RDAs face axe under Conservative Government

REGIONAL development agencies such as Advantage West Midlands would be scrapped under a new Conservative government and replaced with a series of regional economic agencies made up of local authorities and local business, the Tories have revealed.

There have been criticisms in recent months that Conservative policy on the future of the RDA system was unclear in the run-up to the General Election.

In a letter to colleagues, Shadow Business Secretary Kenneth Clarke and Shadow Local Government Minister Caroline Spelman outline clearly what would happen if the Conservatives win power at the election.

The letter states that the current system, introduced by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in 1999, has failed and the system needs an overhaul to make regional economic development more accountable.

“We intend to strengthen local economies by enabling business and elected local authorities to come forward with proposals for new local enterprise partnerships to replace the regional bodies,” says the letter.

“Business will have a strong voice under the new arrangements, At least 50% of the boards of the new partnerships will be representatives from local commerce and industry and a leading local business person will chair each new partnership.

“We are drawing up detailed plans which will ensure the transition to local enterprise partnerships will be smooth, allowing for the appropriate fulfilment of ongoing projects, grants and contracts, including projects which also draw on EU Structural Funds,” it adds.

The boundaries of the new partnerships will reflect natural economic areas.

The two senior Shadows said the proposals represented a “new deal” for local regeneration and economic development, namely locally-led agencies working in designated economic areas and bringing together business and civic leaders in focused partnerships.

Responsibility for housing and planning powers will reside with the local authorities rather than the regional bodies.

“These partnerships will work together to take the lead in promoting local economic development and regeneration, working to local priorities, not national policy made inn Whitehall,” the letter continues.

It would mean they said. “elected councils and local businesses deciding local economic priorities”.

They said they wanted to give local business a strong say in what happened on the new bodies as they had the local knowledge and knew what measures needed taking in order to deliver growth.