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Local authority leaders' boards are voluntary regional associations of council leaders that have been established in England outside of Greater London to replace certain functions of the now abolished regional chambers. The establishment of the boards was part of the UK Government's Review of Sub-National Economic Development and Regeneration. which brought forward the Government's plans to alter the structure of regional governance in England and was mandated by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. In June 2010, the new Conservative-LibDem coalition government announced plans to remove funding from the new boards and to remove their statutory functions. It was indicated that the boards might continue as voluntary associations of council leaders.
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The remaining four regions of the UK have similar voluntary or mandated associations: London Councils, the Welsh Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association.
The local authority leaders' boards
The leaders' boards are:
Each leaders' board corresponds to a region of England.
Structure and functions
When the regional chambers were abolished, their executive functions transferred to the regional development agencies, and their scrutiny functions became exercised by the new leader's boards. The RDA and the leader's board were to jointly produce a new Single Regional Strategy, with ministers exercising an oversight function.
The UK Government did not propose a set structure for the boards and each region was free to make its own arrangements. The Government however did aim for the boards to be:
Withdrawal of funding
In June 2010, the new Conservative-LibDem coalition government announced its intentions to abolish regional strategies and return spatial planning powers to local government. These plans include the withdrawal of funding to the existing eight local authority leaders' boards with their statutory functions also being assumed by local councils. The boards may continue to exist as voluntary associations of council leaders, funded by the local authorities themselves. They continue to exist as regional groupings of the Local Government Association.