PLANS to let Greater Manchester rule itself could collapse amid claims the government was not serious about handing over power and cash.
The region's 10 council leaders have been pushing ministers to give them control over issues such as transport, economic development and job creation - with a budget worth tens of millions of pounds every year.
The cash is currently allocated through unelected quangos, led by the North West Development Agency (NWDA), and shared over an area that stretches from Carlisle to Liverpool and Stoke on Trent.
That has led to claims of a `democratic deficit' - with large sums of money being spent in areas such as Greater Manchester without direct political control.
As a result, the government last year asked councils to come forward with plans to join forces under so-called `multi-area agreements'.
The move was trailed as the biggest step towards `city-regional' governance since the days of the old Greater Manchester Council.
Now it has emerged that the 10 council leaders could pull out unless the government `gets serious' about devolution.
The leaders will meet tomorrow to discuss a report claiming at least one government department is blocking plans to strip money from the NWDA and hand it directly to the councils.
The report says: "Our own view is that there is no reason why (the NWDA) could not delegate.
"However government lawyers, led by BERR (the department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) have taken a contrary view for what appear to be policy reasons."
Chancellor Alistair Darling has already signalled he will use his Budget speech next month to announce devolution agreements with two `forerunner' city-regions.
Greater Manchester has always been seen as being in pole position.
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester council, said: "Unless in a relatively short time there are more steps taken by government to show they are serious about devolution of both power and budgets, then I don't see how it would be in our interests to proceed."
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Al Capone of Atherton, Atherton (26/03/2009 at 08:27)
The stinking kipper, pinned under the table (26/03/2009 at 11:28)
We don't need any other kind of government - just a proper one in Westminster. It's coming soon I hope.
nyb, ex manc (26/03/2009 at 13:50)
Emjay See supporting City is not being able to wake from a dream that keeps turning into a nightmare (26/03/2009 at 22:56)
if this issue is an EU one, then why does every major EU region have far much mor say and influence on their own region? Why do they have a great local transport infrastructure for example?
This is an English disease, nothing to do with Europe. Everything must be centralised, cash and power never devolve from government but get ever more concentrated in it. Once all that poer and money are centralised in London the regions see none of it. Please take your anti-EU twaddle elsewhere.
nyb, ex manc (27/03/2009 at 15:47)
Mate, I was just trying to explain what the NWDA is. In Scotland and Wales and N Ireland, this money goes straight to their governments/executives and is spent accordingly, and theyb are directly elected by and accountable to the electorate. Under the EU set up,England however is split up into regions and these unelected development quangos get the money to spend on infrastructure, instead of our elected local representatives like GMC. That's all! I'm saying the money is better with GMC than the NWDA, I was trying to explain why NWDA exists in England, but in Scotland for example it is seen as a country, but England is not.
John- still Sheikhin' all over (27/03/2009 at 17:35)
but the 10 councils when useful, work together to the benefit of the area.
that's cool,
however Manchester is such a big monolith that it will swamp and suck in all the local councils and towns under the umbrella of " Greater manchester"
The Manchester town hall tourst office is proud to state that 4 premier teams play in it's area.
Salford is almost invisable, ignored by the new buildings stating that they are in west manchester
please.
let's work together but lets be independant
IMHO
BobL, SK23 7DR (28/03/2009 at 08:36)
Let us return to real democracy. Councillors should be paid expenses and loss of earnings, have real jobs and know what life is about, not sit about pretending to be busy by thinking up stupid ideas.
nyb, ex manc (28/03/2009 at 11:49)
At the moment the government give hundreds of millions of pounds to these unelected quangos, which they spend on the infrastructure of our region. They are answerable to no one, they get the jobs on the NWDA by being appointed to them by the government. In a real democracy the money should be given to our elected representatives to spend, they are then answerable to us, the voters, so if we don't like what they do with the money, or don't do, we vote them out. These quangos don't exist in Scotland, the money goes to the elected Scottish Government to spend on infrastructure, the same goes in the other EU countries; it's only in England where the EU with Westminster's go ahead has split the country into Development Regions with unelected Quango's that this happens.
Lancashire 4ever, Pendlebury, Manchester, Lancashire (28/03/2009 at 17:58)
k.henry.s. (30/03/2009 at 21:09)
WITHOUT ITS OWN PARLIAMENT.
And that is how the labour government and their bosses in the EU
want it to stay.
A Regional assembly? No thanks,Why would the English be dumb enough to
accept a scheme that would set one part of England against another ?
Scotland has a parliament,why not a parliament for England.
k.henry.s.
stockport.