Press Release - National Audit Office publishes performance
assessment for three RDAs
24 November 2006
An independent assessment of three Regional Development Agencies
- One North East (ONE), South East England Development Agency
(SEEDA) and South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) - has
concluded that ONE and SEEDA are performing strongly and SWRDA is
performing well.
The assessments by the National Audit Office are based on five
criteria: ambition, prioritisation, capacity, performance
management and achievement. The RDAs conducted a self assessment
exercise across the five themes and the NAO then examined the
assessments and conducted a review of a wide range of documents.
They also carried out intensive on site work with interviews, focus
groups and reviews of the systems and processes used.
The performance of each RDA was then scored to give an overall
rating of performing strongly, well, adequately or
inadequately.
ONE scored 22 points out a possible 24, which is equivalent to
performing strongly; SEEDA scored 21 points, also performing
strongly; and SWRDA scored 18, which is regarded as performing
well.
ONE was found to be performing strongly on ambition, performance
management and achievement, and performing well on prioritisation
and capacity. SEEDA is performing strongly on ambition and
achievement, and performing well on prioritisation, capacity and
performance management. SWRDA is performing strongly on ambition
and performing well on prioritisation, performance management and
achievement, and performing adequately on capacity.
The RDAs will review their practices and Improvement Plans
against the NAO's recommendations, in order to determine how they
could improve performance. They will then develop the final
versions of the Plans which will be agreed with the NAO in the near
future.
These assessments are the second in a series of reviews the
government asked the NAO to carry out. The first round, published
earlier this year, looked at the North of England Development
Agency and the East of England Development Agency. The assessment
of the remaining 3 RDAs, completing the coverage of all eight RDAs
outside of London, will be published by March 2007.
Notes for Editors
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 62/06
All enquiries to Mark Anderson, NAO Press Office:
Tel: 020 7798 7558
Mobile: 07796 937 119