All RDAs across England are closing by March 2012
(see transition and closure section).
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Stakeholder and auditors agree South West RDA’s performance is
"good"
19 July 2010
The South West RDA has been assessed as "good" by the National
Audit Office (NAO), the main independent watchdog for government
agencies. This follows on from the recent independent stakeholder
survey where two-thirds of businesses, local authorities and
project partners stated that they were ‘very satisfied’ or
‘satisfied’ with the performance of the RDA.
In a wide-ranging report focusing on the procedures the Agency
put in place to respond to particular challenges, the NAO said the
South West RDA had “a realistic response” to the economic downturn
in the context of reduced funding. The Agency had also succeeded in
keeping a focus on the region’s long-term economic future.
Economic analysis provided by the South West RDA was “of a high
standard” and regularly used by partner organisations, the review
concluded.
In reaching its findings, the NAO assessed the Agency by
focusing on three areas: how effectively it responded to the
recession and reprioritised accordingly; how well it had delivered
its improvement plans; and, how far processes have been improved to
reflect evaluation lessons.
The South West RDA was rated “good” in all three areas.
The 2010 RDA stakeholder survey independently canvassed the
views of the region’s businesses, local authorities and other
stakeholders on the future of economic development and the
performance of the South West RDA in April 2010.
It found that:
- 66% of stakeholders are very satisfied or satisfied with RDA
performance (52% in 2008);
- 82% of stakeholders are now very satisfied or satisfied with
their RDA relationship (76% in 2008);
- 71% of stakeholders think the economic situation will improve
or stay stable over the next 12 months (as opposed to 42% in
2008).
Also:
- 71% of businesses agreed that “There are economic development
issues that are better addressed between national and local
level”
- Three quarters of all stakeholders agreed that “There are
benefits of scale and integration to be secured through working at
a regional level”
- 87% of businesses agreed that “It is important that the South
West can present a coherent and unified voice to Government (and
the EU) on economic issues.
Commenting on the survey and NAO report, Jane Henderson, South
West RDA Chief Executive said: "It is heartening to see that both
the NAO and the people we work for in the region believe we are
performing well. It’s encouraging to see that in particular our
important work helping businesses through the economic downturn and
into recovery has been vindicated by this report. Also our
leadership in terms of providing economic expertise for regional
decision-makers is recognised by both the report and the survey,
with the majority of businesses convinced that the South West needs
a unified voice on economic development issues. We will continue to
work with partners to try to retain this unified voice and to carry
on the critical mission of growing the economy as the South West
undergoes the transition to the coalition Government’s Local
Economic Partnership model”.
For further information, please see the NAO report, or see the results from the Stakeholder Survey.
Ends
Notes to editors
The South West RDA works for and promotes a modern, stronger and
more resilient economy across South West England.
Our work involves creating better jobs, successful businesses,
more prosperous cities, towns and villages within an economy that
uses less carbon and will still be thriving in 20, 50 and 100 years
time.
For more details contact: Billy McKenna, Corporate
Communications Manager, 01392 229567 or
billy.mckenna@southwestrda.org.uk