ON BEHALF of the North West Regional Assembly I should like to comment on the letter from David Corker and the accompanying article published in the February 8 Lancaster Guardian.

As chief executive of the North West Regional Assembly - a body which represents all 46 local authorities in the North West - I should like to say that far from exercising 'little, if any influence' in the region, as stated by David Corker in his letter, Lancaster City Council continues to play a pivotal role in the governance of the North West of England.

In addition to his reference to his current varied duties and responsibilities David neglected to mention his recent role as a secondee from Lancaster City Council to our sister body, the North West Constitutional Convention is a region-wide all party cross sector body designed to take a radical look at the future governance of the region in anticipation of the imminent introduction of a white paper on English regional devolution.

This is an excellent illustration of the positive contribution made by Lancaster City Council to the work of the region and is credit to the foresight and vision of all five of the political groups on Lancaster City Council.

David Corker's views remain his own, but your readers should understand they are not shared either by the North West Regional Assembly or North West Constitutional Convention who have publicly thanked Lancaster City Council for their forward thinking support in progressing debate and discussion on the future governance of North West England and the benefits this can bring to both the region and its people.

Steve Machin, Chief Executive, NWRA.