15-570: The Northern Way was a collaboration initiated in February 2004 between the three northern regional development agencies (RDAs), Northwest Development Agency , One NorthEast and Yorkshire Forward at the instigation of the then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to focus on issues important for the whole of the North of England with a dimension larger than could be tackled by one region alone — for example, transport infrastructure, or marketing
30-894: A concern of UK policymakers, particularly on the Left, since at least the 1970s. After Labour came to power in the 1997 election , eight RDAs were created on 25 November 1998 following the passing of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 . In subsequent years their scope and powers were enhanced, and a ninth agency, for London, was established in July 2000. The statutory objectives of the RDAs were: They took over responsibility from Government Offices for administering European Union regional development funds. The RDAs were funded from HM Treasury via six central government departments: The funding from these departments
45-436: A funded body. Secondly, they sought to influence other stakeholders in the region to take action themselves. Thirdly, they sought to influence the policies of central government where they might impact on the region. The RDAs worked together in a number of areas, with different RDAs taking the 'lead' role in varying policy areas. Additionally, the RDAs jointly funded a central secretariat to co-ordinate this activity. Finally,
60-462: A view to reducing the government deficit ; similar economic development would be undertaken by local councils and local enterprise partnerships (LEPs). There was no direct replacement for the RDAs as LEPs did not at first receive funding from central government, and local councils did not receive an equivalent injection of income from central funds, having been called upon to make savings and support similar initiatives. Regional development had been
75-566: The Technology Strategy Board ). This was done via a strategic advisory group on which the chairs of each science and industry council sat. Following the June 2010 "emergency" budget , the coalition government announced its intention to replace the RDAs by smaller-scale partnerships between local authorities and businesses, known as local enterprise partnerships (LEPs). The RDAs were abolished on 31 March 2012. The RDA for
90-656: The North internationally. The body was tasked to address the £30 billion output gap between the North and the average for England as a whole. Although originally intended to have a twenty-year lifespan, the initiative's activity came to an end in March 2011, when its parent regional development agencies were wound up by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. To lead the delivery of its objective, an independently chaired steering group
105-544: The RDAs were set out in the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) of each region. The RES was a document created and maintained by the RDA for the whole region, i.e. it was not simply a document to guide the RDA, it was intended to guide the work of other organisations also. Each RDA updated their RES on a regular basis (approximately every three years) by consulting widely with their partners, and stakeholders in
120-576: The mayor appointed). The RDA chairs were all business people, while the boards were made up of representatives of business, local government, trade unions and voluntary organisations. The day-to-day running of the RDA was the responsibility of the Chief Executive who was appointed by the board, subject to approval by BIS ministers (or the London Mayor in the case of the LDA). The objectives of
135-525: The money. The eight City Region partnerships published their City Region Development Plans to show how they would work together to grow their economies to address the output gap. Regional development agency In the United Kingdom, regional development agencies (RDAs) were nine non-departmental public bodies established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of England 's Government Office regions between 1998 and 2010. There
150-470: The region, including local government, voluntary organisations, private organisations, and other interested groups. The RES was submitted to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for formal approval. The RDAs sought to achieve their objectives in a variety of ways. The most obvious of these was by funding projects aimed at addressing them, either directly from the RDA, or indirectly through
165-429: The three northern RDAs (Northwest Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward and One NorthEast) collaborated on The Northern Way . Each RDA had a science and industry council (SIC) made up of business, university and public sector experts. Each SIC advised its RDA on science and innovation investments. Each region had a slightly different focus, but all SICs contributed to the national Technology Strategy (owned by
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#1732790851717180-593: Was established whose members had a range of different public and private sector interests. The Steering Group launched Moving Forward: The Northern Way Growth Strategy in September 2004, which focused on four themes: These investment priorities are: The Growth Fund, worth £100 million, was launched in September 2004, and in June 2005 the Northern Way published its Business plan , setting out how to spend
195-671: Was estimated to rise to £4.50 when long-term investments in infrastructure matured. Eight of the nine RDAs reported to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the exception being the London Development Agency (LDA), which reported directly to the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . Each RDA was led by a chair and a board of 15 people, appointed by BIS ministers (except in London, where
210-791: Was one RDA for each of the NUTS level 1 regions of England . Similar activities were carried out in Wales by the Welsh Government Department of Economy and Transport, in Northern Ireland by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and in Scotland by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise . In June 2010 the UK government announced the abolition of the RDAs which took place on 31 March 2012, with
225-412: Was pooled, and then allocated to each of the RDAs based on several factors, such as the percentage of people living in deprived areas within the RDA catchment area and the unemployment rate. The total funding, known as the 'Single Pot', was: In 2009 a study by accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers showed that RDAs were generating £1 for the local economy for every £1 of public spending, though this figure
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