Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

Regional Social Strategy – the strategy to achieve social inclusion throughout the East of England
1.7 The regional context
The role of the East of England Regional Assembly is to promote the social, economic and environmental
well-being of the region. Within this context, the Regional Social Strategy is one of a suite of strategies that
together form the Integrated Regional Strategy (IRS). The IRS provides a clear statement of EERA’s regional
priorities and an overarching context for the development of regional strategies in the future, including an
assurance that they will be based on principles of sustainable development.
As key regional strategies, including the IRS itself, are developed and reviewed, alignment of their parallel
review processes helps ensure that they remain complementary to each other. The critical importance of
social inclusion for the economic development of the region, for example, is acknowledged in the Regional
Economic Strategy which has ‘inclusion’ as one of its strategic goals.
A new factor in delivering the Regional Social Strategy is the increasing emphasis in the social economy
on commissioning out social services from the public sector to the private and ‘Third’ sectors. This is a shift
in government role, at national, regional and local level, from a direct provider of services to an enabler of
services. Agencies such as the Regional Offender Management Service, the Legal Services Commission,
the Learning and Skills Council, Jobcentre Plus, EEDA, GO-East, the Strategic Health Authority and local
area agreement bodies are preparing plans to commission services rather than directly provide services.
This will increase the number of agencies involved in delivering the outcomes of the Regional Social Strategy.
Another factor to take into account is the potential impact of the London 2012 Olympics. EEDA’s Economic
Impact Study of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (July 2006) suggests that, with
intervention in key areas, the gross benefits to the East of England from the London 2012 Olympic Games
and Paralympic Games could exceed £600 million.
The Olympics represent significant opportunities for the social, cultural and economic development of the
region, as well as a potential catalyst to focus minds and generate action. If the region is truly to benefit from
tourism and other business activity related to the Olympics, however, it is essential to have a cross-regional
and co-ordinated approach to maximising these benefits through key interventions.
Without such an approach the 2012
Games could have a potentially negative
impact on the sustainable development of
the region. This is due in part to resources
flowing from the region, and the loss of
lottery monies – the East of England's
proximity to the 2012 Games alone will
not guarantee benefits. There will also
be some risks for the East of England to
manage, including a drain of skills from
the region and competition for funding
and other resources.
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