The way we are to be governed in the West Midlands is at least becoming clear.

The region is set to gain not one but two Commons committees, which will scrutinise the work of regional quangos including health trusts and Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency.

For the business community, the work of the agency is vitally important. It co-ordinates Government efforts to help the West Midlands economy to develop, spending about £290 million a year in the process on top of money it administers on behalf of the European Union.

And it will only become more important as it takes on new roles, including responsibility for planning – for better or for worse – and some responsibility for skills and training.

But despite early promises, it is almost entirely unaccountable to local people.

This was never the Government’s intention. The aim once was to create a democratic regional government that would oversee the agency’s work.

However, this idea was abandoned long ago. The unelected regional assembly we have instead, despite the best efforts of those involved, is a poor substitute for a democratic body.

One of Gordon Brown’s successes has been his eminently sensible decision to make better use of the elected representatives we already have.

MPs are already being paid to represent us, they are appointed in high-profile general elections and they are relatively easy for the constituents to track down and get in touch with. We don’t need a new tier of local government.

Hence, we have a regional minister who takes a hands-on role overseeing the work of the development agency. Now we are to have regional committees for other local MPs to scrutinise his work, and directly to interrogate local officials.

This is a welcome development, even if it has been delayed for 12 months.

At the same time, the Government has placed mayors firmly back on the agenda.

Hazel Blears, the Local Government Secretary, has even resurrected the prospect of a “city region” mayor, which would cover Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country.

That’s unlikely to prove popular. But serious consideration of separate mayors for Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and the major towns is a different matter.

It’s clear that the Government wants this debate to happen. Existing civic leaders should not seek to shut it off.