§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent by each of the Regional Development Agencies, in each of the last four years, on corporate plans. [146080]
§ Jacqui SmithAs set out in Quangos: Opening the Doors (1998) www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/centra1/198/ pb/open/od main.htm, the Government believe that non-departmental public bodies should disclose as much information as possible including information on their role and achievements. England's Regional Development Agencies are required to prepare and publish Corporate Plans with a three year planning horizon, which are revised every two years, to synchronise planning and funding horizons with the Spending Review process. The current Corporate Plans cover the period 2003–06.
The amount spent by RDAs in each of the last four years on printing and distribution of such plans is set out in the following table. The figures do not include the cost of staff resources in developing the detail of the plans where they are produced in-house, consulting stakeholders on the policies and activities reflected in the plans, nor the cost of departmental resources in approving them, which could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Expenditure also varies for many reasons such as the number of copies produced, whether consultants were used or whether the plans were only made available on the internet.
£ 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 AWM 3,500 3,500 19,405 29,629 EEDA 4,477 8,268 8,051 8,416 emda 10,000 LDA — 500 20,038 27,162 NWDA 9,375 8,326 2,452 3,058 ONE 50,000 2,500 2,500 2,653 SEEDA1 SWRDA 500 500 4,580 14,568 Yorkshire Forward1 1 No printing and distribution costs were incurred as the Corporate Plan is only available on the internet.
§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the average length of time taken for the Government to approve projects(a) projected to cost more than £1 million and (b) projected to cost less than £1 million, that are 374W proposed by each of the regional development agencies, following the issuing of a corporate plan, in the last year for which figures are available. [146081]
§ Jacqui SmithUnder Section 5(2)(a) of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 the Agencies may not give financial assistance without the consent of the Secretary of State. However, the consent of the Secretary of State has been given to each Agency to give such assistance subject to a specific financial limit and other conditions set out in its Financial Memorandum. Any proposed expenditure or guarantee that is in any way novel or contentious, regardless of its cost, also requires the specific approval of the Treasury.
During 2002–03, the average time taken for DTI to approve RDA proposals for expenditure exceeding the financial limit (£5 million during 2002–03) was 3-4 weeks. The average time taken to approve projects that required additional approval from the Treasury was nine weeks.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who appoints board members of regional development agencies. [145061]
§ Jacqui SmithThe Secretary of State for Trade and Industry appoints the Chairs of England's Regional Development Agencies, while responsibility for appointing Board members is delegated to me, as Minister for Industry and the Regions.
The process for appointing both the Regional Development Agency Chairs and Board Members is run according to the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments (this can be found at www.ocpa.gov.uk).
Appointments are made on merit, following open competition, application and formal interviews. Each applicant is assessed against the selection criteria, as set out in the person specification for the post.