Regions to get select committees

We've just had in some more details about what the regional ministers' roles and responsibilities will be. The justice secretary's new green paper, The governance of Britain, sets out the following on page 38:

Regional ministers will:

• advise the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the approval of regional strategies and appointment of regional development agency (RDA) chairs and boards;
• represent regional interests in the formulation of central government policy relevant to economic growth and sustainable development in areas that have not been devolved to the RDAs;
• facilitate a joined up approach across government departments and agencies to enable the effective delivery of the single regional strategy;
• champion the region at high level events and with regard to high profile projects (including through a programme of regional visits); and
• represent the government with regard to central government policy at regional select committee hearings and at parliamentary debates focused specifically on the region.

In summary, regions get select committees and a parliamentary 'Question Time'. It's still not clear how this will work as the paper also talks of the need for limits on the number of meetings at a select committee level. It's also hazy where local government fits in, as councils will certainly also want to have more say now than ever about what regional bodies and ministers are up to.

Added by Nina Lovelace