West Midlands Regional Assembly
Encyclopedia
The West Midlands Regional Assembly (WMRA) was the regional assembly
for the West Midlands region
of England
, established in 1999. It was based in Birmingham
. It was abolished on 31 March 2010, its functions transferring to West Midlands Leaders Board
and to Advantage West Midlands
.
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 West Midlands region
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, established in 1999. It was based in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. It was abolished on 31 March 2010, its functions transferring to West Midlands Leaders Board
West Midlands Leaders Board
West Midlands Councils is a Local Authority Leaders’ Board that has been established in the West Midlands Region of England. It assumed the functions previously carried out by the West Midlands Regional Assembly when that body was abolished in March 2010...
and to Advantage West Midlands
Advantage West Midlands
-Advantage West Midlands – Regional Development Agency:Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a...
.
Organisation
The assembly was not an elected body an was made up of 100 members , of which:- 68 are nominated from local authorities across the region, including countyCounty councilA county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
, district, borough and city councils. - 16 are from the business sector.
- 16 are from regional interest groups such as trade unions, parish councils and environmental groups.
Role
The main functions performed by the WMRA included :- Channelling regional opinions to the business-led Regional Development AgencyRegional Development AgencyIn 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...
(Advantage West MidlandsAdvantage West Midlands-Advantage West Midlands – Regional Development Agency:Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a...
). - Carrying out advocacy and consultancy roles with national government bodies and the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, - The Assembly is the Regional Planning Body with a duty to formulate a Regional Spatial StrategyRegional Spatial StrategyRegional spatial strategies provided regional level planning frameworks for the regions of England outside London. They were introduced in 2004...
.