Government Office Regions
| Region | |
|---|---|
|
Also known as: Government Office Region |
|
 |
|
| Category | Statistical regions Administrative region (1) |
| Location | England |
| Created | 1994 |
| Number | 9 (as of 2010) |
| Additional status |
NUTS 1 region European constituency |
| Populations | 2.5–8 million |
| Areas | 1,000–23,000 km² |
| Government |
Local authority leaders' board (6) Elected assembly (1) None (2) |
| Subdivisions |
Non-metropolitan county (8) Metropolitan county (4) Districts of London (1) |
The regions (formerly known as the Government Office Regions; GORs) are the highest tier of sub-national division in England. Between 1994 and 2011, nine regions had officially devolved functions within Government. While they no longer fulfil this role, they continue to be used for statistical and some administrative purposes. They define areas (constituencies) for the purposes of elections to the European Parliament. Eurostat also uses them to demarcate first level Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) regions ("NUTS 1 regions") within the European Union. The regions generally follow the boundaries of the former standard regions, established in the 1940s for statistical purposes.
The London region (also known as Greater London) has a directly elected Mayor and Assembly. Six regions have local authority leaders' boards to assist with correlating the headline policies of local authorities. The remaining two regions no longer have any administrative functions, having abolished their regional local authority leaders' boards.
In 1998, regional chambers were established in the eight regions outside of London, which produced strategic plans and recommendations to local authorities. The regions also had an associated (central) Government Office with some responsibility for coordinating policy, and, from 2007, a part-time regional minister within the Government. House of Commons regional Select Committees were established in 2009. However, the chambers and select committees were abolished in May 2010, restoring these functions to the main tier of local government, with limited functions transferred to the regional local authority leaders' boards created in 2009. Regional ministers were not reappointed by the incoming Coalition Government, and the Government Offices were abolished in 2011.
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