§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are in place to ensure that regional development agencies share best practice. [146079]
§ Jacqui SmithThe Government believe that much added value can be gained from Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) sharing best practice. One of the measures of RDA performance is an assessment of how effective each RDA has been in working with other RDAs across regional boundaries and sharing innovation and best practice with each other.
Examples of the sharing of best practice include regular meetings between RDA Chairs. In addition, the RDAs nominated as "in the lead" for particular issues 443W are also important catalysts for sharing best practice. These lead RDAs establish new networks of contacts on particular subjects that enable the efficient sharing of information.