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Regional development agencies have been offered a lifeline by chancellor, Alistair Darling. If Labour wins the general election, the agencies will have to develop further support for the small and medium-sized firms crucial to economic recovery. A core commitment in the Budget was to ‘promote innovation, and invest in national infrastructure and key skills' – all part of the RDA remit. The chancellor highlighted the co-operative approach between government and business to secure the investment of Nissan cars to build its new electric car in Sunderland. Mr Darling also pledged to boost support for advanced manufacturing, bioscience, aerospace, the creative sector and green energy, which are being promoted in UK regions. But RDAs will have to bid for government funds to support the emerging sectors. The target to increase by 15% the proportion of central government contracts which go to small and medium enterprises will also strengthen regional bodies, as they have been used as a way of supporting expensive bidding processes and raising awareness of contracts that are coming up. The Conservatives have pledged to scrap RDAs and replace them with slimmed-down bodies, led by councils. Richard Ellis, chair of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), welcomed the help for small businesses and the boost for the renewable energy sector. He said: ‘The chancellor has committed an additional £2.5bn to help innovative small businesses start up and grow. ‘With more than half-a-million VAT-registered businesses operating in this region, we will be looking to bring a sizeable share of this funding to the east of England. ‘We have the skills, the ambition and technologies to capitalise on new opportunities in future growth sectors that we are leaders in.'

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WHITEHALL

RDAs 'to remain' – if Labour wins election

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