THE Campaign for the English Regions (CFER) has welcomed proposals for elected regional government, outlined in the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice.

In preparing its response, CFER has consulted the six constitutional conventions and campaigns active in the English regions, including the North-East.

CFER national campaign officer Don Price said: "We welcome the Government's proposals. They have given us a good base to work from, but of course there is more work to be done.

"In particular, we need to see much deeper devolution of powers in the areas of transport, planning and learning and skills, to give the new assemblies the ability to make a real difference to the quality of life in our regions."

Mr Price said it was vital the Government looked at the size of the assemblies.

"The Government has said there will be between 25 and 35 members elected to each assembly. While 35 members in an assembly might just be enough to represent the diversity of the smallest region, the North-East, this limit is totally impractical in big regions like the North-West. In this case, size does matter."

The campaign is calling for at least one elected assembly to be established within the lifetime of this parliament.

Mr Price said: "The Government has shown renewed interest in the regional agenda with the increase funding announced in the Chancellor's spending review last week. We take that as a signal that the needs of regions are now at the forefront of Government thinking."