Good morning, and thank you very much for inviting me here to address the Assembly. Nottingham was one of the first places I visited on taking up my role with the Regional Co-ordination Unit. On that occasion I met with the Government Office and the RDA. Since then Robert Jones and his colleagues from the Regional Assembly have met with me in London to discuss regional issues relating to the East Midlands. So I am delighted to be here today to address the full Assembly and to continue that dialogue.

What I want to talk to you about today is how the Government intends to work in partnership with you, and other regional bodies, to drive forward real improvements to services.

Our shared goal is clear – we want to extend opportunity to every part of the country, ensuring that no neighbourhood is left behind, and that everyone, regardless of where they happen to live, can realise their potential and enjoy the best possible quality of life. That’s the goal. I want to explain how I believe we can get there.

But before I do, I think it’s worth taking a moment to think about where we are now and how we’ve got here.

Strong Regions have always been crucial to the Government’s strategy for improving public services and improving the lives of people in Britain. People who live and work in the regions are clearly best placed to deliver on local priorities and tackle local problems.

During the last few years, there has been a dramatic change in the shape of regional structures across the United Kingdom as a whole. Wales now has a National Assembly, the Scottish Parliament has been created and Greater London has a directly elected Mayor and Assembly. There are nine appointed regional bodies - the Regional Development Agencies - promoting competitiveness in the regions. And, of course, yourselves in the regional chambers, with an officially recognised voice for the region's interests.

This activity in the UK regions has been coupled with the roll out of numerous central Government initiatives. The purpose of most of these has been to try new ways of tackling the unacceptably bad conditions in this country's most deprived neighbourhoods.

So in the last four years we’ve had an increase in central government activity, and an increase in the number of regional bodies which are charged with delivering improvements for local people. It’s perhaps not surprising that the pace of change has led to one or two problems. But above all, I believe the sad thing is that we have missed opportunities:

• opportunities to share experience and best practice…

• opportunities to engage with each other to develop common strategies; and

• opportunities to work together to improve the services we are charged with providing.

Now, we hear a lot these days about "joined-up Government". It’s terribly easy to talk about "joined-up service delivery", and "joined-up strategic decision making". But what does that actually mean in practical terms for you and I? In a nutshell, that is the question I want to address this morning – how do we go about creating genuinely joined-up services which deliver on the ground and make a real difference to people’s lives?

First I want to talk about what we are doing in central Government to join it all up. Then I’ll come to how we aim to facilitate effective co-ordination at the regional and local level.

So what is the Government doing to get its own house in order and ensure effective co-ordination of Government activity at the regional level?

At about this time last year, the Performance and Innovation Unit began to recognise some of those 'missed opportunities' I’ve just mentioned. The Unit published a report entitled 'Reaching Out’ - the role of Central Government at Regional and Local Level'.

The report found that the regional networks of Government Departments were fragmented. It also found that the proliferation of area-based initiatives placed conflicting and confusing demands on local organisations, and that they appeared to have been developed without any reference to each other.

Following the report, the Regional Co-ordination Unit was formed last spring to address these problems. Its Director-General, Rob Smith, was appointed last July. Its staff are drawn from a number of Departments and include secondees from local government and the Regional Development Agencies. I have day-to-day responsibility for the Unit, reporting to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Prime Minister.

The RCU produced its Action Plan in October last year. The Plan spelt out how Government intends to modernise the way it works at regional and local level, and improve the way that services are delivered on the ground. It represented a key step in implementing the conclusions of the Performance and Innovation Unit's report.

The plan identified four key areas where Government needs to take a new approach to developing and implementing regional policy:

1. Better co-ordination of area based initiatives;
2. Making Government Offices the key representatives of central Government in the regions;
3. Establishing the Regional Co-ordination Unit as the unified Head Office for the Government Offices; and
4. Involvement of Government Offices more directly in policy making.

We have made progress in each of these areas but I want to dwell longest on the first area, which I think will be of some interest to you, the better co-ordination of area based initiatives.

Area based initiatives often set out to tackle deep-seated problems in particular areas. These initiatives can, and do, play a valuable role. They can foster and test out innovative ideas that can then be adopted by mainstream programmes. But in order to be effective, we know that they must be better co-ordinated and they must take account of the ability of local organisations to deliver them. If we fail to do that we end up creating burdens for people working in the regions. And we end up reducing the overall effectiveness of our activities.

In November, the RCU published guidance for Departments which will ensure that all new initiatives are launched in a way that minimises these problems. Departments are now required:

• to use existing partnership structures;

• to reduce the bureaucratic burdens of excessive bidding, planning and evaluation requirements; and

• to exploit synergies with other initiatives, either planned or already up and running.

There is already a considerable body of expertise in the RCU, supported by the Government Offices. I have also set up an advisory panel of expert practitioners from central and local government, the academic world and the community and voluntary sectors to assist us in our work. I will be attending the panel’s first meeting next week.

And I am launching a new interactive Internet site, which will enable users to get information on area based initiatives and to see which programmes are running in any given local authority district.

There is another important aspect to the RCU’s work, which is to find out what works. That is why the RCU is introducing a system to review existing initiatives. This will help to ensure that lessons learned are applied, and not simply lost when the funding comes to an end.

It is still early days, but the RCU has already made progress in delivering better co-ordinated and more effective initiatives. A good example of this is the new Connexions service for young people. Early consultation encouraged the merger of two other initiatives – Learning Gateways and New Start – into Connexions. And the new initiative will be delivered through Government Offices, who can do the job of joining up with other initiatives at the local level where appropriate.

I know that there is a lot still to do. But I am confident that the measures we have put in place will have a profound effect in reducing administrative burdens and in securing coherent and sustained improvements on the ground.

We are working hard to meet our other three objectives. On the second, we intend to make Government Offices the key representatives of central Government in the regions. The aim has been to ensure that Government Offices can operate across a broader range of Departments. Real progress has been made so far with a number of key Government departments, such as MAFF which is now incorporating its regional activity into GOs.

Our third objective was establishing the Regional Co-ordination Unit as the unified Head Office for the Government Offices. We have met this objective. The Unit - in addition to its policy functions - will act as a corporate centre for the Government Offices.

Our final objective was to involve Government Offices more directly in policy making. The launch of the Action Plan provided the opportunity for a seminar between Government Offices and Whitehall Departments to explore the potential of the Government Offices to participate more directly in policy making. Ministers and senior officials have also attended the monthly Regional Directors meetings to discuss policy developments.

Government Offices have also been heavily involved with the RCU's work programme. They have been involved in the new arrangements for area-based initiatives. They have also played a role in discussions with Government Departments on national initiatives that require regional support, such as the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal. Work is now in hand to develop and improve the system of "twinning" and to enshrine in each Government Department’s approach to policy making the consideration of views sought from the Government Offices.

This relationship between GOs and central Government Departments should not be seen as a top-down approach. The information will flow both ways. Government Offices are the mechanism by which Government will act collectively in the regions, but just as important is their role in voicing regional concerns in Whitehall.

In this region, for example, I know that the Government Office for the East Midlands, based here in Nottingham, has been a key partner for the Assembly and has been significantly involved in the development of all of the Integrated Regional Strategy’s themes. This has been achieved through the mechanisms your Assembly has set up for the development of partnership working, for example - the various Task Groups and the Integrated Regional Strategy Policy Forum.

This is exactly what we want to encourage more of. We are committed to doing everything we can to build up these sorts of relationships.

Government Offices are the bridge between the regions and the Centre, so talking about them brings me nicely on to the second thing I want to talk about today – joining it all up at the regional level.

The RCU and Government Offices represent one opportunity to provide effective co-ordination of Government activity in the regions. But they cannot do it on their own. There are many more players at the regional level. Whilst they may have different mandates and day-to-day objectives, I am certain that they all have the same central goals as the rest of us - the extension of opportunity, the reduction of poverty and the safeguarding of the security and prosperity of local people.

Just as the RCU is seeking to integrate the work of the GOs, it must also encourage the GOs to reach out to other regional bodies. One of the most important of those relationships will be with regional chambers.

The key strength of the regional chambers is that they represent a forum of diverse membership at the regional level. They prove that local authorities, business, community, voluntary sectors and other partners can work together effectively and pursue common goals.

It is very fitting that I should be speaking here in the East Midlands when talking about the importance of co-ordination at the regional level. I know that this region has achieved as much as any in making a reality of joined-up working at the regional level.

And within all this we shouldn’t forget the essential role played by local government. I know that many of you are here representing local government and that in the East Midlands much of the funding for the Assembly has come from local government. Your contribution both financially and in terms of input from elected members and officers has played a key role in developing the regional agenda. Through the local government modernisation agenda, the Government is keen to see forward-looking councils. Indeed, the power of wellbeing and the duty to prepare a community strategy, contained in the Local Government Act 2000, will allow for more effective local leadership by local authorities, which is one of the key challenges for the future.

Back in December 1998, at the very first East Midlands Regional Assembly meeting, you made a commitment to producing a joint strategy. The strategy would promote action on social, environmental, spatial and economic themes. You recognised that this could only be achieved through partnership working. You acknowledged the need to co-ordinate policy and actions to ensure that all the pieces of the jigsaw fitted together.

That 'team working' led to the creation of your Integrated Regional Strategy, which has now developed into the East Midland’s Sustainable Development Framework. The Framework as it stands today is a product of the tireless efforts of many partners working together. The way the East Midlands approached the development of the Framework is, I feel, unique. I would like to commend the very hard work that has gone into its production.

Sustainable Development, incorporating as it does the range of social, environmental and economic issues, needs to be at the heart of regional activity and I am pleased that you have recognised its importance. Your proposed "Regional Sustainability Challenge" and the Sustainable Development Checklist you have produced for those developing strategies and appraising projects, are clear indicators of your commitment to this important issue.

The East Midlands have given us a very clear demonstration of what can be achieved through partnership working. The work that the various Task Groups have undertaken in producing the "Viewpoints" documents, leading in turn to regional strategies, is an example of partnership working in action. I have to say that I am extremely impressed by the wide range of partners who have participated in all this work.

But, of course, this is not the end of the process.

You now have to disseminate the strategy throughout the region and translate it into action. I know that awareness-raising and the promotion of the region are key issues for you and I am impressed by the fact that the private sector has been leading your activity on marketing the region.

That may seem daunting, but think for a moment about what you’ve got on your side. The relationships you have built up.…The sense of common purpose….The commitment to working together to overcome difficulties and find new solutions. These things stand you in good stead as you embark upon the process of implementing your strategy.

And as you do set about implementing, I hope that you will continue to draw other partners into your strategy

I know that there is a good working relationship with emda as can be seen by Derek Mapp and Martin Briggs being here today. The RDAs, working with yourselves, Government Offices and other partners, have already achieved a good deal. The RDAs have been given substantially more resources for the next three years, and are now getting more flexibility to use those resources to drive forward sustainable economic development and regeneration in the regions. In parallel, they are being set tough targets aimed to ensure that their new powers are directed towards the Government’s objectives for the regions.

Chambers such as yours also have a critical role to play in ensuring that the RDAs’ plans are consistent with the needs of the region and with wider regional strategies. You will need to be fully involved in the process of developing their plans and monitoring performance against them.

In order to assist the chambers to exercise this substantially expanded scrutiny role, the Government is establishing a new fund for their use, worth £5 million a year in total. This will enable them to enhance their capacity to assess the RDAs’ plans and strategies for meeting their targets, and to provide an effective regional input to the process, in the context of the wider strategic framework for the region, particularly as set by the Regional Sustainable Development Framework.

I am sure the announcement about chamber funding will come as welcome news to all regional bodies and should give you the resources you need to move your Framework forward in partnership with the RDAs and others.

Focussing in on the sub-regional level, the Government wants to see more joining up too. That is why we are encouraging the development of Local Strategic Partnerships, building on existing examples of effective partnership working. Whilst looking to greater partnership working, LSPs aim to reduce duplication and unnecessary bureaucracy, to involve communities in the process of improving services in their areas, and to rationalise the many different partnerships which currently exist.

The community strategies being prepared by local authorities - with the wider LSP - should add a local flavour to the Regional Strategies such as yours. I hope that you will have a good relationship with the LSPs in your region. I hope that you will have the sort of relationship with LSPs that we want to have with you. That means:

• having a two-way flow of information;

• making sure that policy-making is informed by local experience;

• using the central role to spread best practice and develop new ideas.

So I have set out what the Government is doing at the central level to join it all up. I’ve set out what Regional bodies such as yours have been doing to join it all up. And I’ve said a little about what we intend to do at the local level to facilitate joining up. In doing so, I hope that I have given you a better understanding of what "joined-up government" and partnership working means in practice.

Before I conclude, I think it’s worth thinking for a moment about what partnership working is not about.

• Partnership working is not about squabbling over powers, responsibilities or duties.

• It’s not about setting up endless layers of bureaucracy which strangle activity.

• It is not about one party imposing their will on another.

The Government’s vision is not a paternalistic approach, whereby central Government directs the regions, who in turn direct the local authorities, who in turn direct the communities.

Partnership is about helping each other to improve the way we do things. Partnership is about coming together to streamline delivery arrangements where it can make services more effective. Partnership is about helping each other to achieve our goals and deliver for people. As I said right at the beginning, we are all agreed on the central goal. We are all united in our determination to encourage social inclusion, to break down barriers to success, and to ensure that everyone shares in the rising prosperity of our nation.

And finally, I want to mention one other thing which partnership is not…

Partnership is not a "buzzword".

Buzzwords are usually made-up words, and no-one ever really understands what they mean. The meaning of partnership is very clear – a relationship in which two or more organisations come together to work on a particular venture.

Buzzwords come and go. Partnership is here to stay. Partnership working is the way to the future, not a passing fad. Indeed, partnership is "the only show in town".

We in central Government are determined to listen to our partners. We are determined to learn from our partners. Above all, we are determined to work with our partners to deliver real improvements on the ground and make a lasting difference to the lives of local people.