreword i Preface ii The Authors iv Summary v 1 Introduction 1 2 Patterns and Processes of Governance 4 3 Parliament and Government 9 4 The European Union 25 5 Local Government 33 6 Regional Governance 51 7 The National Health Service 64 8 Education 92 9 Police Authorities 107 10 Regeneration Partnerships 113 11 Training and Enterprise Councils 123 12 Housing Associations 134 13 Arts and Culture 148 14 Conclusions 156 iii Who Runs the North East … Now? FOREWORD Other developments also suggest themselves. At their meeting in November 1998, the The present work is admirably informative and trustees of the Millfield House Foundation lucid, but the authors have reined in the were glad to receive an application from Fred temptation to explore the implications of what Robinson for an investigation into the they have found. There ought to be wide machinery of government in the North East of discussion of these implications. England. One of us, as a trustee of the Joseph Rowntree charitable Trust, had taken part in Moreover, society is wider than the public that body's decision in the late 1980s to sector. The National Lottery distributing develop a major programme of grants to bodies now have considerable influence but examine the nature and extent of democracy in have had to be excluded from this study. The Britain, including ways in which it might be media - the 'Fourth Estate - are largely safeguarded and enhanced. We were privately controlled but an important element conscious of the importance, for all those who in the polity. The same applies to the live and work in the North East, of the major multitude of bodies which make up the institutional changes that have taken place voluntary sector - now represented at regional under successive governments and look set to level here by the Voluntary Organisations continue. The prospect of effective devolution Network North East (VONNE). The 'social to the English regions adds a note of urgency. partners' - business and organised workers - We were already aware of Fred Robinson's also have regional institutions which are work in the region, having earlier initiated and amongst those which 'run the North East'. jointly funded a book on 'Post Industrial Tyneside' (1988), which he edited and in part The present volume should stimulate such wrote. widening and deepening but will itself remain the centre-piece for study and reference. I The present volume breaks new ground in commend it to all concerned with our common assembling and presenting the facts about the life in this region. plethora of public sector bodies in a single region. It provides a clear and comprehensive picture of the purposes, structure and control of bodies whose activities affect the wellbeing of all of us. It will become indispensable to all Grigor McClelland who are involved in these bodies, transact with Trustee, Millfield House Foundation them, or are affected by their actions or June 2000 inaction. It might be thought that government itself should take responsibility for a compendium such as this one. Openness and accountability, after all, are key attributes of good democratic government. Yet much of the information has been hard to track down and dig up. Now that this work has been done, I hope that the public sector will take on the task of keeping it up to date. With this volume as a model, it may also be hoped that the initiative will be followed in the other eight English regions. The primary benefit will be to individuals and organisations in each of them, but replication might also make possible useful comparisons and contrasts between the regions. iv Who Runs the North East … Now? PREFACE We submitted a proposal and application for In the mid-1990s, there was widespread funding to support this study to the Millfield concern about the proliferation of 'quangos', House Foundation, a charitable trust based in unelected bodies in charge of public services. Newcastle upon Tyne. The Foundation These ‘quasi-autonomous non-governmental accepted the proposal with enthusiasm. Our organisations’ are run by people appointed by first acknowledgement is therefore to them, government ministers and are not accountable and particularly to Grigor McClelland, one of to the public. Operating secretively and based the trustees, and Terence Finley, the on patronage, quangos became associated with administrator. scandal and sleaze, and this 'appointed state' was generally considered to have produced a It should be said that we underestimated, by a serious 'democratic deficit' in Britain. long way, the amount of work that would be involved. Covering such a range of activities The quangos remain - and are still a real cause and organisations was far from easy. Some for concern. But conditions have changed and organisations were reluctant or slow to provide the debate has moved on. Efforts have been the basic information we required. At least made to raise standards in political and public this time, fewer of them demanded to know life; constitutional changes have been why we wanted to know who runs their introduced; and there will soon be new organisation - this seemed indicative of a legislation (albeit limited) concerning Freedom change, an awareness that it is now less of Information. And now, debate about the acceptable to try to avoid giving such (basic) democratic deficit extends well beyond information. Nevertheless, some did not quangos; it encompasses fundamental issues complete our simple questionnaire and we about governance and the quality of our recall some examples of intransigence - for democracy. It is not sufficient simply to attack example, it took one educational institution the anti-democratic appointed state; it is also two weeks and four phone calls from us to necessary to consider the nature and agree just to provide a list of members of their accountability of the elected state. governing body. Five years ago, we produced a report on We are grateful to all who did provide quangos in the north of England, which looked information, even when the answers to our at Urban Development Corporations, Training questions - on the gender composition of their and Enterprise Councils, and quangos in the Boards or public access to meetings, for National Health Service. Although that was a example - might be considered uncomfortable, limited exercise, it received a good deal of even embarrassing. We would also like to publicity because it provided information - thank the individuals, in a number of especially about who runs the region's quangos organisations, who kindly checked drafts of - which had been largely hidden from view. chapters in the report. Special thanks are due Moreover, it connected with national concerns to Heather Fenwick who typed successive and campaigns. drafts, dealt with numerous amendments and prepared the report for publication. When we thought about looking again at these issues, it was apparent that a new study would Considerable effort has been made to ensure have to have a much broader scope. It would the accuracy of the information, but any have to range across the elected as well as the remaining errors of fact or interpretation are, unelected state, while still retaining a focus on of course, the responsibility of the authors. In who is in charge and exploring the nature and a work such as this, there is a problem of characteristics of contemporary governance. dealing with continuing change and we would As in the previous study, the intention would be pleased to receive updated and new be to render the invisible visible, to prompt information and amendments (contact Fred awkward questions and, ultimately, help to Robinson at the address given in the stimulate the development of a better publication details). We would also like to democracy. hear from anyone interested in supporting further editions of this work. We are mindful that such an exercise soon becomes out of date v Who Runs the North East … Now? and it needs to be regularly repeated if it is to retain its usefulness. It seems to us that regular publication, now made easy on the Internet, would keep the work relevant and the issues it raises alive. Finally, we hope that those who read the report will find it interesting, useful and thought- provoking. Much of the information we obtained certainly interested, surprised and provoked us. vi Patterns and Processes of Governance THE AUTHORS work on governance in education. Bill was an unsuccessful candidate in the Newcastle City The following researchers, from the Council elections in May 2000. Universities of Durham and Northumbria, undertook the work on this study. In Sarah Williams was formerly a Research accordance with the aims of the research, their Assistant at the Sustainable Cities Research involvement in public life is noted below. Institute, University of Northumbria and is now a consultant with Crime Concern, based Dr Fred Robinson is a Research Lecturer at in Woking, Surrey.

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