91Èȱ¬

Now we've seen the between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, what more do we know about what the Government might have in store for us?

, but some areas still remain hazy.

Regional Spatial Strategies are definitely going.

I mentioned these in a previous post. They were the blueprints drawn up region-by-region to decide which areas would be best for industry, how many homes would be built in different areas, where might be suitable for windfarms etcetera.

. Now though the coalition agreement says those powers will be handed to councils.

established by Labour will also be abolished.

This was the organisation brought in to speed up the planning process for big developments such as nuclear power stations, large wind farms or railways that were thought to have national importance.

The Conservatives believe it's an unnaccountable quango, and the coalition say they'll replace it with something more democratic. We don't know what form that will take though.

For now though the Government Offices - who allocate money and act as the Government's presence in each region - will survive, but it may only be a temporary reprieve. The office in London is going immediately, and the case for abolishing the others will be examined

Our councils also get some attention.

The 12 largest English cities - including Newcastle - will have referendums on whether to have directly-elected mayors.

Councillors will also get the power to veto large pay packages for council executives, if they want they'll be able to reinstate the committee system that disappeared under Labour.

And councils could get more freedom, fewer grants will be ring-fenced and they'll get a "general power of competence" to give them the confidence to take risks and innovate.

But money could be tight. The agreement says council tax should be frozen in the first year, and in the second if possible.

They'll have to watch what they publish though, as the agreement says the Government will take action to prevent council newssheets unfairly competing with local newspapers.

And although Westmorland and Lonsdale's Tim Farron hasn't made it into government, one of his ideas - 91Èȱ¬ on the Farm - has made it into the agreement. It's a scheme to allow disused farm buildings to be turned into affordable homes.

He'd also approve of plans to look at putting some elected members onto the authorities of National Parks like the Lake District, or Yorkshire Dales.

The Conservative plans to elect police commissioners and some members of Primary Care Trusts are also in the agreement, although the commissioners will have to be accountable in some way to local councillors.

Many of our constituencies could also be affected by the agreement's section on improving democracy.

The Government says over five years it will fund 200 all-postal primaries for candidate selection targeted at seats that haven't changed hands for many years.

So Labour strongholds like Easington, South Shields and Jarrow could be top of that list, but of course the coalition has no power to force the parties to adopt primaries.

On regional development agencies we aren't much the wiser really.

The Coalition wants to replace them with "Local Enterprise Partnerships" made of councillors and business representatives.

But it says they could take the form of regional development agencies where they are "popular". It doesn't define though how that popularity will be measured. Nor does it set out any timetable for change.

There's some encouragement for football supporters' trusts too. Newcastle United's supporters may be interested in particular to see a commitment to change the rules to encourage co-operative ownership of clubs.

We'll have to wait for next week to see what parts of the agreement will be a priority.

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