Take action NOW to support government presence in the regions!

We have received the following from Voluntary Sector North West www.vsnw.org.uk/

Since the election of the coalition government, much has been made about the shutting down of regional structures, including announcements on regional development agencies, strategic health authorities and regional leaders’ boards.

In his statement of 22 July 2010, Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced his intention to abolish regional Government Offices, stating:

"I do not believe the arbitrary government regions to be a tier of administration that is efficient, effective or popular.

"Let me be clear: The Government Offices ... have become agents of Whitehall to intervene and interfere in localities, and are a fundamental part of the 'command and control' apparatus of England's over-centralised state."

We dispute this analysis. The role of Government Offices is somewhat different to many of the other regional structures; over the years the Government Offices have supported the third sector’s engagement in Local Strategic Partnerships, with local government, and with decision-makers in Parliament.

In the North West our Government Office has actively improved its understanding of the sector by supporting secondments into its organisation, supported third sector engagement and outcomes in Local Area Agreements, and championed community empowerment. Ultimately, we believe the sector’s ability to engage in local structures and influence national government would be weaker without it.

We are therefore calling on third sector organisations across the region to sign our petition asking the government to review its current course of action.

Take action NOW:

Sign the petition at http://bit.ly/savegos. Please share this information as widely as possible and ask all the groups you work with to add their names.

Write to your local MP to explain why the regional Government Offices are a vital link between Westminster and communities, share your stories of how Government Office North West has improved your local engagement with decision-makers, and ask them to support this growing movement by representing your views to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

To subscribe to VSNW’s Bulletin please email

hannah.horton@vsnw.org.uk with the subject line: “Subscribe to VSNW Bulletin”.