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In England, regional ministers were appointed from 2007 on a part-time basis as part of Her Majesty's Government. Each minister had other departmental responsibilities, as well as specific responsibilities for one of the English regions. Their stated role was "to provide a clear sense of strategic direction for the nine English regions and to help strengthen their links with central government."〔( Regional Ministers at Government Offices webpage ). Accessed 27 February 2010〕 Following the 2010 General Election, the Prime Minister's Spokesman was asked on 17 May 2010 if Regional Ministers had been scrapped. He said that the process of completing appointments to the Government was continuing, and that the Prime Minister, David Cameron, "had been very clear on the importance of devolution".〔( Downing Street Morning Press Briefing, 17 May 2010 ). Accessed 18 May 2010〕 On 4 June 2010 the ''Evening Standard'' reported that the post of Minister for London had been scrapped.〔("Boost for Boris Johnson as David Cameron axes London minister", Evening Standard, 4 June 2010 )〕 No formal announcements were made in relation to regional ministers, but as of October 2010 no appointments had been made by the coalition government. ==Background== Regional ministers in England were first appointed by the incoming Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, on 28 June 2007, as part of his initial Government reshuffle. At the time, his spokesman said that their role would be "to act as regional champions within government, and to represent the government in parliamentary debates and other forums on regional issues."〔( "Brown appoints ministers for each English region", Planning Resource, 29 June 2007 ). Accessed 27 February 2010〕 A proposal to establish such ministerial positions had been made by think tank the New Local Government Network (NLGN) in its report ''Redesigning Regionalism: Leadership and Accountability in England's Regions'', which in turn had developed from a 2006 pamphlet written by MPs Ed Balls and John Healey, and NLGN Director and former MP Chris Leslie.〔("Gordon Brown adopts Regional Ministers plan – advocated by NLGN – for constitutional reform", NLGN, 29 June 2007 ). Accessed 27 February 2010〕 Establishing regional ministerial posts was proposed by the NLGN "if devolution from Whitehall to regional and local leadership is regarded as too big a step straight away".〔("NLGN sets out new thinking on the future of regional governance" ), NLGN, 5 March 2007. Accessed 3 March 2010〕 The report argued that "...the appointment of a series of Ministerial portfolio holders to represent and act for Government as policy leaders in each of the English regional might provide a greater degree of focus for regional policy, encourage a more integrated approach across Whitehall, and offer superior opportunities for scrutiny and cross-examination of regional decisions in Parliament." It followed from the 2004 rejection by voters in the North East of England of a proposed elected regional assembly. In London, the post of Minister for London had first been established by the then Conservative government in 1994. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Regional minister」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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