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 for 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] The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. ... Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ... South East England is one of the nine official regions of England. ... South West England is one of the regions of England. ... The East Midlands is one of the regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. ... The West Midlands is an official Region of England, covering the western half of the Midlands. ... Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the regions of England. ... North-East England is one of the nine official regions of England and comprises the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear and a small part of North Yorkshire. ... North West England is one of the nine regions of England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Government Offices are the primary means by which a wide range of policies and programmes of the Government of the United Kingdom are delivered in the regions of England. ... The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative division of countries for statistical purposes. ... The region, also known as Government Office Region, is currently the highest tier of local government subnational entity of England in the United Kingdom. ... Official logo of the Welsh Assembly Government The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) (Welsh: , LlCC) was firstly an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet from 1999 to 2007. ... Scottish Enterprise is the main national economic development agency of Scotland. ... John Healey (born 13 February 1960) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... Regional Assembly is a title which has universally been adopted by the English bodies established as regional chambers under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. ...

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.

Funding

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

• Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
• Department for Communities and Local Government
• Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The funding from these departments is pooled, and then allocated to the different RDAs. The total funding from this Single Programme (also known as "Single Pot") is as below. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is a United Kingdom government department. ... The Department for Communities and Local Government is a United Kingdom government department. ... Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) is a British government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the disbanded departments of Education and Skills and Trade and Industry. ... The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in England. ... DCMS Logo DCMS headquarters in Cockspur Street The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (sometimes abbreviated DCMS) is a department of the British government. ...

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

The RDAs have in the past had responsibility for administering European Union regional development funds, but the enlargement of the EU means this is a dwindling part of their role.

Structure

Eight of the nine RDAs report to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the sole exception being the London Development Agency (LDA), which reports directly to the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is a United Kingdom government department. ... The London Development Agency is an agency of the Greater London Authority that is responsible for development in Greater London. ... Ken Livingstone, the current Mayor of London The Mayor of London is an elected politician in London, United Kingdom. ... The London Assembly is an elected body that supervises the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London. ...

Each RDA is led by a Chair and a Board of 15 people, appointed by DTI 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 DTI Ministers (or the London Mayor in the case of the LDA).

Operation

The statutory objectives of the RDAs are expanded upon 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 DTI for formal approval. The Department of Trade and Industry is a United Kingdom government department. ...

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.

To assist in the influencing of central government, 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. The Northern Way is a 20 year strategy to transform the economy of the North of England. ...

References

External links

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