It also stated : There are a range of functions that Regional Ministers will undertake . These are mostly clustered around the responsibilities of the Government Offices and the Regional Development Agencies , particularly in relation to economic development . Regional Ministers will be able to take questions in Parliament on the work of regional bodies , and on regional strategies . Regional ministers will be a visible representative of their area – they will take a key role in bringing together local services and different arms of government at important times for the region , whether in bidding for or hosting major sporting occasions ( e.g. the Commonwealth Games ) ; or when a region faces difficult challenges ( e.g. the severe flooding afflicting Yorkshire and the Humber , and the East and West Midlands in June 2007 ) . The establishment of the regional minister posts was opposed by the Conservative opposition . In a 2009 debate on the setting up of regional Select Committees of Parliament , to which the regional ministers report , the Shadow Leader of the House , Alan Duncan , said : The document '' The Governance of Britain '' says that regional Ministers , who are supposedly to be held to account by these Select Committees , do all sorts of important things . It sets out their responsibilities , stating that they " represent " , " facilitate " , " champion " and again " represent " various things in the document . But do they decide anything ? No , they do not . These Ministers are fictitious Ministers , supposedly joining up the various tentacles of government and somehow making a Minister in one Department tie his or her decisions in with those of a Minister in another Department . The people who should be held to account , if that is necessary , are the Ministers who take those decisions , not these supposed facilitators who have no executive responsibility whatever . They are faux Ministers – false Ministers – and they do not really exist as Ministers at all . In July 2011 , Greg Clark was appointed to the new role of Minister for Cities , which from July 2014 was combined with Minister for Universities and Science . The role has presumably been unfilled upon Clark 's promotion to Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in May 2015
severe flooding
2007 United Kingdom floods
Regional minister