South East England Regional Assembly
Encyclopedia
South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) was the regional assembly
for the South East England
region of the United Kingdom
. Regional Assemblies are described in the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 as "Regional Chambers" and their function of consultation is shown in Section 8 of the Act . It was based at Guildford until it was dissolved on 31 March 2009, with its functions being assumed by the South East England Partnership Board
, which comprises members of SEEDA board, the Regional Development Agency
and the South East England Leaders’ Board, the executive body of South East England Councils.
:
Regional Assemblies in England
The Regional Assemblies of England were a group of indirectly elected regional bodies established originally under the name Regional Chambers by the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. They were abolished on 31 March 2010 and replaced by Local Authority Leaders’ Boards...
for the South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
region of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Regional Assemblies are described in the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 as "Regional Chambers" and their function of consultation is shown in Section 8 of the Act . It was based at Guildford until it was dissolved on 31 March 2009, with its functions being assumed by the South East England Partnership Board
South East England Partnership Board
South East England Councils is an association of council leaders form the South East England region of England. It was established following the abilition of the South East England Regional Assembly in March 2009.-Partnership Board:...
, which comprises members of SEEDA board, the Regional Development Agency
Regional Development Agency
In the United Kingdom, a regional development agency is a non-departmental public body established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of one of England's Government Office regions. There is one RDA for each of the NUTS level 1 regions of England...
and the South East England Leaders’ Board, the executive body of South East England Councils.
Structure
Although it was publicly funded, SEERA claimed not to be a public authority and is therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
:
"The Regional Assembly was a voluntary regional chamber under the RDA Act 1998. It was not however a public authority and does not therefore fall strictly within the frame of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Regional Assembly's business were carried out under the auspices of SEERA Ltd, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee."
Members
Prior to abolition, SEERA had 111 members, made up as follows :
"There are 73 councillor members representing each of the region's local authorities and three members for town and parish councils. The remaining 38 members represent a range of interests including the voluntary and community sector, business, trade unions, the environment, economic partnerships, health, education, sport, culture, faith groups, town and parish councils and the New Forest National Park Authority."