England

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East

London

South East

South West

East Midlands

West Midlands

Yorkshire and
the Humber

North
East

North West

A regional development agency (RDA) is a non-departmental public body established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of one of England's Government Office regions. There is one RDA for each of the NUTS level 1 regions of England. Similar activities are carried out in Wales by the Welsh Assembly Government Department of Economy and Transport, in Northern Ireland by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and in Scotland by Scottish Enterprise. On Tuesday 17 July 2007, Local Government Minister John Healey MP announced Government plans to abolish regional assemblies. Functions of regional assemblies are planned to pass to Regional Development Agencies in 2010.^[1][2]

[edit] Background

The RDAs were created following the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998,^[3] and have had their scope and powers enhanced in the years since. The statutory objectives of the RDAs are, at present:

1. to further economic development and regeneration;
2. to promote business efficiency and competitiveness;
3. to promote employment;
4. to enhance the development and application of skills relevant to employment, and
5. to contribute to sustainable development.

[edit] Funding

The RDAs are funded by six different central government departments, those being:

• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Department for Communities and Local Government
• Department for Energy and Climate Change
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport
• UK Trade and Investment

The funding from these departments is pooled, and then allocated to the different RDAs. The total funding known as the 'Single Pot' is as below.

• 2004/2005 — £1.847 billion
• 2005/2006 — £2.163 billion
• 2006/2007 — £2.244 billion
• 2007/2008 — £2.297 billion

The RDAs have taken over responsibility from Government Offices for administering European Union regional development funds, but the enlargement of the EU means this is likely to reduce in its significance to the UK from 2013.

[edit] Structure

Eight of the nine RDAs report to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the sole exception being the London Development Agency (LDA), which reports directly to the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Each RDA is led by a Chair and a Board of 15 people, appointed by BIS ministers (except in London, where the Mayor appoints). The RDA Chairs are all business people, while the Boards are made up of representatives of business, local government, trade unions and voluntary organisations.

The day to day running of the RDA is the responsibility of the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive is appointed by the Board, subject to approval by BIS ministers (or the London Mayor in the case of the LDA).

[edit] Operation

The objectives of the RDAs are set out in the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) of each region. The RES is a document created and maintained by the RDA for the whole region, i.e. it is not simply a document to guide the RDA, it is intended to guide the work of other organisations also. Each RDA updates their RES on a regular basis (approximately every three years) by consulting widely with their partners, and stakeholders in the region, including local government, voluntary organisations, private organisations, and other interested groups. The RES must be submitted to the BIS for formal approval.

The RDAs seek to achieve their objectives in a variety of ways. The most obvious of these is by funding projects aimed at addressing them, either directly from the RDA, or indirectly through a funded body. Secondly, they seek to influence other stakeholders in the region to take action themselves. Thirdly, they seek to influence the policies of central government where they might impact on the Region.

The RDAs work together in a number of areas, with different RDAs taking the 'lead' role in varying policy areas. Additionally, the RDAs jointly fund a central secretariat to co-ordinate this activity.^[4] Finally, the three northern RDAs (Northwest Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward and One NorthEast) collaborate on The Northern Way.

Each RDA has a Science and Industry Council (SIC) made up of business, university and public sector experts. This SIC advises the RDA on Science and Innovation Investments. Each region has a slightly different focus, but all SICs contribute to the national Technology Strategy [2] (owned by the Technology Strategy Board).^[5] This is done via a Strategic Advisory Group on which the Chairs of each Science and Industry Council sit.

[edit] See also

The entries of the individual Regional Development Agencies:

• North West Northwest Development Agnecy (NWDA)
• North East One NorthEast (ONE)
• Yorkshire and Humber Yorkshire Forward
• West Midlands Advantage West Midlands (AWM)
• East Midlands East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA)
• East East of England Development Agency (EEDA)
• South West South West of England Development Agency (SWRDA)
• South East South East England Development Agnecy (SEEDA)
• London London Development Agency (LDA)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• England's RDAs
• Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform - England's Regional Development Agencies: Introduction