Last rites for regional assemblies

Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles sounded the death knell for Local Government Yorkshire and the Humber (LGYH) by saying it would be "dismantled" as more powers are handed down to councils.

It comes as Business Secretary Vince Cable confirmed regional development agency Yorkshire Forward would no longer exist in its current form, leaving it up to councils to decide whether they want a region-wide development organisation.

Mr Cable had previously suggested agencies – which have already been told to find 293m of cuts this year – would "continue in pretty much the way they did before" where they have local support, such as in the north, but his latest remarks to MPs sparked anger from Labour.

New local economic partnerships are to be set up instead to "replace" the agencies – with more say for elected councillors – and Mr Cable said they may cover smaller geographic areas instead after Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy claimed East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire had lost out from a West Yorkshire bias under Yorkshire Forward.

Councillors and officials in the region will now be charged with drawing up plans for the new partnerships and decide whether there should be some sort of regional body or whether they want individual organisations covering smaller "sub- regions" instead, although Labour's Rosie Winterton accused the Government of adopting a "pick'n'mix" policy.

Responding to Labour claims of confusion, Mr Cable told MPs: "For the avoidance of all doubt, they (regional development agencies] will be replaced, but the structures that emerge could have a regional scope if that is what local people want."

Confirming his decision to cut the 1,760,576 funding from LGYH – which had filled some of the role of the unelected regional assembly when it was abolished – Mr Pickles said: "For Labour, bureaucracy became more important than policy.

"No one knew what these bodies were or what they did. This is part of our relentless drive to move power away from elected bureaucrats back into the hands of accountable councils. If they don't perform, voters can give them a kick in the ballot box."

The Department for Communities and Local Government said transport, housing and planning powers would be returned to local councils.

But the chief executive of LGYH, Carole Hassan, insisted the organisation was a "democratically controlled collaborative body of councils set up by local authorities" and had been in existence before the abolition of the regional assembly, which used to wield planning, housing and transport powers.

"In Yorkshire and Humber we have already established what local authorities want and need, ensuring this is built around the need to radically reduce and in most cases remove the activities at a regional level," she said.

"Our objective is to work together as local government, with our public and private sector partners, to realise the benefits of this 'sub-regional' working with work only taking place at 'regional' level where local authorities have clearly identified a need."

She pledged to minimise the jobs impact on the organisation.