Overview
19.This Act:
	makes provision enabling the Secretary of State to order referendums (assembly referendums) on the establishment of elected regional assemblies to be held in any of the English regions outside London, including conditions to be satisfied before the making of such an order;
	requires the Secretary of State to order referendums (local government referendums) to be held in each “county area” of a region where an assembly referendum is being held, on the same date as that referendum, about the Government’s proposals for the unitary structure of local government in such areas;
	sets out, in respect of both assembly and local government referendums, the referendum questions and the statements to precede them on the ballot paper, and who is entitled to vote in the referendums. It also sets out the frequency of any subsequent assembly referendum following a ‘no’ vote (Part 1);
	provides the Secretary of State with power to direct the Boundary Committee to carry out a local government review in any of the English regions outside London to consider structural change to existing two-tier local authorities. Structural change must lead to a wholly unitary local government structure in the region. The Secretary of State must have received recommendations from the Boundary Committee with respect to a region before ordering an assembly referendum to be held in the region. The criteria for deciding in which region(s) reviews should be carried out, the procedure for reviews and the implementation of local government reorganisations are provided for in Part 2;
	requires the Secretary of State (once certain preconditions have been satisfied) to seek the Electoral Commission’s advice on one or more matters relating to the electoral areas for, or the total number of members of, an assembly (Part 3);
	creates a new power for funding the activities of existing regional chambers (Part 4);
	authorises expenditure relating to the matters referred to above and the preparatory work to be undertaken in connection with regional assemblies (Part 5).