Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the democratic accountability of the new Heart of the South West Joint Committee.

The Heart of the South West Joint Committee is a voluntary arrangement of the 17 local authorities in the Heart of the South West geographical area.

A Joint Committee can be created using the provisions of sections 101 to 103 of the Local Government Act 1972, but has no decision making power. Such committees make recommendations to their constituent authorities, who may then choose whether or not to implement them using the usual democratic processes. In the Heart of the South West, the Joint Committee has the delegated function to approve the Heart of the South West Productivity Strategy.