Next Labour government will give regional development agencies a starring role

28 Sep 00
A second-term Labour government would expand the role of regional development agencies and boost their funding to encourage investment and kick-start regeneration in deprived areas.

29 September 2000

Proposals to enhance the role of RDAs were set out in a national policy forum document approved at the Labour party conference on September 25.

The eight English RDAs will have a greater role in implementing industrial strategies, working closely with Whitehall departments to develop the economies of their areas.

They will also receive 'substantial increases' in their budgets as a result of extra money allocated to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Other possible measures include strengthening the agencies' performance indicators to gauge more accurately their contribution to development, boosting ties with regional chambers of commerce and encouraging companies to give RDAs advance warning of redundancies.

The policy document, which will form the basis of Labour's manifesto pledges on environmental and regional issues, contains a commitment to integrating the agencies' different sources of funding and setting up a Whitehall-based regional co-ordination unit.

'Labour believes strong RDAs are vital for our regions, but also important for our whole enterprise strategy,' the document said.

'Further measures and resources should be made available to strengthen the work of RDAs, particularly in regard to regeneration, support for industry and skills training.'

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