Lancashire regeneration agency boss hits back at 'failed quango' claim

1:31pm Friday 8th August 2008

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By Tom Moseley »

THE boss of an agency charged with regenerating Lancashire has hit back at claims it was “throwing away money”.

The Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) was one of nine to be branded “failed quangos” by lobby group the Taxpayers’ Alliance.

According to the alliance, the unelected government bodies, which give out millions of pounds in a bid to boost employment, economic regeneration and reduce the gap between different regions, have cost taxpayers £15billion since 1999.

The alliance, which campaigns for lower taxation, criticised the salaries of regional development agency bosses, including NWDA chief executive Steven Broomhead, who said he earned £130,000 a year.

But NWDA bosses said a number of key projects in Lancashire would not have got off the ground without the agency’s support.

Mr Broomhead said: “The role and purpose of the NWDA is to ensure sustainable economic growth in the north west.

“Since our inception in 1999, we have made a significant impact across the region, creating or safeguarding almost 200,000 jobs, creating over 17,000 new businesses, and levering in £3billion of private sector investment.

“In Lancashire, the agency is continuing to provide added value to the local economy.

"We are making a real and tangible difference with a number of jobs and projects that simply would not have been secured without NWDA involvement and support.”

Critics say the agencies replicate the role of other public bodies and provide an extra layer of bureaucracy.

And council bosses in Lancashire have recently claimed they are under-represented on the NWDA and often lose out to regional rivals Merseyside and Greater Manchester.

Ben Farrugia, policy analyst at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “At a time when businesses are increasingly over-regulated and over-taxed, they have become a symbol of wasteful bureaucratic excess.

"They should be abolished before the Government hands them even greater powers.”