§ Mr. WalterTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the impact of the South West Regional Development Agency on the economy of north Dorset. [662]
§ Alan JohnsonThe South West Regional Development Agency (SW RDA) has been in existence for two years and has been working with inherited programmes supporting economic, social and community regeneration within the South West Region.
The SW RDA has been encouraging and promoting the economy of the area and has taken the approach of working in partnership with a substantial range of partners within the sub-region. In north Dorset these have included: Dorset County Council, north Dorset District Council, Town/Parish Councils, Business Link Dorset (now BL Wessex) and Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Training and Enterprise Council (now Learning and Skills Council), housing associations, private sector businesses/ developers and many more. The outcome of successful partnership working has been to introduce an integrated economic/social/community development process. Details of these arrangements and of specific projects supported by the RDA are available in the Library of the House.