11 September 1998
Graham Lane, the education chairman of the Local Government Association, said this week that a 'national steering committee', composed of officers and councillors, is needed because of the likelihood that Labour will extend EAZs.'We think there are going to be a lot of things coming out of the EAZs,' said Mr Lane.
The new body will try to ensure councils get what they want from any new EAZs, drawing on the experience of the first 25. The first 12 began their work at the beginning of this month. A further 13 will go live in January. Mr Lane said one problem already emerging is that the government has not put enough money into the zones. A typical EAZ receives £1m, £750,000 of which comes from the government, with the rest coming from the private sector.
The setting-up of the committee will be proposed at the LGA education committee's annual conference in Torquay next month.
PFsep1998
