Allister Hayman,
Regen.net,
16 March 2010
The work of the regional development agency in Yorkshire and Humber in supporting the area's economic recovery could be stymied if it is hit with further budget cuts, a group of Labour MPs has warned.
The report by the Yorkshire and Humber select committee on the work of Yorkshire Forward commended the "vital work" the RDA had undertaken during the recession to support struggling businesses, but said any further cuts to its budget could have an impact on the economic recovery of the region. It said the agency’s budget for 2010/11 had already been cut by 23.9 per cent.
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Committee chair Eric Illsley said: "Yorkshire Forward does important work in the region supporting business and promoting economic development. As a committee we believe the agency’s budget should not be cut an further so that it can continue doing its vital work the help the region’s economy."
The report also warned that new housing, planning and transport responsibilities taken on by the RDA must not be allowed to detract from "its primary focus to boost economic development in the region".
The committee also said the "case had not been made" for the further devolution of funding from Yorkshire Forward to local authorities in the region, including the Leeds city-region pilot.
But the report did call for an assessment of the city-region to establish the effectiveness of devolving further funding and powers to sub-regional level.
First proposed in 2007, the eight regional select committees were established by the Government last year to give the regions a bigger voice in Westminster but have been boycotted by Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs.
The Liberal Democrats objected to the committees from the outset, as the Government insisted on imposing its parliamentary majority on their make-up, even in regions where Labour has fewer MPs than rival parties.
The Tories, meanwhile, said that the committees constituted an unnecessary extra layer of red tape.
Click here to read the report.
