Scathing report urges public inquiry to measure investment return from regional agencies

Yorkshire Post 14th February 2005
William Green
Political Correspondent

A PUBLIC inquiry into regional quangos is needed, as billions of pounds spent on them appears to be "almost entirely wasted", new research says.

Regional development agencies get more than £1.8bn of funding but a think-tank report says there is no assessment of the return of such investment. This region's development agency, Yorkshire Forward, had nearly £300m of public funding in the last financial year.
The report says other regional quangos must also be investigated through a public inquiry, such as Yorkshire Culture, which receives around £200,000 of taxpayers' money a year to co-ordinate the work of sport and tourism bodies.
There is also a warning that many quangos are duplicating each other's efforts, especially in areas of the environment, energy, sport and tourism.
The Efficiency in Government Unit is also calling for a wider overhaul of such bodies – of which there are 529 in Britain – to improve their accountability.
Report author Dan Lewis said: "Any Minister would be hard-pressed to tell you with absolute certainty exactly how many quangos there are in Britain today, even in his or her own Department.
"Since 1997, at least 113 new quangos have been set up, including Yorkshire Culture and Yorkshire Forward."
Mr Lewis, director of the Efficiency in Government Unit, added: "They are all no doubt, well-intentioned individuals who want the best for Yorkshire. But it seems nevertheless sensible to ask – is this a good use of taxpayers money?"
Mr Lewis said a full Government inquiry could show exactly what the return is on the investment in the regional development agencies, measured in sustainable private sector jobs they create compared with the benefits of a regional tax rebate.
Bradford Council Cabinet member Simon Cooke also backed the call for a review of regional quangos, saying: "I certainly think that there is too much of it and it's not accountable and it costs a lot of money.
"I think the best thing would be to stop the delivery of expensive regional government by stealth, which the Government is doing."
However the chairman of Yorkshire Culture, Clive Leach, insisted his organisation was carrying out a useful role for the region – although he acknowledged concerns about the number of quangos in existence.
Mr Leach said his group coordinated the work of other quangos in the region involved in areas such as the arts and sport, as well as being a voice for Yorkshire to the Government on culture issues.
He said: "I think there are a number of organisations you have to seriously consider whether there are too many of them. But I believe Yorkshire Culture is doing a good job."
Yorkshire Forward's executive director of strategy and policy, Tom Riordan, said it was "inaccurate" to say there was no assessment of the return from RDA funding.
He said: "The National Audit Office, several Parliamentary Select Committees, Department of Trade and Industry and regional assembly scrutiny exercises provide a body of evidence which confirms that we are making a positive difference to people's lives and to business competitiveness."
He added that recent efficiency reports said the RDAs should continue their work because they worked successfully for the regions.
william.green@ypn.co.uk