Suchergebnisse

The coalition government has set out plans to dismantle the regional tier and return powers to localities and Whitehall departments. These changes will have significant implications for the way in which transport policy is formulated and delivered in England. When in power, New Labour introduced a range of measures to strengthen governance arrangements for promoting a more joined-up and decentralised approach to transport policy, including Regional Funding Allocations (RFAs). This paper examines the opportunities and limitations of the RFA process and considers the consequences of removing these regional structures for transport policy in England. We conclude that important progress made in recent years to develop effective arrangements for identifying transport priorities at the sub-national tier could be derailed by the Coalition's intention to remove regional governance structures in their entirety.

The UK has traditionally been viewed as a classic example of a unitary state in which central institutions dominate decision making. The recent Labour Government sought to counter this convention through devolution to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London and administrative decentralization to the English regions. This article examines New Labour's efforts to promote sub-national policy discretion and fiscal autonomy via the Regional Funding Allocations (RFA) process. Findings are subsequently drawn upon to offer insights into the difficulties the Coalition Government is likely to face in its endeavor to decentralize functions and budgets to local authorities and communities. The paper addresses two central questions (i) Can New Labour's attempt to promote decentralized and flexible budgets in England be viewed asevidence of a transition to a more fluid, multi-level form of governance? (ii)What lessons can be harnessed from the RFA experience in taking forward the Coalition government's plans to promote fiscal discretion at the sub-national tier?It concludes that there are deep-rooted barriers in Whitehall that may limitthe freedoms and flexibilities pledged to local government and could undermine efforts to decentralize.