Regional

Communities and Local Government is responsible for regional policy across England. We aim to enhance economic growth in all regions of England and reduce the gap in economic growth between the most and least prosperous regions.

There are very different conditions within and between each of the nine regions and they face different challenges. So, any solutions, whether they are economic, social or environmental, have to be tailored to meet the needs of a particular area.

Our aim is to bridge any gaps and increase the prosperity of all the regions. We want to make sure they have:

healthy economies
decent well-designed homes
better public services
attractive and safe environments

We work with other government departments and regional bodies like:

regional development agencies
regional assemblies and the Greater London Authority
the nine Government Offices for the Regions (known as GOs)
the Northern Way
the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)

We are committed to enabling the regions to take a strategic long-term approach to planning, housing and economic development.

Regional development agencies

There is a regional development agency (RDA) in each of the nine English regions. RDAs are responsible for developing and delivering, with regional partners, a Regional Economic Strategy which sets out the economic aspirations of the region and how they are going to achieve them. Each RDA writes its own strategy to make sure that it is related to the region's economy.

Find out more about how Communities and Local Government works with RDAs on our practitioners' site, or visit www.englandsrdas.com for more on the RDAs themselves.

Northern Way

The Northern Way is a steering group led by the Regional Development Agencies for the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber. It has devised a long term strategy for growth aiming to narrow the £30bn gap in wealth between the North and the rest of the UK.

Find out more about the Northern Way on http://www.thenorthernway.co.uk/