§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were(a) the cost of establishing, (b) the running costs since it was established and (c) the 639W costs this year of (i) the South East England Development Agency and (ii) the Government Office for the South East. [59550]
§ Alan JohnsonCentral Government expenditure of £12,800,000 in support of Regional Development Agencies administration is recorded for 1998–99—the year prior to the establishment of the RDAs on 1 April 1999—of which £461,000 was allocated to the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA).
The administration costs of the Agency for the following three financial years are set out below:
SEEDA: Administration Costs (£000s) Financial Year Cost (£000s) 1999–2000 6,267 2000–01 6,817 2001–02 9,8051 Running costs for 2002–03 onwards were subsumed into the RDAs' Single Programme when it was introduced on 1 April 2002, and are no longer allocated separately. This was one of a number of flexibilities that underpin the Programme, and is intended to give the RDAs the freedom, and the responsibility, to determine their running costs so as best to achieve their objective and targets, within the confines of prudent financial management. However, the RDAs' financial management framework does include a requirement on each RDA to specify its running costs budget in its corporate plan, which has to be approved by Ministers. The running costs identified in SEEDA's approved corporate plan are £11,200,000 for the current financial year.
The Regional Coordination Unit of the Cabinet Office have provided information in respect of the Government Office for the South East (GOSE). There is no record of the costs of setting up the Government Office, which was established in 1994, and there are no running costs figures available for the financial year 1994–95.
The running cost of GOSE for the following seven financial years are set out below:
GOSE: Administration Costs (£000s) Financial Year Cost (£000s) 1995–96 8,331 1996–97 8,406 1997–98 8,545 1998–99 8,561 1999–2000 8,659 2000–01 8,953 2001–02 10,312 For 2002–03, the initial running cost allocation for the financial year is £9,798,000.