Summary
THERE is growing hysteria from more than one political party that Regional Development Agencies should be axed as part of necessary cost cutting, as the next government pays for quantitative easing. In the North-West, at least, I suspect that critics don't realise that, for every pound of NWDA support, five times as much is invested by the private sector and sources other than central government. The RDA is privatesector led, and has leading politicians from the region on the board.
An alternative would be for civil servants to dole out funds to local authorities who could only act on behalf of their local constituents. A regional view and strategy would be lost. And the strings would be pulled from behind the scenes. I am old enough to remember the days when Derek Hatton offered grants to the private sector, but with strings attached that ensured minimal uptake. While business has no vote, I would rather trust the current regional support regime, which is at least headed up by a businessman of widely respected integrity, Robert Hough.See the full content of this document
Extract
A Regime We Can Trust ; Letters to the Editor
Steven Broomhead, the CEO of NWDA, has off...
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