Agency to be made more accountable.

THE North East can have a development agency, but its funding is uncertain and public sector job losses are possible, shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman indicated yesterday. She hailed the work of local development agency One North East when challenged about the party's stance on its future by The Journal.

Ms Spelman said: "People always tell me that in the North East you actually quite like your regional development agency, that people feel it has done a reasonably good job.

"So my answer to you, as a localist in becoming Secretary of State, would be to say you want to keep your regional development, you can keep your regional development agency in the North East.

"But it has got to be accountable to local government," she said, adding: "I am looking for that accountably that they presently don't have and it will be up to local government to decide that."

The Tories also set out plans for new powerful "executive" mayors in 12 of the biggest cities.

Council chief executives would be abolished and their powers to "hire and fire" staff handed to the executive mayor who would enjoy "hands-on" power, although a referendum on the plans would be unlikely before 2011.

And a Tory government would introduce laws requiring councils to publish details of all spending over pounds 500 online and hand over budgets to local ward councillors. They would also allowed to speak out on licensing applications and local campaigns.

In areas without mayors, the current cabinet system for running councils would be dumped in favour of the traditional committee structure.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers later called for an end to the "relentless" expansion of fixed speed cameras and a switch to alternatives, such as improved education and vehicle activated signs, to improve road safety.