Why did the North East Combined Authority fail to achieve a devolution deal with the UK government?

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Lemprière ◽  
Vivien Lowndes

This article seeks to provide a theoretically informed account of the vexed process of forming a combined authority in the North East of England. It addresses the puzzle of why the North East, an area with a strong regional identity and major regeneration needs, has stumbled in setting up a combined authority and negotiating a devolution deal with central government. Using existing theoretical work on processes of institutional formation, it seeks to account for the concomitant influence of agential, spatial and temporal contingencies as causal factors in explaining the particular path this combined authority took. The process stuttered because of relatively weak and fragmented leadership, contested and poorly articulated constitutional and governmental rules at multiple levels, and spatial and temporal legacies that undermined attempts at city-region governance. It was not possible to mobilise the ‘memory’ of prior institutional arrangements to underpin the new project and economic geographies proved complex and overlapping. In short, the challenges encountered in the North East reflected the animated, nested and embedded character of institutional formation processes.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jonathan Bradbury

This chapter introduces the book as the first of a two-volume study which seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of devolution in the UK. It focuses on the period from 1997 to 2007, addressing the origins and introduction of the original devolution settlements, and the subsequent decade of their development until the end of the Blair government in 2007. In these years, the original devolution reforms followed extensive debate in the 1980s and 1990s, including in Northern Ireland a peace process and talks that led ultimately to the historic 1998 Belfast Agreement. Referenda in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were held in 1997. The subsequent development of devolution up to 2007 included the move to start at least a debate about further reform in Scotland, as well as more immediately a second Government of Wales Act in 2006. In Northern Ireland, the 2006 St Andrews Agreement reset the terms of the original 1998 settlement, and enabled the resumption of devolution in 2007, after the Northern Ireland Assembly had spent more time suspended than in session. A referendum on an elected assembly for the North East in 2004 ended in a 'no' vote, but the powers of central government offices in the English regions, Regional Development Agencies and indirectly elected regional assemblies nevertheless increased.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Shaw ◽  
Mark Tewdwr-Jones

Abstract After 2010, the UK Government’s espousal of a Localist agenda reflected a rejection of the regional level as the most appropriate scale for sub-national governance. The development of a more explicitly city regional level of governance is illustrated in the creation of City Deals which have given some of England’s largest cities increased autonomy to allocate the dividend of local economic growth. More recently, Combined Authorities have been formed, within which larger city-regions such as Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and the North-East of England have been tasked to undertake transport, economic development and other functions. In assessing this contemporary reshaping of metropolitan governance this article draws upon political economy, spatial and institutional approaches that highlight how austerity, competing spatial imaginaries and the historical evolution of central-local relationships within the UK state have combined to produce a particularly ‘disorganised’ approach to contemporary devolution in England. It contends that while the city region remains the dominant spatial narrative, the ongoing process of rescaling at the sub-national state level falls well short of being a coherent, clearly thought-out and permanent transfer of powers and fiscal responsibilities to a uniformly defined scale of governance.


Finisterra ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (62) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Pike ◽  
Mário Vale

The industrial policy in the UK and in Portugal, as in most EU countries, seeks to attract new investment capacity, to create jobs and to promote the impact of the so-called "demonstration efect" of "greenfield" development strategies pursued in the new plants of inward investors on existing or "brownfield" plants. This industrial policy focus is particularly evident in the automobile industry.This paper compares the industrial policy oriented towards the automobile industry in the UK and in Portugal. Two recent "greenfield" investments are analised: Nissan in the North-East region (UK) and Ford/VW in the Setúbal Peninsula (Portugal), as well as three "brownfield" plants: Ford Halewood and GM Vauxhall Ellesmere Port in the North-West region (UK) and Renault in Setúbal (Portugal). The first part starts with a discussion of industrial policy in the automobile sector, the role of "greenfield" development strategies and the "demonstration effect" on "brownfield" plants. Then, the limits of new inward investment are pointed out, basically their problems and restrictions. Afterwards, the structural barriers to the "demonstration effect" within "brownfield" plants are outlined and some possabilities for alternative "brownfield" development strategies are presented.


1997 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Nathwani ◽  
J Spiteri

Malaria remains a huge public health problem worldwide, with over 100 million new cases annually, causing one to two million deaths.1 This global problem spills over into the UK, with around 2000 cases of reported annually.2 The proportion of infections due to Plasmodium falciparum (PF) continues to increase and worse still accounts for five to 12 deaths per year. In 1992, Nathwani et al reported the 10 year experience of malaria cases admitted to the Regional Infection Unit, in Aberdeen, Scotland-the “Oil Capital”.3 This study was of interest in that 46% of those British residents who acquired infection had travelled to West or Central Africa on oil related business. The Oil boom of the 1980‘ s appeared to very much centred around Aberdeen and the neighbouring hinterland but did not appear to extend to Dundee which was only 60 miles further down the North-East coast. We, therefore, carried out a retrospective study of patients with malaria admitted to the Regional Infectious Diseases Unit in Dundee over a fifteen year period between 1980 and 1994.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002422
Author(s):  
Donna Wakefield ◽  
Elizabeth Fleming ◽  
Kate Howorth ◽  
Kerry Waterfield ◽  
Emily Kavanagh ◽  
...  

ObjectivesNational guidance recommends equality in access to bereavement services; despite this, awareness and availability appears inconsistent. The aim of this study was to explore availability and accessibility of bereavement services across the North-East of England and to highlight issues potentially applicable across the UK, at a time of unprecedented need due to the impact of COVID-19.MethodsPhase 1: an eight item, web-based survey was produced. A survey link was cascaded to all GP practices (General Practitioners) in the region. Phase 2: an email was sent to all services identified in phase 1, requesting details such as referral criteria and waiting times.ResultsAll 392 GP practices in the region were invited to participate. The response rate was 22% (85/392). Twenty-one per cent (18/85) of respondents reported that they do not refer patients, comments included ‘not aware of any services locally’. A total of 36 services were contacted with 72% responding with further information. Most bereavement specific support was reliant on charity-funded services including hospices, this sometimes required a pre-existing link with the hospice. Waiting times were up to 4 months.ConclusionsAlthough multiple different, usually charity-funded services were identified, awareness and accessibility were variable. This survey was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, where complex situations surrounding death is likely to impact on the usual grieving process and increase the need for bereavement support. Meanwhile, charities providing this support are under severe financial strain. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between need and access to bereavement services.


Author(s):  
Kaholi Zhimomi

The north-east has a distinct regional identity, as the land of seven sisters, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim; and yet, has been absorbed into the social, cultural and political scheme of the secular nation since independence. The identity politics resulted in dissatisfaction on the part of the indigenous people, which generated long-term military violence in Northeast India. Today, disempowerment among indigenous groups is enormous. For early missionaries, conversion to Christianity also entailed adoption of the Western way of life. Most of the missionaries in Northeast India were American or Welsh among the Protestants and German, Spanish or Italian among the Catholics. Despite exploitation by colonialists that attempted to replace indigenous customs, revivals paved the way for renaissance for those customs. Today, Christianity is the major religion in the states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya, with significant growth of indigenous leaders, both secular and religious. Furthermore, there is a rapid growth of educated young tribals who are qualified administrators, educators, academicians, politicians and theologians. With the effects of globalization and modernisation, Christianity must not be assumed to be an agent of acculturation but an agent that helped in the metamorphosis of indigenous norms into authentic tradition.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e000409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Wood ◽  
Bob Brown ◽  
Annette Bartley ◽  
Andreia Margarida Batista Custódio Cavaco ◽  
Anthony Paul Roberts ◽  
...  

In the UK, over 700 000 patients are affected by pressure ulcers each year, and 180 000 of those are newly acquired each year. The occurrence of pressure ulcers costs the National Health Service (NHS) more than 3.8 million every day. In 2004, pressure ulcers were estimated to cost the NHS £1.4–£2.4 billion per year, which was 4% of the total NHS expenditure.The impact on patients can be considerable, due to increased pain, length of hospital stay and decreased quality of life. However, it is acknowledged that a significant number of these are avoidable.In early 2015, it was identified that for the North East and North Cumbria region the incidence of pressure ulcers was higher than the national average. Because of this, a 2-year Pressure Ulcer Collaborative was implemented, involving secondary care, community services, care homes and the ambulance service, with the aim of reducing the percentage of pressure ulcers developed by patients within their care.The Breakthrough Series Collaborative Model from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement provided the framework for this Collaborative.In year 1, pressure ulcers were reduced by 36%, and in year 2 by 33%, demonstrating an estimated cost saving during the lifespan of the Collaborative of £513 000, and a reduction in the number of bed days between 220 and 352.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAYLEIGH GARTHWAITE ◽  
CLARE BAMBRA ◽  
JONATHAN WARREN ◽  
ADETAYO KASIM ◽  
GRAEME GREIG

AbstractThe UK social security safety net for those who are out of work due to ill health or disability has experienced significant change, most notably the abolition of Incapacity Benefit (IB) and the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). These changes have been underpinned by the assumption that many recipients are not sufficiently sick or disabled to ‘deserve’ welfare benefits – claims that have been made in the absence of empirical data on the health of recipients. Employing a unique longitudinal and mixed-methods approach, this paper explores the health of a cohort of 229 long-term IB recipients in the North East of England over an eighteen-month period, during a time of significant changes to the UK welfare state. In-depth interviews with twenty-five of the survey cohort are also presented to illustrate the lived experiences of recipients. Contributing to debates surrounding the conceptualisation of work-readiness for sick and disabled people, findings indicate IB recipients had significantly worse health than the general population, with little change in their health state over the eighteen-month study period. Qualitative data reinforced the constancy of ill health for IB recipients. Finally, the paper discusses the implications for social policy, noting how the changing nature of administrative definitions and redefinitions of illness and capacity to work can impact upon the lives of sick and disabled people.


Author(s):  
E.S. Fileman ◽  
R.J.G. Leakey

Microzooplankton community composition, abundance, biomass and grazing impact were assessed, along with measurements of ciliate growth and mortality, during the onset of the spring bloom in the north-east Atlantic. The study was undertaken as part of the UK Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study during 1 May to 15 June 1990. The microzooplankton community was composed of protozoans and metazoan developmental stages with respective mixed-layer depth integrated biomass values ranging from 127 to 638 and 74 to 394 mg C m−2. High numbers of aloricate ciliates (up to 35,000 cells l−1) dominated the microzooplankton community during early May prior to the onset of the spring bloom. Ciliate abundance then declined rapidly during mid-May with community growth rates ranging from −0·71 to 0·23 d−1. High abundances of metazoplankton (up to 400 l−1) were also recorded at this time and may have contributed to the decline in ciliate numbers. In late May and early June the protozoan community comprised a more even mix of dinoflagellates, tintinnids and aloricate ciliates. Phytoplankton mortality rates, measured using a dilution technique, ranged from 0·2 to 0·5 d−1. The microzooplankton consumed 8 to 44 μg C l−1 d−1, equivalent to between 16 and 40% of the chlorophyll biomass and 38 and 154% of primary production. These high rates of herbivory reflect the predominance of small (<5 μm in length) phytoplankton cells present throughout the first half of the study and support previous studies demonstrating the microzooplankton to be the main grazers of phytoplankton in the north-east Atlantic. However, there is also evidence that a disparity between predator and prey may have prevented a response by the microzooplankton to rapid increases in phytoplankton biomass and production during the spring bloom.


Author(s):  
Peter van der Graaf ◽  
Mandy Cheetham ◽  
Amelia Lake ◽  
Mark Welford ◽  
Rosemary Rushmer ◽  
...  

Background: Fuse was established in 2008 as one of five public health research centres of excellence in the UK funded by the UK Clinical Research Centres collaboration. The centre works across five universities in the North East of England. This is an innovative collaboration and enables the pooling of research expertise. A prime focus of the centre is not just the production of excellent research, but also its translation into usable evidence, a dual focus that remains uncommon.Aims/objectives: This practice paper outlines Fuse’s approach to knowledge exchange (KE) by reflecting on ten years of collaborative research between academics and policy and practice partners in the North East of England. We will describe the principles and assumption underlying our approach and outline a conceptual model of four steps in Fuse’s KE process to develop collaborative research and achieve meaningful impact on policy and practice.Key conclusions: Our model describes a fluid and dynamic approach to knowledge exchange broken down in four steps in the KE process that are concurrent, iterative and vary in intensity over time: awareness raising; knowledge sharing; making evidence fit for purpose; and supporting uptake and implementation of evidence. These steps support the relational context of KE. Relationship building and maintenance is essential for all stages of KE to develop trust and explore the meaning and usefulness of evidence in a multi-directional information flow that supports the co-creating and application of evidence.


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