In the groove
Had a couple of days off last week, spending two nights in Cartmel in Cumbria and getting a bit of exercise, walking round Sunderland on the way up and climbing the Old Man of Coniston whilst there.
I think Cartmel and its valley is lovely but I'm very much a city boy and three days of rural splendour was quite enough. Also get's me out of any sort of routine which is a feeble excuse for not blogging for a while.
Yesterday, went half way to Cartmel i.e, Preston for the first meeting of the Regional Select Committee. There are now a whole host of government functions with a regional tier so hopefully this new arrangement will mean they are subject to thorough public scrutiny here in the North West.
Today is a consultation event on the proposals for the new Greater Manchester (economic) Strategy alongside the work being undertaken to unify the Regional Spatial, Economic and Housing Strategies. The event is at the City of Manchester stadium so no surprise that the attendance is good. These are important bits of work which will set the planning and investment framework for Manchester and the North West for years to come so it is vital that as many people as possible contribute.
26/04/2009
What is this new tier of governmet and what does it do?
28/04/2009
There isn't a new tier of government but many central government functions have a strategic regional level for example the Learning and Skills Council and the National Health Service. In addition we have Government Office North West and the North West Development Agency and all of these bodies need to be properly accountable.