RDAs performing to high standard in many areas, say NAO
A new study published today shows that England’s regional development agencies have been performing well across many areas of their work.
The independent strategic review was carried out by the National Audit Office last year on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and is published today (Monday 19 July).
The NAO’s most common finding across all eight RDAs outside London was that RDAs have been performing to a “strong” or “good” standard.
Areas of RDA work investigated by the NAO were: how RDAs prioritised work to ensure highest economic impact; how well RDAs improved their own effectiveness, and how well RDAs learned from their work to make future action even stronger.
Sir Harry Studholme, lead Chairman of England’s RDAs said: “RDAs know change is coming, we’re ready for it and we continue to work with Ministers and officials on how to put this change into practice.
“At such a time it is helpful to have the results of the NAO’s independent assessment of RDAs’ work.
“We hope and believe that these findings should inform whatever future structures for economic development finally emerge.”
The full independent strategic reviews can be viewed here at the NAO website.
In 2009, HM Treasury’s study "Smarter government: Putting the frontline first" found that RDAs were among the 25% most efficient of all government departments and larger agencies in terms of financial management, HR, IT, procurement and office costs.
Over the last three years, England's RDAs have spent approximately 10% of their 'Single Programme’ funding on administration costs. Spend on administration will come down by a further £57 million by the end of the current three-year spending period in 2011.
In their previous examination of RDA performance in 2006, the National Audit Office (NAO) assessed how well each RDA was performing over a range of key activities designed to improve regional economies. They judged that all nine RDAs were performing ‘highly’ or ‘well’.
Also, in one of the largest independent evaluations of its type undertaken for government, PricewaterhouseCoopers found last year that - over a five-year period from 2003 to 2008 - each £1 invested by RDAs had directly benefited regional economies by £4.50.
That figure increased to £6.40 if future benefits of RDA investment were taken into account. PwC were rigorous in analysing only that proportion of RDA work where they considered there were clearly attributable 'direct' benefits to RDA investment. If indirect benefits were taken into account, those £4.50 and £6.40 figures would increase significantly.