Notes of Meeting held on Monday 17^th July, 2006 at the
Northwest Regional Assembly
Wigan Investment Centre
Waterside Drive
WIGAN
WN3 5BA
Present:
Revd Peter Brain (Christian), Revd Martyn Newman (Christian), Barry Levene (Jewish), A K Sinha (Hindu), Maneck Mehta (Zoroastrian), Suresh Mehta (Jain), Ishwer Tailer (Hindu), Muhammad Junejo Muslim), Annette Pinner (Buddhist), Helen Boothroyd Christian, Revd David Emison (Christian), Zia Chaudhry (Muslim), David Arnold (Jewish), Abdul Hamid Qureshi (Muslim)

In attendance:
John Devine (Churches Officer for the NorthWest), Martin Miller (Manchester Diocese), Shahid Imran (observer from Pakistan TV). Simon Crawshaw, Duncan McCorquodale and Jon Lovell (officers of the North West Regional Assembly) were present for the first section.
John Devine welcomed people to the meeting and apologised for the buffet (caterers had not provided vegetarian buffet as requested). He explained that the meeting was split into 2 sections; the first relating to NorthWest Regional Assembly (NWRA) issues and the second to Forum business. He introduced the Assembly officers present and it was agreed that PB should chair Section 1.

The Chair welcomed Annette Pinner (Buddhist from Cheshire), Barry Levene (Jewish, from Liverpool) and Martin Miller (in attendance) to their first meeting. He also welcomed Shahid Imran from Pakistan TV who was present as an observer.
Section 1. NWRA Issues
1.1 Welcome to and overview of the North West Regional Assembly

Simon Crawshaw, Head of Communications & External Affairs, welcomed those present on behalf of the NWRA and offered his apology for the buffet; they would want to extend better hospitality.

Simon presented an overview of the NWRA:
· 1 of 3 regional agencies (the Development Agency & Government Office).
· They seek to
- Improve the Quality of Lifer for NW residents
- Promote sustainable economic development
- Close the prosperity gap between this reg9on and other parts of the country.
· The Assembly is a partnership of 46 Local Authorities and 24 stakeholder groups.
· At the AGM John Devine became Chair of the Social Economic & Environmental partners Group (SEEP).
· Since the NorthEast referendum there is a new focus to the work of the NWRA. This focus is on its 3 core statutory responsibilities:
- Planning (RSS, Housing, Transport)
- Advocacy & Policy Development (voice of the Region to Whitehall, Europe etc.)
- Scrutiny of the Development Agency

Simon had wanted to show a video 'Celebr8 Don't Discrimin8' from Northwest Equality & Diversity Group, but there were problems with the AV equipment. He promised to make copies available to members of the Forum on request.

Simon introduced Jon Lovell, Sustainable Development Manager at the North West Regional Assembly. Jon heads up the largest sustainability Team of any Regional assembly. It has been moved from the planning Directorate to the Policy directorate giving new weight to the agenda,
1.2 The North West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)
Duncan McCorquodale, Regional Planning Manager, introduced the Regional Spatial Strategy. He began by explaining the previous planning framework of Regional Planning Guidance (RPG), Structure & Local Plans and the metropolitan Unitary Development Plans (UDPs). The Planning & Compensation Act, 2004 has initiated changes to this framework which will take effect over about 3 years:
· RSS replace RPGs
· Local plans and UDPs to be subsumed into Local Development Frameworks (LDFs)
· RSS and LDFs to be the development plan for each area.
· RSS to have statutory weight and LDFs must conform to it.
· RSS has more sub-regional detail than the RPG

The aim is to significantly reduce the time it takes to get these plans adopted.

The North West RSS covers:
· an overarching spatial strategy
· the city regional centres - Manchester/Salford, Liverpool, Blackburn/Preston etc.
· other key towns and cities - these are both locally significant & key regional gateways (e.g. Crewe, Barrow, Carlisle)
· Key service Centres - more rural areas (such as Congleton, Darwen etc)
· Green Belt Policy & Rural Development
· Thematic areas
- Working in the NW - dealing with the Economy
- Living in the NW - housing, equity of access to services etc.
- Transport in the NW - regional transport policies
- Enjoying the NW - environment & sustainability
· Sub-regional Policy Frameworks
· Implementation & Review Processes
The RSS was submitted to the Government earlier this year and is now subject to a review called Examination in Public (EIP). Hearings start this year with another session after Christmas. The Government will then rewrite the RSS based on evidence at these hearings and the NWRA will be allowed to comment on this rewrite. At the end of this process a final document will be adopted.
The full document is reviewed every 5 or 6 years but sections may be reviewed at other times.
NWRA is a statutory consultee on strategic planning applications which will be judged against the RSS.

Questions by Forum Members
1. Having heard its content and use, why do we have the RSS (specifically are the values within it)?
Many of the principles are derived from Government agendas e.g. sustainability
2. Will a change of Government change the process?
One political party does not support regional assemblies so that could lead to significant change.
3. The RES can be read as dehumanising people to 'economic productivity units' whereas the RSS has incorporated values within it. How was that achieved?
There has bee criticism of the RSS that it has too much of an economic focus. They have tried to balance these issues but may not have got it right.
Duncan undertook to distribute a PowerPoint display which would help further define the RSS for people.
The Chair thanked Duncan for his presentation.

1.3 North West Sustainability & The Climate Change Action Plan
Jon Lovell presented an overview of sustainability issues. There are 2 overarching goals for in any sustainable development plan:

· To live within our environmental resources
· To promote a healthy strong and just society

The shift in Directorates for the Sustainability Team means that this agenda can now underpin all of the work of the NWRA and not be seen as a 'bolt-on' activity.

Nationally there are 4 priorities for sustainable development:

· Sustainable Communities - more cohesive communities
· Environmental enhancement & protection - The NW has 11% of the land area of England but 25% of its derelict land.
· Sustainable Production and Consumption - the amount of land available to sustain the planet divided by the population gives a share of 1.8 hectares per person. In the NW we use 5.6
· Climate Change and Energy - in the 2003 heat wave 30 000 people died across Europe, but there is some hope with the development of environmental technologies.

The NW wants to be in the vanguard of the climate change agenda. It is right that we play our part when you consider the role of the NW in the industrial revolution.

Jon then introduced 'Rising to the Challenge, A Climate Change Action Plan for England's Northwest'. This consultation document has been issued by the NWDA but is the result of partnership working by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Government Office Northwest, Northwest Regional Assembly and the Environment Agency (Northwest Region).
The consultation period ends on September 5^th.
There are 2 particular roles that the North West Forum of Faiths could play:
· dissemination of the key messages to the faith communities
· assess and introduce practical measures to deal with he CO2 emissions from our substantial property portfolio.
Questions & Comments
1. It was reported that some local bodies would be making their own responses to the consultation document.
2. The document mentions the global impact of NW activities but it is silent on the issue of air transport. Why?
There are competing issues in regard to air transport and agendas can be driven by Government policy.
3. Do the faith communities have the capacity to raise awareness of these issues?
4. There is a national campaign by the Church of England to reduce its overall carbon impact called 'Shrinking the Footprint'.
5. 'Faiths4Change' is a practical response by the NW faith communities to these issues.
The Chair thanked Jon
Section 2. Business Meeting
Peter Brain continued to chair this part of the meeting.
2.1 Apologies
Louis Rappaport - Cheshire
Kelsang Sangkyong - Cumbria
Peter Forster - Cheshire
John Goddard - Lancashire
Stephen Lowe - Manchester
2.2 Minutes of meeting of 10^th April 2006
Minutes were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair
2.3 Matters Arising
There were no matters arising

2.4 Election of Officers:
Peter Brain vacated the Chair and John Devine dealt with this item
· Chair
1 Nomination received - Peter Brain
Nominated by Ishwer Tailer, seconded by Hardev Singh Sohal

Peter Brain was elected as Chair

· Vice-Chair
1 Nomination received - Khalid Anis
Nominated by Ishwer Tailer, seconded by Hardev Singh Sohal

Khalid Anis was elected as Vice-Chair

· NWRA representative
1 Nomination received - Khalid Anis
Nominated by Ishwer Tailer, seconded by Ajit Kumar

Khalid Anis was elected as representative

· NWRA substitute representative
1 Nomination received - Maneck Mehta
Nominated by Ishwer Tailer, seconded by Khalid Anis

Maneck Mehta was elected as substitute representative

It was noted that Peter Brain would be retiring next year and so would not serve a full term.

Peter Brain resumed the Chairmanship of the meeting. He thanked people present and expressed his pleasure at having chaired the Steering Group and now the Forum. He believed that it had great potential to contribute on behalf of the faith communities to the agendas or regional statutory bodies.
2.5 National & Regional Update

The Chair said that the Forum is here to 'humanise things' such as the RES and the debate about super-casinos. John Devine is on the frontline of this. As the Chair of the Social, Economic and Environmental partners of the NWRA John is a Vice-Chair of the whole Assembly.

John Devine reported on a number of issues:

· NWRA - Members of the Forum have attended NWRA meetings so the impact has already been felt.

· UK Interfaith Network - This has established a regional section for membership so the Forum has affiliated.

· Membership - There had bee some difficulty in identifying a Buddhist member from Cheshire so John was delighted to have met Annette and invited her to attend. She had consulted with the Buddhist community in Cheshire and they were happy for her to fulfil that role on their behalf. Annette was asked to introduce herself. She currently works for the Environment Agency but is moving to be Chief executive of the Vegetarian Society.
A member asked for clarification of the seats on the Regional Assembly. It was explained that John Devine is there as the Churches Officer for the North West. This seat is held separately from the seat now established for the Forum.

· Forum Nominations- In most sub-regions it had been fairly straightforward to identify a body, which could mange, the process of nominating to the Forum. This was not the case in Cheshire where there was no overarching interfaith structure. John is encouraging the establishment of such a body.

· Matters from Previous Meeting
- RES - Small Group had been established to monitor the RES. This group reported that they have decided to keep a low key watching brief on the RES for a year and then carry out a review. A more detailed review would be carried out when the RES is to be rewritten (in 3 years).

It was noted that the faith communities are specifically mentioned in the RES but we really ought to be influencing the values of the whole thing.

- Casinos - Again a small group had been established but this was yet to look at the issue.
Manchester Faith & Community Leaders group had received a report on this and lodged objections with the local authorities to a Manchester location for a casino.

2.6 AOB
· There was a discussion on the monitoring of the RSS and CCAP. Another small group was established to examine these issues. This group consists of Annette Pinner, Ishwer Tailer and A K Sinha.

· The next meeting will take place on the 15^th of November at Government Office for the Northwest in Manchester.

[ Download Minutes July 2006 ]