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Yorkshire Forward

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Yorkshire Forward
Formation1999[1]
Legal statusRegional development agency
HeadquartersVictoria House, 2 Victoria Place, Leeds, LS11 5AE
Region served
Yorkshire and the Humber
Budget
£277m (2009/10)
Websiteyorkshire-forward.com
RemarksAppointment: Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Yorkshire Forward was the regional development agency (RDA) for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of the United Kingdom.[2] It supported the development of business in the region by encouraging public and private investment in education, skills, environment and infrastructure. It was abolished on 31 March 2012 following the public spending review announced in 2010.[3]

Regional Economic Strategy

Each of England's nine RDAs worked with partners in its region to create a Regional Economic Strategy.[4] Yorkshire and the Humber used the business cluster strategy of economic development, actively investing in key business sectors in an attempt to accelerate economic growth and encourage higher value added business. Yorkshire Forward identified seven key clusters that had the potential to deliver significant economic growth.

In 2010 Yorkshire Forward provided £10 million to part-finance the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre led by the University of Sheffield with Rolls-Royce, anticipating involvement in any forthcoming new nuclear builds in the UK.[5][6]

History

Former Yorkshire Forward head office in Leeds.

The GDP of Yorkshire represents 8% of total UK output. However, growth has not been sufficient to begin closing the productivity gap between Yorkshire and the Humber and either the London or South East regions. Businesses in Yorkshire benefit from average salaries below the national average,[7] operating costs up to 20% lower than the UK average, and a competitive property market. In the Liberal Democrat-Conservative's Emergency Budget of 22 June 2010, it was announced that regional development agencies such as Yorkshire Forward were set to be abolished as part of the programme of radical spending cuts to reduce the UK's national deficit.[3] Following a government review, some of Yorkshire Forward's responsibilities passed to a series of new 'Local Enterprise Partnerships' across the area.[8]

References

  1. ^ "The Work of Yorkshire Forward" (PDF). House of Commons. 4 March 2010. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Home - Yorkshire Forward". Yorkshire Forward. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Yorkshire Forward development agency axed in Budget". BBC News Online. BBC. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  4. ^ "What We Do". England's Regional Development Agencies. England's Regional Development Agencies. 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  5. ^ "Lord Mandelson announces £25 Million Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre". Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  6. ^ Kiran Stacey (16 February 2016). "UK nuclear expertise wasted by delays and developer choices". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Londoners 'wealthiest in UK'". The Guardian. 16 February 2005. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Yorkshire Forward Welcomes Budget Priorities of Regional Investment and Support for the Nation's SMEs". Yorkshire Forward. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.