A think-tank report said that regional development agencies were not delivering on their targets to reduce the gap in economic growth rates between England's regions, and to promote growth in all regions. The next government should consider merging some RDAs and closing others – to focus more on where economic development and investment were most needed, such as northern and Midlands cities.
Source: Adam Marshall, The Future of Regional Development Agencies, Centre for Cities (020 7803 4300)
Links: Report | Centre for Cities press release | FT report
Date: 2008-Dec
A taskforce report highlighted ways in which government and its agencies could remove burdens and bureaucracy placed on local government in order to make the aspirations of the Sub-National Review of Economic Development and Regeneration a reality, and how to implement this policy without adding new burdens. It identified 'capacity challenges' at all levels to delivering regeneration.
Source: Lifting the Burdens from Economic Development and Regeneration, Lifting the Burdens Task Force, c/o Local Government Association (020 7664 3131)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report said that regional development agencies had contributed nothing to the economic development of England's regions. On almost every measure their allotted regions performed better in the seven years before the agencies were established than in subsequent years, and the £15.3 billion spent on them since 1999 had been wasted.
Source: The Case for Abolishing Regional Development Agencies, TaxPayers' Alliance (0845 330 9554)
Links: Report | TPA press release | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2008-Aug
A think-tank report said that attempts to regenerate inner cities had failed, and the gap between struggling and average cities, let alone between struggling and affluent cities, had continued to grow. There was no realistic prospect that many towns and cities in the north could converge with London and the south east region. There was, however, a very real prospect of encouraging significant numbers of people to move from those areas, and it proposed a significant liberalization of land use in London and the south east to allow this to happen.
Source: Tim Leunig, James Swaffield and Oliver Marc Hartwich, Cities Unlimited: Making urban regeneration work, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report | IPPR press release | NLGN press release | CPRE press release | BBC report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2008-Aug
A think-tank report examined the impact of the government's sub-national review on regional partners. It recommended that new 'expert advisory' arrangements should be developed by the regional development agencies to ensure that they could make best use of expertise from partners across the region. This would ensure that those with a wide knowledge base in sectoral, financial, and governance issues should be consulted during the preparation of the regional strategy.
Source: Chris Leslie, Terms of Engagement: The role of key partners in regional decision-making, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: NLGN press release
Date: 2008-Jun
A paper said that the government's case for regional development agencies was based on 'little or no evidence', and that the existing sub-national review did not go far enough to devolve power to local authorities.
Source: Tom Shakespeare, The Future for Regional Governance, Localis (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report | Localis press release
Date: 2008-Jun
The government announced (in the draft Queen's Speech) plans to introduce a Community Empowerment, Housing and Economic Regeneration Bill, designed to create greater opportunities for communities and individuals to influence the design and delivery of local public services; reform local and regional governance arrangements to promote economic regeneration; and extend the powers of the new social housing regulator to cover local authority landlords.
Source: Preparing Britain for the Future: The government's draft legislative programme, Cm 7372, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Draft Queens Speech | Amendments | DCLG press release (1) | DCLG press release (2) | LGIU press release | NHF press release | RTPI press release | CPRE press release | Shelter press release | BPF press release
Date: 2008-May
An article examined the potential impact of the third sector on regional development, through the promotion of social capital. There was considerable debate around the definition of the third sector that limited understanding of its impact.
Source: Kean Birch and Geoff Whittam, 'The third sector and the regional development of social capital', Regional Studies, Volume 42 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Apr
The government began consultation on proposals to support regional economic growth in England. Under proposed new legislation, top-tier councils would be given a duty to assess the economic conditions of their area. Councils and regional development agencies would then use this assessment as the basis for regional strategies, covering the future for housing, skills, transport, and regeneration in their region, to encourage greater economic growth.
Source: Prosperous Places: Taking forward the review of sub-national economic development and regeneration, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (0870 150 2500)
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | DBERR press release | RTPI press release
Date: 2008-Mar
A think-tank report said that the picture of a 'poorer north' and 'richer south' was no longer accurate, with inequalities, challenges, and successes scattered throughout the regions of England. A more subtle analysis of cities was needed if policy-makers were to fully understand their diverse economic profiles and find the right policies to help different places flourish.
Source: Naomi Clayton, Enterprise Priorities to Enterprise Powerhouses: The public sector in the knowledge economy, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jan
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on a revised spatial plan for Wales, designed to shape how each part of the country would develop economically, socially, and environmentally; and to guide the way the Assembly Government spent its money.
Source: People, Places, Futures: Wales spatial plan update 2008, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document | Consultation document (Welsh) | WAG press release
Date: 2008-Jan