Annual Performance MonitoringReport for 2005/06

1

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE MONITORING REPORT FOR 2005/06

Section Contents Page

Introduction

A. Executive Summary

A summary of the key issues from this report.

2

B.

Strategic Priorities

Progress and achievements against strategic priorities

identified in the NWDA Business Plan for 2005/06.

5

C.

NWDA Activity and Achievements

Progress and achievements from NWDA activity across the

Business Plan, featuring strategic added value, key projects,

outputs and expenditure, set against changes in regional economic conditions during the period.

9

D.

Performance Monitoring

Key performance monitoring issues including risk

management, corporate performance indicators,

Independent Performance Assessment and evaluation.

31

E. Financial Performance and Efficiency

Financial out-turn and efficiency plans.

34

F. Organisational Issues

Key internal changes and improvements. 35

Annexes

One Corporate Performance Indicators

Two Economic Context: Monitoring Regional Outcome Indicators

Three NWDA Output Performance

2

INTRODUCTION

This report provides an assessment of NWDA activity and performance during the

2005/06 financial year. It provides an analysis of progress made against the Strategic Priorities and the Key Activities of the NWDA 2005/06 Business Plan. As well as a

narrative on progress and achievements within the period against each Business Plan

heading, the report provides a breakdown of NWDA delivered outputs and an analysis of the Agency’s strategic role (strategic added value), together with a commentary on trends

in the region’s economic performance measured using outcome indicators set out in the

NWDA Corporate Plan 2005/06 to 2007/08. The report also records the Agency’s financial

performance and other internal performance related and organisational issues.

SECTION A – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Strategic

• Regional Economic Strategy - The new Regional Economic Strategy was developed throughout 2005 in close partnership with key regional stakeholders and was

characterised by a strong evidence base and a very focussed set of priorities and

objectives with clear responsibilities for taking action. It was very well received within the region and endorsed by Ministers in March 2006. The Agency also facilitated close

alignment between the RES and regional planning, housing and transport policies

which was enhanced by regional advice to Government on Regional Funding Allocations. The RES also reflected City Region Development Plans which were

launched in June 2005.

• Sub-Regional Partnerships (SRPs) - A strong sub-regional context for RES delivery was developed during the year with agreements reached between the Agency and

the region’s five SRPs regarding respective roles and responsibilities. Initial proposals

for delivering the RES in the sub-regions were received from all SRPs and detailed action planning is now underway. Cumbria Vision Renaissance was officially

established as the new executive arm of Cumbria’s SRP.

• Business Link Review - Following a period of consultation, consideration of options

and development of a business case, the Agency agreed a new model for Business

Link delivery, aimed at stronger focus on key sectors, greater coverage and improved

value for money. Subject to Government approval during 2006, the new service will become operational in April 2007.

• Inward Investment - 2005/06 was another highly successful year for the region with 112 projects recorded, generating almost 7,000 jobs and over £2 billion of capital

investment, with NWDA directly involved in 40 of these.

• Transferred Responsibilities – During the year the Agency successfully took on further responsibilities devolved from Government: the GRAND research and

development grant scheme which is used to promote innovation by SMEs and a

series of rural development projects from the Countryside Agency.

Major Projects

A large number of major regional and sub-regional projects came to fruition or were

developed by the Agency during the year. The most significant of these were as follows:

• Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus - The new Innovation Centre,

3

developed as part of this £50 million project, opened for business and the Cockcroft

Institute, the UK’s National Centre for Accelerator Science, was accommodated within

the complex. The Government announced that Daresbury is now one of only two key strategic sites in the UK for major science investment.

• Liverpool Science Park – Phase 1a of this new development, comprising a major

science incubator close to Liverpool City Centre, was completed and opened for business.

• National Biomanufacturing Centre - Construction of this state of the art facility in Liverpool, to help SMEs develop and manufacture new medicines, was completed

and the full £34 million project will become fully operational in 2006/07.

• Joule Centre – A new centre was opened at Manchester University which supports

academic and industrial research into sustainable energy generation and is a flagship

project within the region’s strategy towards achieving sustainable development.

• Media Zone - The Agency developed the concept of a media zone in Greater

Manchester. This is linked to the proposed major relocation by the BBC of eight

departments from London, which will become a magnet for media related activity and investment and will form a major media cluster in the North of England. Development

proposals were progressed with the BBC and local partners and decisions on the final

location and form of development will be taken in the summer of 2006.

• Kings Dock, Liverpool - Construction started on this flagship project which will

provide arena, conference and exhibition facilities alongside a mixed use commercial

development on the Liverpool waterfront.

• One Central Park, Manchester – Another flagship project, this time in the New East

Manchester URC area, was completed. This project provides a skills, training, research and business enterprise centre at the strategic Central Park employment

site.

• University of Cumbria - The first steps were taken towards the establishment of a

new University in Cumbria with mergers agreed between relevant existing institutions.

The Agency allocated significant funds in its future budget to support this project

which is regarded as essential to Cumbria’s future economic success.

• Project ACCESS - Also in Cumbria, installation of the infrastructure required to deliver

broadband services to businesses and communities across the county, as part of the Agency’s £20 million investment, was completed.

• Kingsway Strategic Employment Site, Rochdale - Work started on the main

infrastructure works, including improvements to motorway access, which will open up this 170 hectare site for development and the creation of 7,000 jobs.

Organisation

• Independent Performance Assessment - In 2005/06, the NWDA was the first of the

RDAs to undergo an independent performance assessment by the National Audit Office (NAO) as part the Government’s new performance review system for RDAs.

The process involved the production of a Self Assessment by the Agency itself, on

which stakeholders were consulted, which was validated by the NAO as part of a two

week, on site, inspection and the production of a final report and score by the NAO. The Agency achieved a score of 20 out of 24 and the highest possible ranking of

“Performing Strongly”. However, the NAO report did highlight some areas for

improvement to be addressed by the Agency which supported the Agency’s own

4

findings in its Self Assessment. These include the need to strengthen further our

relationships with SRPs; embed recently adopted programme and project

management arrangements across the Agency; roll out these improvements to partners in order to improve transparency of the Agency’s internal project processes;

improve prioritisation of projects; strengthen change management; improve

evaluation as a tool to apply lessons to future programme and project development;

and enhance regional research and internal policy capacity. The Agency is currently producing an Improvement Plan to take forward all of the issues raised by the IPA

process. Delivery of this Plan will be monitored by the NAO.

• Investors in People - The Agency was officially awarded the Investors in People

Standard (iiP) in July 2005.

• Organisation Review - During the year a fundamental review of the Agency’s internal

structure was undertaken. The changes agreed will ensure effective delivery of the

new RES, improve our ability to develop the sub-regional agenda, strengthen our

capacity to lead on policy and improve programme and project delivery. By September 2006 the new structure will be fully operational. The new structure addresses some of

the improvement areas raised by the IPA.

• Systems And Process Improvement Programme (SAPIP) - The Agency undertook

a fundamental change programme to improve and integrate processes and systems

related to project development and delivery. This included the training of over 300 staff in new ways of working. SAPIP was acknowledged in the IPA as a major

improvement for the Agency and has been used by NAO as a best practice case

study in public sector innovation.

• Output Performance - The Agency exceeded nine of its ten output targets but failed

to achieve its target for NVQ Level 2 attainment. Like all other RDAs, the Agency

does not consider this area to be an investment priority for RDAs and is in discussion with Government on this matter.

• Expenditure - 99.95% of the grant allocation from DTI was spent with the £191,000 underspend well within permitted tolerances. Grant expenditure was £383.7m against

an allocation of £383.9m.

• Efficiency Plan - The Agency achieved total efficiency savings of £18.2m, against an annual target of £9.1m.

5

SECTION B – STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

Progress and achievements against the strategic priorities set out in the NWDA Business

Plan.

Examples of Strategic Added Value:

Regional Economic Strategy

Strategic Alignment

Northern Way Growth Strategy

New Urban Regeneration Companies Business Links

Lead Role in Skills

Working with the Voluntary and Community Sector

Economic Performance: Measured by the trend in growth of Gross Value Added (GVA).

GVA measures the contribution to the economy of each individual, producer, industry or sector. Performance is also measured by average gross weekly household income.

Commentary: The size of the Northwest economy increased by £4.9bn between 2003 and 2004 leading to a GVA that was 10.1% of the UK total. The performance of the

Northwest economy has been steadily improving since 2000, growing by 5% in 2004, a

higher rate than the UK average. This was also the fifth highest growth rate amongst English regions. Gross Value Added per head in the Northwest was £14,940 (2004) a rise

of 5% over the year. Average gross weekly household income rose from £489 (2001/2 to

2003/04) to £527 (2002/03 to 2004/05) a rise of 8%, but represents only 92% of the UK

figure. (Source: National Statistics)

Strategic Priorities:

• Revision of the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) - The newly revised Regional

Economic Strategy was endorsed by Ministers in March 2006 and launched at a

series of regional events. Development of the new RES was on an inclusive, regional basis, with the RES being clearly aligned with other key regional strategies. The RES

is focussed and prioritised and has been extremely well received across the region. A

detailed and lengthy consultation with partners and stakeholders overseen by a RES Advisory Group of 25 major regional partners has delivered an evidence-based

Regional Economic Strategy identifying 122 key actions with 45 classified as

‘transformational actions’, focused on the three growth drivers of productivity,

conditions for growth and the size and capability of the workforce. Lead organisations have been agreed for each RES action, and guidelines produced and circulated to

these leads to ensure effective RES implementation. The new RES reflects the City

Region Development Plans, putting the City Regions at the heart of future plans for growing the economy. The RES review was underpinned by an evidence base that

came from specifically commissioned economic, social and environmental analyses,

and economic forecasts from the Regional Economic Forecasting Panel. The RES was also subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment.

The Agency also took the opportunity to refresh its 2005-08 Corporate Plan to reflect

the new actions to be taken by the Agency to help deliver the new RES. This exercise included taking decisions on which RES actions the Agency will invest in and

allocating financial headroom within its medium term investment plan to those

investment priorities to ensure that future projects are clearly aligned to RES and

6

NWDA investment priorities.

• Strategic Alignment - The NWDA submitted detailed comments on the Interim Draft of the Regional Spatial Strategy which the Regional Assembly incorporated into the

final draft submitted to the Secretary of State in January 2006. The Agency secured

greater alignment in a number of areas, particularly in regional housing provision and

ensuring that regional transport policies support the economic growth objectives set out in the RES. The Agency contributed to the production of the Regional Housing

Strategy, highlighting the role that housing plays in supporting economic growth and

delivering regeneration. The NWDA, GONW, and the NWRA joined forces to advise the government on how funding for economic development, housing and transport can

be most effectively spent in the Northwest for the next 10 years. The region’s advice

on Regional Funding Allocations was submitted to Ministers for consideration in January 2006.

Other major strategic activities under this theme included:

o Northern Way Growth Strategy (NWGS) - The Business Plan was launched on

behalf of the NWDA, One NorthEast and Yorkshire Forward in June 2005, with three investment priorities being led by the Northwest: Employment, Skills and

Knowledge. Major activity during 2005/06 the period centred on the £5m flagship

initiative to strengthen leadership across the North of England by creating a new

Northern Leadership Academy (NLA). The now contracted NLA will be led by a Higher Education consortium including Lancaster University Management School,

Leeds Business School and the University of Liverpool. There are now pilot

projects in partnership with Department for Work and Pensions, within the worklessness stream, which are now underway in Easington and Knowsley. Work

on the new Research Centres to be established by a consortium of eight northern

Universities (known as N8) under the knowledge workstream is in development with research work to start in 2006/07. Work continues on more detailed versions

of the Manchester, Merseyside and Central Lancashire City Region Development

Programmes to provide input to CSR 2007.

o Sub Regional Partnerships (SRPs) - Memorandums of Understanding between

the Agency and the SRPs have been signed with four of the five Sub-Regional

Partnerships - Greater Manchester, Cheshire & Warrington, Lancashire and Merseyside. Cumbria Vision Renaissance was established as a new company

during the year and its Business Plan for 2006/07, incorporating West Lakes

Renaissance URC and Rural Regeneration Cumbria, was endorsed by NWDA

Board in March 2006. Sub-regional Action plans (SRAPs) for 2006/07 aligned to the Regional Economic Strategy were submitted by SRPs to the Agency in

February and endorsed by the NWDA Board in March 2006. Detailed 3 year

action plans will be prepared by 31 July 2006. SRPs were fully involved in the RES Advisory Group that helped to formulate the new RES. They will be engaged

in RES implementation as both lead organisations for specific actions and through

coordinating and monitoring sub-regional RES Action Plans.

• Encouraging innovation – With the aim of encouraging innovation and incubation

support, the NWDA supported Northwest Science as it revised the Science Strategy

during the period for launch early in 2006/07. During the year several major initiatives have been progressed. The North West Laser Engineering Consortium is a new

strategic alliance between the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester. To improve

incubation performance in the Northwest, the Agency funded Incubation Northwest which will provide networking and professional development for all 25 Incubators in

operation. The new NWDA funded incubator at Liverpool Science Park has just

opened and looks set to exceed its target business support rate - 10 companies are now in residence.

7

• Higher education and business interaction - With over 1,800 businesses supported

in new collaborations with the knowledge base during the year, this has been a major priority for the Agency. Through the Higher Education Innovation Fund 2, Knowledge

Transfer Capability Funding has been granted. The funding involves much smaller

sums which was given to 8 other Northwest Higher Education Institutions:- Bolton

University, Chester University, Edge Hill College, Liverpool Hope University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Salford University and the University of Central

Lancashire.

• Establishment of New Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) - The region now

has 5 URCs in Liverpool, East Manchester, West Cumbria and two new URCs in

Blackpool and Central Salford. Following granting of URC status by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Boards for each of the two new companies were put in place and are now

operational. With NWDA support, the case for the Regional Casino licence was

submitted with Blackpool signalled as the preferred location. Central Salford’s focus is

moving from its completed Vision and Regeneration Framework to implementing the Vision.

• Support for Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders (HMR) – Oldham and Rochdale

HMR partners have developed a Strategic Action Plan and set up an associated

Board and Executive Group to take forward the economic and spatial framework

covering the two boroughs. The Partnership received confirmation from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) of a further £68.5m for

April 2006 to March 2008, while Newheartlands was awarded £97.7m for the same

period with ELEVATE securing £96m for East Lancashire. Manchester/Salford HMR Partnership has completed its negotiations with DCLG, and is currently awaiting

confirmation of its award, which is expected to be c£100m. The Furness and West

Cumbria Housing Market initiative will be taken forward under West Lakes Renaissance URC. The Agency continues to work closely with HMR and regional

partners, at Board and officer levels, on the development and delivery of agreed key

priorities.

• Leadership of Regional Skills Partnership (RSP) - The new Northwest RSP was

formally established, with a structure comprising Board, Executive Team and wider

Partners Action Group. The RSP continued to progress a number of themes through the eight thematic workstreams. In December 2005 the RSP published the Northwest

Statement of Learning and Skills Priorities 2006/07. These priorities are integrated and

embedded within the revised RES have also been used to shape Learning and Skills Council Planning. A clear process has been developed for the implementation of

Sector Skills Agreements in the Northwest via Sector Skills and Productivity Alliances.

The RSP Executive Working Group was established to focus on and drive forward

brokerage issues involving LSC, NWDA, Sector Skills Development Agency, Sector Skills Councils and the Department for Education and Skills. Plans are being finalised

which would lead to the development of an integrated brokerage model in the

Northwest.

• Action Planning with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) - VCS are now

established as the lead partner in the Regional Economic Strategy for tackling social

exclusion and improving community cohesion. Work has begun to develop a strategy with the VCS to commission a piece of work to demonstrate the economic value of

VCS in the Northwest. The Agency addressed the Urban Forum on the importance of

the Voluntary Sector to the economic and physical health of a region.

• Marketing and Communications Strategy – The NWDA commissioned MORI to

repeat the ‘Perceptions of the Northwest’ Survey that has enabled the Agency to benchmark perceptions by visitors and businesses to develop the Agency’s marketing

8

strategies. The positive results will be used for future tourism marketing at a regional

and sub regional level.

• Development of Business Link Services - The NWDA Board approved the

Business Case for a new Business Link service from April 2007. Work has been

undertaken throughout the year on re-engineering the service to deliver a service

which meets the needs of businesses, achieves greater coverage, is targeted at the region’s priority sectors and offers better value for money. Transition plans are now

being finalised with partners and current service providers, and a Transition Team is

being recruited to start work early in 2006/07.

• Strategic Responsibility for Tourism - The new sub-regional Tourist Boards were

bedded in during the year. The English Regions Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) report was also launched. A TSA seeks to understand contributions to the economy of

tourism to aid strategic economic planning. Following recommendations made in the

Tourism Cluster Study, a Tourism Development Group was set up that involves and

engages all Tourist Boards.

• Lead Role in Skills Development, Employment and Higher Education - The

NWDA has the position of lead RDA on skills development where it represents the RDA network in negotiations and discussions with Government on skills policy. As part

of the work plan for the period, the NWDA was instrumental in initiating and

contributing to a capacity building programme across all RDAs in skills and is in frequent communication with the RDA Network at Board, Chief Executive and Director

level. Strategic responses and briefings were made to Government including the

Government’s Further Education White Paper and the Department for Work and

Pensions Welfare Reform Paper. Representation was provided for all RDAs at national level on an extensive range of policy groups (circa 20) including:

o Skills Alliance. o Skills Alliance Delivery Group.

o Regional Skills Partnership Steering Group.

o National RDA and LSC Skills Directors Group. o Joint HEFCE Steering Group.

o Skills Stakeholders Group.

Further contributions were made to national policy through membership of the Foster Review and Advisory Group on Further Education. The Skills Brokerage bid was

delivered to the National LSC Office on 31 March 2006.

• Organisational structures and processes - In January 2006 an Organisation

Review was launched to realign the NWDA Organisational Structure in support of the

following objectives:

o Enable effective delivery of the new RES

o Strengthen the organisation’s capacity to lead on policy

o Improve project and programme delivery, corporate effectiveness and agency wide co-ordination of relationships with sub-regional and local partners.

o Provide a pro-active response to issues that arise from the Government’s

Comprehensive Spending Review in 2007.

To achieve the set objectives, a new High Level Operating Model for the organisation

was developed which resulted in the ‘Development & Partnerships’ Directorate being

disbanded and two new Directorates, ‘Corporate Policy & Partnerships’ and ‘Infrastructure’, being created. The project delivery function will be absorbed into an

expanded Operations Directorate. By September 2006 the new structure is expected

to be fully operational.

9

SECTION C - NWDA ACTIVITY

Examples of Strategic Added Value:

Developing relationships with strategic companies

Promoting science and technology within the region New Urban Regeneration Companies launched

Implementation of new Framework for HMR Pathfinders

Upskilling regeneration professionals through RENEW Managing the Rural Regeneration Companies

Developing the Rural Delivery Framework

Maximising the contribution of the NHS Partnership working with the Voluntary and Community Sector

Contributing to Public Service Agreement Targets:

Enterprise

Productivity

Regional Economic Performance Science and Innovation

UK Trade and Investment

RES PRIORITY ONE: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Business drivers of Gross Value Added: Within business development a series of regional outcome indicators are used to measure

progress in increasing GVA. Full details of each indicator can be found in Annex Two.

Commentary:

• Productivity: The Northwest of England had a GVA per hour worked of 94.4% of the

UK figure in 2003. This ranks the region at ninth out of the UK regions and

substantiates the focus of the new RES on the need to improve productivity in the region. (Source: National Statistics).

• Trade: Latest export figures reveal a regional export value of £19.1bn for 2005, a growth of £2.1bn (12%) from 2003. Within the region there were 7,139 recorded

exporters (2005) compared to 6,835 in 2003, a rise in numbers of 4%. (Source: UKTI).

• Enterprise: Recent data on VAT registrations per 10,000 of working age population shows an enterprise deficit in the Northwest compared to England and Wales. In,

2004, there were 39.5 start-ups registered per 10,000 population, 16.7% below the

national rate of 47.4%. This deficit has fallen over the last ten years but remains too high. (Source: Regional Economic Forecasting Panel).

• Growth in business: Taking movement in the proportion of business units within different employment bands as a proxy for business growth, between 2002 and 2004

the number of units with 1-10 employees grew by 4% with those with 11-49

employees falling marginally by 0.2%. However, there were steep rises in the numbers

within the higher employing bands – the 50-199 rose by 5.3% and those with 200+ rose by 4.6%. The trend is that the number of business units within the higher

employment bands is increasing which is an indication of improved economic growth. (Source: NOMIS).

• Innovation: ‘High-end’ innovation, measured by total research and development expenditure, has been relatively strong in the Northwest, exceeding the UK rate until

10

2002. However, between 2002 and 2003 research and development spend as a

proportion of GVA in the Northwest fell from 2.3% to 2.0% which is below UK levels.

Research and development expenditure by business in the Northwest is significantly (13.9%) above the UK rate, but decreased by 0.2% between 1999 and 2003. An

important issue for the Northwest is how expenditure in research and development is

translated into new or improved products. In 2004 the Northwest had 274 patents

granted, a fall from 326 in 2003. (Source: Regional Economic Forecasting Panel, The Patents Office).

• Environmental Sustainability: According to latest figures, in 2003, the Northwest had

a CO2 emissions level of 62,826 kilotons. This represents 11% of the United Kingdom total of 568,105 kilotons. (Source: DEFRA).

The overall trend is one of poor productivity, enterprise and innovation performance but good performance in the growth of businesses (in terms of employment), exporting and

the level of private investment in research and development.

RES Objective 1: Exploit the growth potential of business sectors

A range of business sectors has been identified which are internationally competitive and with potential for growth. A cluster development approach has been adopted to encourage

the growth of these sectors. Businesses within clusters typically have higher Gross Value

Added (GVA) per capita, invest more in Research and Development, pay higher salaries

and export more.

• Sector Action Plans – In 2005/06, the Agency completed a major review of the

cluster programme with new service level agreements in place for Regional Cluster Organisations (RCOs) from 1 April 2006. RCOs will have redefined relationships with

the future Business Links. Individual sector strategies are now being reviewed, for

example food, digital & creative industries and business and professional sectors, which will clarify support arrangements.

• Sector Business Advice - The pioneering Regional Business Advisor project

provides sector specialist business advice to SMEs in the ERDF Objective 2 area. In 2005-06 4,400 jobs were created or safeguarded. The project has now been extended

into Phase 2 from January 2006 and the concept of sector specialist advice will

become mainstream in the future Business Link’s targeted service.

• Biomedical - The Agency worked closely with businesses to support their

development in a number of ways:

o NW Biotech Financial Advisory Service (BFAS) - a DTI/NWDA funded scheme to

enable SMEs to access professional advice to grow their companies. 20

companies have been helped by this scheme.

o Sponsorship of and participation in (as mentor) of the DTI supported Invest Fest

workshops in Manchester for SMEs to develop funding pitches for investors.

o NWDA funded Core Technology Facility (grow on space for bio and high tech

companies at Manchester University) with first tenant now in place, a US

company investment – New England Blood Bank Inc.

o NW Institute for Biohealth Informatics (NIBHI) is now working with Astra Zeneca

and IBM as well as a number of smaller companies and has set up the Population

Lab’ in Salford to support with clinical trials design and analysis.

o Wolfson Medical Imaging Centre - now operating and a number of company

11

collaborations are being developed.

• National Bio Manufacturing Centre - The construction of the facility is now complete with the final fitting out being undertaken. The Centre is a state of the art facility that

will develop and manufacture new medicines. The NWDA announced the launch of a

pioneering £2.7m access fund to help small biotech companies access the services of

the National Bio Manufacturing Centre.

• Media Zone - The NWDA has continued to work closely with local and regional

partners, to bring about a step-change in the growth of the creative industries’ sector, and to ensure that the full benefits arising from the BBC’s planned relocation of

departments from London to the Northwest region in 2010 are secured. The planned

development of a Media Zone to accommodate the BBC’s relocation and other media companies and facilities is a key component of the overall strategy. Two alternative

short-listed proposals in Manchester and Salford were evaluated during 2005/06, and

a BBC decision on its preferred Media Zone option is expected in summer 2006.

• Aerospace - The NWDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BAe Systems

to work together in developing a strategy for the North West Aerospace industry. This

includes a review of a long term vision for the development of the BAE Systems Samlesbury site near Preston as a Regional Aerospace Business Park.

• Internationalisation of trade and investment - A new Internationalisation Strategy is

being prepared which will be due by the end of July 2006 for discussion with the International Business Forum. The NWDA agreed £1m funding for additional

international trade activity in 2006/07. Over the period, 485 Northwest companies

were advised on becoming new exporters or on moving into new markets.

• Digital Academy (Liverpool) - Phase 2 of the Liverpool Digital refurbishment

(9,000sq ft of “grow on” space) was completed during 2005/06.

RES Objective 2: Improve the competitiveness and productivity of businesses

High quality business support, supply chain development, more effective management and workforce development, and mentoring will all be required in order to increase the

number of companies achieving business excellence standards.

• Business Support for Strategic Companies – The Agency has worked hard to develop and maintain strong relationships with strategic companies throughout the

region, often helping to co-ordinate the response to difficulties at a number of large

firms. Examples include:

o Leyland Trucks: In 2005/06 the Agency undertook work with Leyland Trucks to

support their engagement in global supply chains to reduce costs for some existing models. This work will be used to further rationalise their supply chain for

future models.

o Vauxhall Motors on a major site improvement programme where the Task Group involves DTI and Treasury. Following the recent announcement of job losses, a

rapid response fund has been set up by partners including the NWDA, JobCentre

Plus, The Learning and Skills Council, the Northwest Automotive Alliance and sub-regional partners. The fund will be used for re-training and re-employment

guidance.

o Bentley Motors with a supplier/procurement process improvement programme.

o TVR Cars with a site move and process/quality improvements.

12

o Jaguar Cars with site developments and a supply chain programme.

o BAE Systems and Rolls Royce both with advanced technology programmes.

o BAE Systems regarding a future aircraft carrier programme.

o The NWDA awarded a grant of £1.25m to United Biscuits to assist the company in

securing the long term future of the McVitie’s factory in Carlisle, one of the

businesses badly affected by the flooding in the area earlier in the year.

o Ongoing assistance to Scottish and Southern Energy with planning consents for

major investment at the Fiddlers Ferry Power Station.

o Advice to Ineos Chlor on the development of natural gas storage facilities in

Northwich’s salt caverns.

In total, 1,269 companies were assisted with supply chain projects in 2005/06. Other

support work delivered and still in operation include developments on:

o Automotive: National Automotive Supply Chain.

o Manufacturing: The Manufacturing Advisory Service.

o Aerospace: Advanced Materials Structures.

• Nuclear - The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority was established in April 2005, with

its Headquarters in Cumbria. The Agency completed a supply chain map for the

Northwest Nuclear Industry. Also completed was an export capability study for West Cumbrian companies on the decommissioning supply chain. In conjunction with key

stakeholders the Agency played an important role in creating a strategy for public

sector support for the nuclear industry in the Northwest.

• Manufacturing Advisory Service - Under the NWDA funded Manufacturing Advisory

Service, 449 businesses were given business advice in 2005/06.

• Business Links - The Agency continued to develop the existing service in order to

improve customer understanding and provide more effective delivery arrangements.

This led to a 10% increase in productivity with around 68,000 businesses being helped, with over 5,100 of them undertaking intensive change programmes to improve

business output. Customer satisfaction is at its highest ever level of 92%. Future

planned changes will make the service even more efficient, improve alignment with the RES and make a greater contribution to the regional productivity gap.

• Inward Investment - 112 inward investment successes for the region were recorded

involving almost £2.1bn of capital expenditure and the creation/safeguarding of 6,803 jobs. This is a 22% increase over last year’s performance in terms of number of

successes. The NWDA were directly involved in securing 40 of the

112 inward investment successes, creating/safeguarding 2,722 jobs for the region. Additional achievements include:

o The USA North of England (NOE) team has achieved 25 successes this year creating over 1,400 jobs. This is a 16% increase on last year’s performance. The

Northwest won 52% of all NOE projects.

o In Japan, the NOE team has achieved a significant increase in performance on last year. The team reported 13 projects creating over 200 jobs. 46% of these

projects were in the Northwest. 6 of the 13 successes were university research

and development collaboration investments.

13

o The Australian NOE team reported 9 new investments to the North of England

area creating 165 jobs. 66% of the projects secured were in the Northwest.

o A number of key events were organised and/or attended with partners to promote

the region as a major investment location: the Paris Airshow, Bio 2005, Call Centre

Expo, Shared Services Week, Hanover Fair, Clean Energy, and the Northwest Golf Event.

• Centec - There was funding support to help the relocation of the business support group CENTEC to its new headquarters in Aintree. The move was made possible with

support from Liverpool Land Development Company (LLDC), the NWDA and the

Approach 580 Strategic Investment Area Partnership. The move sees Centec expanding into premises that will allow the organisation to continue supporting small

businesses and would-be entrepreneurs. The new Centec Business Centre is a mix of

warehouse, light industrial and office buildings.

• Business Finance - During the year the Agency has continued to stimulate the

establishment and development of high growth oriented small businesses through

seed and venture capital investment. £5.8m of investment came from business angels registered with the Agency’s TEChINVEST services and the Region’s seed

and venture capital funds (Risings Stars Growth Fund, North West Business

Investment Scheme and the North West Seed Fund) have levered an additional £53.8m of investment in the year from the private sector. This investment created or

safeguarded 198 jobs and £20.7m of sales. Businesses requiring small loans have

benefited from NWDA backed schemes too. Cumulatively 20 creative businesses

have benefited from the Northwest Culture Finance scheme and 21 social enterprises from the NW Community Loan Scheme.

• Selective Finance for Investment (SFI) - During the year, 128 applications for SFI were received and 112 offers accepted to the total value of £21.6m. These projects

will lever £140.5m capital investment, and are forecast to create 2,780 jobs and

safeguard 1,167 jobs, at an average cost per job of £5,488.

• GRAND - There continues to be a strong demand for these research and

development grants, which the Agency inherited from the DTI in April 2005. £3.9m

was spent in 2005/06. The scheme provides grants to individuals and SMEs to research and develop technologically innovative products and processes.

• Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) - The Agency hosted a regional BIDS forum in September to review progress and share best practice. During the year, successful

ballots have led to the formation of three new Business Improvement Districts in the

region. These are in Liverpool City Centre, Blackpool and Keswick Town Centre.

• Utilisation of ICT - Following detailed review and consultation in 2004/5, a revised

NW ICT Strategy was launched formally at the NWDA AGM in September 2005 and

now sits as the official policy document on ICT for the Region. Over 4,123 businesses were assisted by the Agency with utilisation of ICT in and for their business in

2005/06.

• Resource Efficiency - Over 1,170 businesses received business support in resource

efficiency due NWDA activity in 2005/06. The Agency continued to expand and deliver

the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme and supporting

projects. A communications strategy for regional BREW coordination has been developed to identify coherent and effective communication channels for the BREW

programme in the Northwest. A Wider Waste Action Plan has been developed, in

consultation with regional business stakeholders, to identify the key waste

14

management issues and to identify synergies and priorities for the region in the

management of Wider Wastes. Funding has been provided to the National Industrial

Symbiosis Programme and Enworks, to extend their activities in the region. Several stakeholder engagement events have been held in the region and the Northwest

BREW Partners continue to meet quarterly to aid greater co-ordination of activities. A

significant proposal for a Northwest Virtual Centre of Excellence for Waste Technology

has been approved.

• ENWORKS - The Northwest-based environmental business support programme has

been recognised on the European stage as a success story. The lessons learnt from the Northwest were shared during the European Commission’s ‘Competitive Regions

– Shaping Best Practice’ seminar held in Germany. ENWORKS was selected as an

example of best practice, meeting the Commission’s recommendations that projects should clearly foster the principle of sustainable development.

• Sustainable Development and the Regional Economic Strategy - Sustainable

development is embedded within the new RES. The Environmental Economy of the Northwest Study was completed and was used as an input to the RES. The SEA

Appraisal of the RES was successfully completed.

• Renewable Energy - The Prime Minister Tony Blair, MP switched on the NWDA

supported Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) solar tower project in Manchester, the

largest of its kind ever undertaken in the UK. Panels on the South side of the building went live for the first time feeding electricity into the national grid. Once all the 7,000

photovoltaic panels are in place, it is expected that the solar panels will create

180,000 units of renewable electricity each year - enough energy to make nine million

cups of tea.

• Regional Stakeholders Environment Conference - On 2nd June 2005,

Environmental awareness was championed by the NWDA. Led by NWDA Board Member and Environment Sub Committee chair, Joe Dwek, the conference was an

opportunity for key regional stakeholders to review and comment upon key areas of

the NWDA’s activity within the environmental agenda.

• Responsibility Northwest - A £3m programme of awareness raising, benchmarking

and mentoring for Northwest Businesses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

was launched in March 2006. The programme aims to provide a framework for CSR activity within the region, harnessing the activities of regional organisations such as

Business in the Community (BITC), Chambers and Enworks. 514 businesses were

assisted on Corporate Social responsibility during the 2005/06 year.

• Other Sustainable Development Initiatives - A Carbon Trust Audit of the Agency’s

CO2 emissions has commenced and input has been provided in to a feasibility study

of on-site renewable energy generation at the Agency’s Headquarters. Major activities throughout the period to support sustainable programmes and project delivery have

included the development of policy criteria for sustainable building projects submitted

for discussion. A biennial Environmental Audit of the NWDA was completed. Other major activities during the period have included:

o A two year study on the potential impact of Climate Change on the visitor economy was completed, published and launched.

o Development of a regional Climate Change & Energy Action Plan commenced.

o A study on how the region’s natural environment assets can be better marketed

has been completed.

15

o A study looking at the economic potential of the region’s wetlands was

completed.

o The Natural Economy Northwest project to maximize the economic contribution of

Natural Environment was approved.

o The £6m Inland Coastal Recreational Bathing Waters Project led by the Environment Agency was completed. The project worked with International

partners to develop tools, policies and support for improving waterways in the

region. The project received £250k funding from the NWDA.

o Operation Eden Project - a project led by the Church of England to engage multi-

faith local communities with environmental regeneration and resource efficiency, completed its second year.

RES Objective 3: Develop and exploit the region’s knowledge base

In 2005/06, 443 Northwest companies received support with innovation activity. Highlights

of the Agency’s direct contribution to the pursuit of innovation objectives and actions set

out in the RES can be summarised as follows:

• Northwest Science Strategy - A revised Science Strategy was developed during the

period for launch early in 2006/07. It will continue the objective of the Northwest to be renowned as an area of world-class scientific achievement, creating a magnet for

talent and investment and a driver for innovation & enterprise. It has been very clearly

aligned to the Regional Economic Strategy which was revised during the same period.

A major regional stakeholder consultation led the review.

• North West Laser Engineering Consortium (NWLEC) - A new strategic alliance

between the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester was announced during the period that will deliver a £2.5m scheme, funded by the NWDA, which produces state

of the art equipment for laser processing and will establish the Northwest as the

leading region for laser capabilities.

• Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus - The NWDA announced additional

funding at Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus to support the Cockcroft

Institute, the UK’s National Centre for Accelerator Science. 21 companies are now in occupation at Daresbury Innovation Centre as part of the Agency’s aim to encourage

enterprise through its business incubators. Agreement has been reached with

Government that Daresbury will be seen as one of only 2 key strategic sites in the UK for major science investment. This was announced in the March 2006 Budget.

• Incubation - Activities and achievements are reported under ‘Encouraging innovation’

in the Strategic Priorities section.

• Science Parks - There has been a great deal of Science Park activity during the

period. In Liverpool, Phase 1a of the Liverpool Science Park is now open and plans are being developed for a second phase. In Manchester, a request has been received

for gap funding for the next Technopark building. In Lancaster, the Agency submitted

an outline planning application for a major science park adjacent to Lancaster University in collaboration with Lancaster City Council and Lancaster University.

Progress on Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus is outlined above.

• The Photon Science Institute (PSI) - With support from the NWDA the University of Manchester launched a new £40m world-class research institute, which will pioneer

cutting-edge light and laser technologies. The Photon Science Institute (PSI) will be

the largest research and teaching centre of its kind in the UK with a projected annual

16

research income of £5m and more than 30 full-time academic staff. Photon Science –

‘light for science’ – encompasses the application of light in many diverse fields.

Common everyday applications include optical fibre telecommunications and DVD players.

• The Joule Centre - The Centre is now formally contracted with Manchester University

and activity commenced in October 2005. The Joule Centre was set up with NWDA support as a body for supporting academic and industrial research into the area of

sustainable energy generation.

• The Nowgen Centre - The new multi-million pound, Manchester-based centre for

genetics in healthcare and home of the Northwest Genetics Knowledge Park, was

officially opened in April 2006. The Centre, which cost £4m, has been jointly funded by the NWDA and ERDF. The Nowgen project is collaboration between the Central

Manchester & Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust and the

Universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Lancaster.

• Higher Education Innovation Fund 2 - In the previous the period the Agency had

granted match funding of £11.2m for knowledge exchange activities. During 2005/06

activity continued on the four different types of project.

1. Single institution activity: Solo projects whose aim is to grow internal capability in

terms of knowledge transfer. They were undertaken at Cumbria Institute of the Arts, Liverpool University, Liverpool John Moores University, Manchester

University, and St. Martins College in Lancaster.

2. Knowledge Transfer Capability Funding: Involves much smaller sums (max £287,300) for projects led by the 8 other Northwest HEIs:- Bolton University,

Chester University, Edge Hill College in West Lancashire, Liverpool Hope

University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Salford University and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN).

In both cases, the funding has largely been spent on establishing knowledge transfer units and investing in staff development to increase lecturers’ understanding of, and

engagement in, enterprise activities with both business and the community.

3. Centres for Knowledge Exchange (CKEs): There are four collaborative projects which build on particular areas of expertise in the participating HEIs:

a. Graduate Retention: NWDA funding has enabled 184 students to received employability training, 459 employers to be made aware of the CKE, and

106 business projects to be undertaken.

b. Construction: This has enabled Salford to become the focus for knowledge

transfer in the Northwest in construction, recognised as an exemplar by HEFCE in their annual report.

c. Crime: This has served as a network for businesses in the public and

private sectors, educational institutions, police, local councils, and the Northwest Fraud Forum.

d. Rural Economy: UCLAN has also been able to take a part in the national

Knowledge Exchange on the Rural Economy.

4. A Collaborative Project: Between the Manchester based Universities to support the

development of the Knowledge Capital with 7 streams of activity.

17

RES PRIORITY TWO: REGENERATION

Examples of Strategic Added Value:

New Urban regeneration Companies.

Housing Market renewal Pathfinders. RENEW.

Rural Renaissance.

Contributing to Public Service Agreements:

Employment Enterprise

Neighbourhood Renewal

Rural Productivity Sustainable Communities

Sustainable Food and Farming

Voluntary and Community Sector

Business drivers of Social Inclusion:

Under regeneration a series of regional outcome indicators are used to measure progress in improving social inclusion. Full details of each indicator can be found in Annex Two.

Commentary:

• Income Support Claimants: The number of Income Support Claimants as a

percentage of the working population in the Region has fallen from 8.3% in 2003 to

7.6% in 2005. In the same period, England had a claimant level of 5.8% in 2005.

RES Objective 4: Deliver urban renaissance

As well managing outstanding Single Regeneration Budget schemes and the implementation of successor regeneration schemes, the Agency has focussed on a range

of strategic sub-regional and local initiatives. Significant progress was made in 2005/06

across a range of urban renaissance initiatives, including the following:

• Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) - The Northwest region now has five URCs

which are developing and delivering significant urban renaissance initiatives. Some

examples are highlighted below:

o Liverpool Vision - Following major development work the major Cruise Liner

Terminal and Canal Link projects were approved. The main construction contract for the Kings Dock Conference and Arena facility was let and work started on the

construction of the arena, conference and exhibition facilities and mixed use

development, a flagship project which is funded by Objective 1, English

Partnerships, Liverpool City Council and a £15m NWDA grant. The Mann Island Waterfront development project was approved which involves an NWDA

contribution of £40m towards a new world class museum and adjacent mixed use

developments. Construction of the 1m sq ft. Paradise Street development progressed apace alongside a number of major commercial and residential

development. It is clear from the extent of construction activity that the

regeneration of Liverpool City Centre is now underway. A mid term evaluation of the operation of Liverpool Vision – one of the UK’s first Urban Regeneration

Companies (URCs) - concluded that since formation in 1999 the company has

18

been a strong and positive mechanism for change in Liverpool City Centre.

o New East Manchester - In East Manchester, Central Park strategic site made a great step forward with the completion in September of One Central Park which

accommodates Skills Training, post graduate research and a Business Enterprise

Centre and the new Headquarters for Fujitsu were also completed at the site. The

main £36m Gateway entrance and transport interchange is now complete and the recent award by the Agency of a contract with United Utilities also puts in place

electrical services capacity for further development plots. The Agency served its

final General Vesting Declaration in September 2005 at Ancoats to conclude site assembly for this mixed use regeneration initiative. The Agency approved the

NEM Medlock Valley Environmental Programme with funding of £2m towards a

major programme of environmental improvements within the corridor linking urban districts.

o West Lakes Renaissance - West Lakes secured the acquisition of 40 hectares of

land from Associated British Ports at Barrow, essential to support delivery of the Waterfront Barrow Master plan. Further development work is being undertaken on

the Derwent Forest project and this should lead to a firm proposal to the Agency in

2006/07.

o New URCs: Re Blackpool and Central Salford - Following granting of URC status

by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Boards for each Company are in place and operational. Business plans for 2006/07 have been approved by the Agency. With

NWDA support, the case for the Regional Casino licence was submitted by the

due date of 31 March 2006 with Blackpool signalled as the preferred location.

Early win projects completed with NWDA funding of £13m included the Blackpool Central Gateway and a programme of strategic land acquisitions in support of a

Casino/Conference Quarter proposal. Central Salford’s focus is moving from its

completed Vision and Regeneration Framework to implementing the Vision.

• Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) - In the Northwest, LEGI has made an

important contribution to the work of local and regional partners, in terms of developing Local Area Agreement 4th Block proposals and supporting the regional

review of business support services. The Agency worked jointly with GONW on the

development of the region’s first round LEGI bids. 10 successful bids were approved

nationally. St Helens, was awarded £13.4m over the next 3 years.

• Brownfield Land - In September 2005, the Agency announced a review of the current

regional approach to land reclamation within the context of the revised Regional Economic Strategy. The Agency continues to assist English Partnerships in its work to

produce a National Brownfield Land Strategy and respond to the initiatives under it as

they emerge. In Lancashire, the strategic £21m REMADE programme of land

reclamation for soft end use began in earnest with the start of works on reclamation of a major gateway site to Preston and the completion of the Luneside Millennium

Cycleway which is part of the national SUSTRANS network. The preferred developer

for the Luneside East mixed use scheme in Lancaster City Centre was approved and a CPO Inquiry was completed. The Agency is providing £3.8m funding support. 327

hectares of brownfield land were reclaimed or remediated in 2005/06.

• Newlands - North Manchester’s Harpurhey district is to receive more than £1m of

regeneration funding to create and manage a new community woodland known as

Moston Vale. The site has been selected and approved for regeneration under the

‘Newlands’ scheme which aims to rejuvenate 435 hectares of derelict land, boosting economic and social conditions, and Moston Vale is the first Newlands site to be given

the green light for work to start. The NWDA also announced that in response to the

regeneration needs of Merseyside, Bidston Moss in Birkenhead is to receive more

19

than £2m of investment, to re-develop and manage it as a new public recreation

facility and community woodland.

• Housing Market Renewal - Achievements of the HMR areas are detailed within the

Strategic Priorities section.

• RENEW Northwest - A series of initiatives were developed during the period by RENEW Northwest, the region’s urban centre of excellence. A RENEW leadership

network has been initiated, aimed at public and private sector leaders in creating

sustainable communities. A leadership residential was held for the 5 Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders. The search to find some of the most successful regeneration

schemes from across the Northwest has been a resounding success with over 40

applications to the RENEW Exemplar Learning Programme 2006. The scheme focuses on learning & best practice in regeneration and was open to any partnership

or organisation that has made a significant contribution to delivering sustainable

communities. The RENEW Northwest Showcase programme reached over 4,000

practioners with a series of good practice masterclasses, workshops, events and training programmes. The Design Liverpool project has been established with

Liverpool Vision & CABE and the RENEW Rooms opened as a resource centre for the

regeneration community.

• Coastal Resorts - Strategy agreements have been prepared and agreed for the

resorts of Southport, Morecambe and the Wirral Coast (New Brighton, Hoylake and West Kirby). Urban Splash’s refurbishment of the iconic Midland Hotel in Morecambe

is on site and progressing well. Lancaster Vision Board is currently consulting on its

plans, which include the regeneration of Morecambe.

• The Historic Towns and Cities in England’s Northwest study - The completed

study identifies a vision together with strategic development priorities for five towns/

cities across the region where there exists significant potential for heritage to act as a driver for economic development and regeneration. The five towns/cities are Chester,

Carlisle, Bolton, Lancaster and Birkenhead. The Agency jointly commissioned the

study with English Heritage. Both Agencies are now carefully considering the consultants’ recommendations.

• East Lancashire Regional Park - Over the course of the year the Park has created/

safeguarded 23 jobs, provided over 1,600 person/ weeks of construction work, supported the improvement of over 2,000 sqm of business floorspace. Almost 1,600

young people in projects benefiting their personal and social development have been

engaged. Advice has been provided to 52 businesses and 82 hectares of new woodland has been planted. Almost 1,500 people have been involved in the use of

improved sports facilities. Finally over 50 community groups have been involved, with

over 1,100 residents in voluntary work. £681,000 of SRB spending levered in over

£2.9m public and private sector spending.

RES Objective 5: Rural Renaissance

• Rural Renaissance - During the course of 2005/06, 12 new farm enterprises were

created as a result of NWDA funded activity. The delivery of Rural Renaissance is

seeing high levels of investment across the region. During the course of the year Rural Renaissance was the subject of a mid term evaluation. The study provided an

endorsement of many of the activities of Rural Renaissance together with a series of

recommendations designed to guarantee that the remainder of the programme is

delivered effectively. All three sub-regional delivery bodies have now substantially committed their approved lifetime funding.

o Cumbria Rural Regeneration Company (RRC) - Highlights of the year’s

20

achievements include:

a. A second phase of the Cumbria Events Fund 2005-2008 was developed.

b. Rydal Hall Gardens and Sizergh Castle were supported to develop high

standard visitor facilities. c. Lakeland Distillers, part of a Scottish Distillery company, were helped to set up

a base at Staveley Mill Yard outside Kendal.

d. A second phase of the Small Business Capital Grants was developed

providing grants to businesses to purchase equipment that will improve efficiency and productivity.

e. RRC worked closely with the company Hawkshead, to encourage them to re-

establish a headquarters base within Cumbria. f. RRC along with the Market Town Initiative in Millom, have supported the

development of a Network Centre. RRC have now offered £30m to applicants

and to 31 March 2006, £14m had been spent. g. To 31 March 2006, RRC had created 607 new jobs and safeguarded 98 jobs

safeguarded, assisted 725 people to get a job, created 320 businesses,

supported 191 businesses and enabled 230 individuals to undertake

workbased training.

o The Lancashire Rural Partnership (LRP) - Through the Lancashire Rural Recovery Action Plan (LRRAP), 2005/06 saw the development and implementation of two

key projects:

a. The New Environmental Assets in the Ribble Estuary - A £2.5m (NWDA

£480,000) project consisting of a partnership between the NWDA, RSPB,

DEFRA, the Environmental Agency and Lancashire County Council. The

project provided the resource to develop and purchase land in and around the Ribble Estuary to develop a strategic wildlife resource as part of the Ribble

Estuary Regional Park. The project will provide the opportunity to develop and

promote green tourism and new recreational opportunities along the Lancashire coast.

b. Rural Recovery Grant Fund - A £1m project managed by Lancashire County Developments Ltd to provide support for small businesses across rural

Lancashire.

o Cheshire Rural Enterprise (CRE) - 2005/06 saw the development of Saddle Up, one of CRE’s flagship projects developed to provide support for the equestrian

sector in Cheshire. Following a series of consultation events this £690,000 project

developed a series of themes including business support, promotion of shows and the development of more off road riding to develop and join up the equestrian

sector.

• Regional Rural Delivery Framework (RRDF) - The NWDA engaged with the

development of the RRDF with senior representation on the newly formed Rural

Priority Board and Rural Practitioners Group. The Agency is leading on the

development of two emerging priorities within the framework: Economy and Service Provision. The final iteration of the Delivery Framework will be submitted to DEFRA

early in 2006/07.

• The Countryside Agency Transition - Over the course of the year the NWDA

ensured the efficient transfer of projects and resources from the Countryside Agency.

The majority of the legacy programmes ended on 31 March 2006.

• Market Towns Programme - Achievements through the year include the completion

by Frodsham Forward of the renovation of Castle Park. £1m was granted for a unique

21

programme to help regenerate Neston, through the New Neston Partnership, the

area’s Market Town Initiative creating jobs and opportunities for learning. Two new

major programmes were agreed for Padiham and Keswick, each receiving £1m from the NWDA.

• Other rural activities - The successful Planning Facilitation Service set up to promote

and assist farm diversification and rural development was extended. Wheels to Work, a scheme run by the Connexions Service and designed to assist young people to get

into work, education or training was approved. The Lancashire Rural Pathfinder

project secured a further £1.8m investment into the county.

RES Objective 6: Secure Economic Inclusion

• NHS - The NWDA played an active role as part of a national steering group within the

Sustainable Development Commission in producing a self-assessment tool for all

NHS organisations on good corporate citizenship and sustainability. All NHS

organisations are required by the NHS Chief Executive to use this tool to develop policies on such matters as encouraging the sourcing of goods and services locally to

stimulate local economies, and to use the NHS employment power to offer

employment to disadvantaged groups, including the long-term unemployed. NWDA has established a working partnership between Stockport Foundation NHS Trust and

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council to work through the Sustainable

Development Commission’s self-assessment tool on corporate social responsibility. NWDA has funded a project officer post to accelerate the process.

• Resettlement of Offenders – The Agency facilitated a partnership between Haverigg

Prison, the housing department of Barrow in Furness Borough Council, and with the Anchor Housing Association, that will not only allow prisoners to help regenerate

housing stock in Barrow, but also to extend a prisoner’s portfolio of achievement for

presentation to prospective employers. A similar arrangement has been created between Haverigg Prison and Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, Kirkham Prison and New

Progress Housing Association.

• Equality - NWDA has been involved in a cross agency Equality Strategy Group with

GONW and NWRA to oversee the implementation of the region's Equality Strategy

priorities: economic participation for all, reducing hate crime and violence, and

promoting diversity as an asset to the Northwest. The NWDA has taken lead responsibility for implementing the area of work around 'economic participation for all’

and is developing an action plan as well as integrating the objectives within the RES.

The Agency's Race Equality Scheme has been developed, aiding the NWDA in meeting its important commitments around diversity as an organisation.

• Voluntary and Community Sector – Achievements with the Voluntary and

Community Sector are covered in the Strategic Priorities section.

• The Princes Trust - The Agency supported the Princes Trust with £600,000 over

three years to develop and launch a project to address problem of worklessness amongst young people in Housing Market Renewal Areas.

• 9th Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference - Business leaders, policy-makers and academics attended this conference in September, focussing on business

diversity, innovation and success. The conference was organised by De Montfort

University in association with the NWDA.

• Social Enterprise - During the course of 2005/06, 29 social enterprises were created

as a result of NWDA funded activity. Four sub regional social enterprise strategies and

action plans became operational during 2005-06 in addition to the existing programme

22

in Merseyside. The aim is to develop the social enterprise sector’s growth and

sustainability by providing specialist training, mentoring and business advice. There is

considerable support for social enterprise from all sub-regional partnerships. The Lancashire Programme featured the establishment of a social enterprise procurement

programme to enable Lancashire social enterprises to win more public sector

contracts, and the establishment of SELNET as the trade association for social

enterprise in Lancashire.

• The Positive Action Awards - The Awards took place in October, in Warrington, to

reward businesses, service providers and individuals that are making a real difference to the lives of disabled people and carers. Organised by Warrington Disability

Partnership and sponsored by the NWDA, the awards provided an opportunity to

promote the innovative work undertaken by organisations and individuals in the region to support both disabled people and their carers.

23

RES PRIORITY THREE: SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT

Examples of Strategic Added Value:

Regional Skills Partnership. National Skills Lead.

Contributing to Public Service Agreements:

Employment.

Skills.

Skills and Employment drivers of Gross Value Added:

Under skills and employment a series of regional outcome indicators are used to measure progress in increasing GVA. Full details of each indicator can be found in Annex Two.

Commentary:

• Skills: The number of people of working age whose highest qualification is an NVQ 4

was 19% in Spring 2005, up from 18% in 2003. For those whose highest qualification is an NVQ3, the 2005 level of 20% is the same as two years before and those with the

highest qualification of an NVQ2 is 22% in 2005, the same level as 2003.

• Employment: The employment rate within the region, expressed as a percentage of the working age, is 72.7% (2005) representing a rise of 1.3% from 71.4% in 2003.

Gross weekly pay (median level) has risen marginally from £329 in 2004 to £333

according to the latest 2005 figures.

RES Objective 7: Skills and Employment

• Regional Skills Partnership (RSP) - The achievements of the Regional Skills

Partnership were covered in the Strategic Priorities section.

• University of Cumbria - The core of the new distributed university, the merger of St

Martins College (SMC) in Lancaster and Cumbria Institute of the Arts has been agreed

by the two Boards. The planned merger date is 1 August 2007 with SMC changing its name to the university and adopting new Memorandum and Articles of Association

from that date. The Agency started work on developing its investment proposals to

support the future development of the new University.

• Sector Skills and Productivity Alliances (SSPA) - SSPAs are now firmly embedded

in Cluster Action Plans. A Sector work stream of the RSP has been established to

ensure SSPAs continue to respond to the needs of employers and feed information on issues and barriers to the RSP Board.

• Further Education - The Further Education Capital Strategy was developed and

completed and is being used in conjunction with the Learning and Skills Council as a context for Further Education capital planning and developments. The Agency is

working with Burnley College, the University of Central Lancashire and Burnley

Council on plans to develop a new FE/HE campus in Burnley as part of an education and enterprise cluster. This would form a key component of plans to improve

educational attainment and higher education provision in East Lancashire. The Fusion

Project was established to connect business and education and will increase further education responsiveness to business. Achievements this year have centred on six

24

successful elements this year e.g. Cumbria Colleges Ltd has been established - a one

stop shop for training and development solutions for local employers. Merseyside

Colleges Association have worked in partnership with John Lennon Airport and the organisations that support the airport to address employment and social inclusion

issues facing local people. To-date the project has created 60 jobs for local people

and trained over 300 airport staff.

• Further Education Investment - The Agency approved a £5m contribution towards

the development of a Learning Zone in Macclesfield, and a contribution of £2.4m

towards a new building on the University of Chester's Padgate Campus.

• National Financial Services Academy - The Education Secretary and the Trade and

Industry Secretary announced that the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) has been successful in its bid to create a National Financial Services Academy. The

Academy is scheduled to open in September 2006, with three centres in Manchester,

Norwich and London. Employers signing up to the bid include Nationwide Building

Society and Norwich Union Insurance. National Skills Academies are new initiatives which will provide vocational educational and training for young people and adults.

The academies will be led and sponsored by employers, and be funded by both the

private and public sector.

• Northern Way Growth Strategy Northern Leadership Academy - This achievement

was covered in the Strategic Priorities section.

• Nucleus Centre - This world class specialist training and development centre is being

developed in West Cumbria to address the skills challenges facing the nuclear sector

in the region. It will be built on the Lillyhall site and will be employer driven and face the challenges of nuclear decommissioning, energy production and potential new

build. A partnership funding package is being developed by the Nuclear

Decommissioning Agency, the British Nuclear Group, the NWDA, West Lakes Renaissance and the European Regional Development Fund.

• Logistics College - The College has had a very successful year and is now viewed as the provider of choice for employers in the logistics sector. It has had a key focus

this year on attracting more women into the logistics Sector and with its "Pink Lorry"

campaign has attracted over 100 new female entrants.

• Leadership - Lancaster University Management School has launched a new

leadership centre to pioneer research, and develop the leaders of the future. Based in

Lancaster University’s world-class Management School, the Leadership Centre is housed in a £10m building, which was co-funded by the NWDA. In 2005/06, 4,698

companies received assistance in management and leadership skills.

• 14-19 Agenda - The Careers NW Phase Two interactive newsroom was launched and achieved 39,000 hits per month. Grow Your Future Workforce is progressing its

application to NWDA for a further 2 years funding support. Northern Way C3 work

stream “Entrepreneurial North” projects were approved to support the development of embedding entrepreneurialism in 100 schools across the North of England focusing on

Key Stage 3 pupils (12 -14 year olds).

• SkillCity - Held in November 2005, SkillsCity was an interactive skills event for young

people which was organised by Manchester Enterprises and supported by the NWDA.

It features exhibits and skills demonstrations from employers, colleges and training

providers and allows participants to try their hand at a wide range of careers.

25

RES PRIORITY FOUR: INFRASTRUCTURE

Examples of Strategic Added Value:

Role as Statutory Consultee.

Contributing to Public Service Agreements:

Regional Economic Performance

Sustainable Development

Infrastructural drivers: Measured by the trend in the stock of derelict, underused or

neglected land.

Commentary:

• Stock of Land: All previously developed land that is unused or may be available for

redevelopment totalled 11,830 hectares in 2004 a rise from 10,710 hectares in 2001 (10%). The Northwest had the highest regional total in 2004, 18% of the English total,

and was one of only three regions (with South East and West Midlands) to see a rise

over the three years, despite the significant investment made by NWDA in brownfield land remediation .

RES Objective 8: Develop the strategic transport, communication and economic

infrastructure

• Ports - The North West Ports Economic Trends & Land Use study was completed.

The study findings indicate a continuing role for Heysham and opportunities for

significant growth at the ports of Birkenhead and Liverpool. The study also identified

the need to secure appropriate port development land and improved surface access at Heysham and Liverpool. The study findings formed part of the evidence base for the

RES review, emerging RSS and the Northern Way Growth Strategy. The Agency will

use the study as an evidence base for its input to the forthcoming DfT ports policy review.

• Statutory Consultee - The Agency was consulted on 44 planning applications from Local Planning Authorities and two pre-application proposals by developers in its role

as a statutory consultee. Of these, 22 applications fell within the Agency’s criteria for

statutory consultation. All responses were submitted within the statutory timescale.

The Agency provided comments on 79 Local Development Documents and has continued to provide comments on the 9 emerging Local Transport Plans which have

recently been submitted to the DfT.

• Project ACCESS - Public and private sector organisations across Cumbria were

encouraged to discover how broadband can benefit their businesses at an event held

to showcase Project ACCESS, the groundbreaking £20m broadband roll-out

programme for Cumbria and North Lancashire. The infrastructure for the ambitious programme, which is funded by the NWDA and delivered by Your Communications,

was successfully completed in summer 2005. This first phase of connectivity has

resulted in the delivery of a high capacity wireless broadband network, which will now expand coverage to over 95% of Cumbria and North Lancashire.

• Regional ICT Strategy - Following detailed review and consultation in 2004/5, a revised NW ICT Strategy was launched formally at the NWDA AGM in September

26

2005 and now sits as the official policy document on ICT for the Region.

• Building Design - A study into the Economic Value of Good Design has been commissioned and the Design Review feasibility study is nearing completion. A

Design Champions Club has been established. CABE funding has been secured for a

public engagement and education programme.

• City Region Development Programmes - The CRDPs were launched in June 2005

and are being further developed with business cases being prepared by Manchester

and Liverpool. The Agency has engaged effectively on the Manchester plan and has been working on improving the Liverpool submission to better integrate it with CRDP

and RES priorities. The Manchester City Growth Strategy was launched in April 2006.

The strategy, which is private sector led in partnership with public partners, is focussed on a competitive market based strategy for investment and business growth.

The Liverpool City Growth Strategy has also been completed.

• Europe - The new joint NWDA and NWRA North West Regional European

Partnership (NWREP) was launched in March 2006. The Agency is the Accountable

Body for the Objective 2 Regional Action Plan and continues to be actively engaged with the Objective 1, 2 and 3 programmes.

RES Objective 9: Ensure the availability of a balanced portfolio of employment sites

• Kingsway, Rochdale - Work commenced on the main infrastructure works at

Kingsway Business Park including the remodelling of Junction 21 of the M62. The

170-hectare business park is expected to generate over 7,000 new jobs.

• Whitebirk - Agreement was reached with the Highways Agency on the size of

development possible on the proposed Whitebirk Strategic Regional site adjacent to the M65 near Blackburn.

• Lancashire Digital Technology Centre - This new £4m managed workspace, Higher

Education/Further Education Centre with an advanced manufacturing showcase was supported by £2m of NWDA funding and opened as a flagship development on the

Agency owned former Michelin site in Burnley.

• Knowsley Business Park Development - Derelict land at the heart of Knowsley

Industrial Estate will be transformed into a prestigious business park - creating more

than 300 jobs - after £4m of public sector funding was approved. Grants from the NWDA (£1.3m) and Objective One (£2.8m) funding will provide site infrastructure and

support the first phase of development.

• Agecroft Commerce Park - The final phase of works in Pendlebury, Salford is now underway, and will lead to the creation of over 600 jobs. The regeneration of this

former colliery site is being led by the NWDA.

• Barrow Business Centre - A major initiative to encourage enterprise in Barrow-in-

Furness is set to be kick-started with the creation of a new £1.8m Business Centre.

The redundant Waterside House on Bridge Approach has been purchased by Barrow

Borough Council and, as part of the first phase of the project, will be transformed for use as managed workspace for new enterprise. The project was funded jointly by the

NWDA (£1.1m) and European Regional Development Fund (£696,554).

• Property Public Private Partnership - The PPP project is progressing. This initiative

will transfer NWDA owned investment assets into a new partnership company and will

yield significant receipts which the Agency will re-invest. Despite some minor slippage in development work, the company is on course to be established by November 2006.

27

RES PRIORITY FIVE: IMAGE

Examples of Strategic Added Value:

Communicating the new Regional Economic Strategy.

Tourism Marketing Programme.

Contributing to Public Service Agreements:

Productivity of the tourism, creative and leisure industries

Image:

Under image a series of regional outcome indicators are used to measure progress in

increasing quality of life and economic sustainability. Full details of each indicator can be found in Annex two.

• Image: Between 2001 and 2005 the proportion of people that perceive Northwest England as a good place to live rose from 79% to 87% with the level holding steady

since 2003. Those in business seeing Northwest England as a good place to do

business is 62%, up 17% from 2003 (45%).

• Tourism: Between 2001 and 2003 tourism spend by domestic visitors to the region fell

from £2.8bn to £2.6bn (7%) - 13% of the England total in 2003. The corresponding figures for overseas visitors are £436m spent in 2001 compared to £611m in 2003, a

rise of 40%, and 6% of the total spent in England in 2003.

RES Objective 10: Develop and market the region’s image

• Media - Throughout the year, the NWDA generated substantial media coverage for

the region from sources including: The Politics Show, ITV Border, Granada and BBC

North West. To promote the role and purpose of the Agency, several editorial pieces

have also been produced for the following publications: Estates Review, SDUK, British American Business and the Parliamentary Monitor.

• Key Opinion Formers - The Agency contributed to planning, logistics and briefings for VIP visits to the region, including NWDA projects, by 5 Government Ministers

(including 2 cabinet members), and one visit by DTI civil servants. The new Regional

Economic Strategy was officially launched in the House of Commons and was attended by 90 Ministers, MPs and civil servants. In addition, 25 MPs also attended

the Northwest Parliamentary Briefing to hear about the Agency’s progress.

• Web and Online Services - The Agency’s corporate website attracted over 2.7m page impressions, an increase of 22% from last year. The regional websites England’s

Northwest and Visit England’s Northwest also attracted 2.2m page impressions.

• Brands and Promotional Materials Produced - Over the period a new RES was

produced together with a summary document distributed to all Agency stakeholders. A

brochure was produced detailing the future Business Link service in the region.

• Tourism Marketing Programme - Major national media supplements were published

in partnership with The Telegraph and The Observer focusing on short breaks and the

natural environment of England’s Northwest. A targeted campaign was run to highlight the science and research base of the region which resulted in national coverage.

During the period several activities have been delivered that relate directly to the

28

function of the Tourism Marketing Framework which sets the context for Agency

intervention:

o Production of a 16-page travel supplement published in The Sunday Times.

o The “50 Fantastic Walks in England’s Northwest” publication, created in

partnership with ITV Granada.

o The 2005 Gardens Campaign was launched aiming to attract 500,000 visitors.

o 200 industry professionals attended the second Regional Tourism Conference on

5th August 2005 at Rheged in Penrith, Cumbria.

• Sub-regional Tourism - Funding and delivery agreements have been reached with

each Tourist Board. Following publication of a tourism cluster study, a tourism

development group has been set up that involves all Tourist Boards and which is

focussed on improving the performance of the tourism industry. Other activities include:

o A regional tourism research website was launched.

o Funding of £450,000 has been provided to the Cumbria Tourist Board to support a

move to new premises.

o Work commenced on development of a regional business tourism strategy and a

visitor information strategy.

A Tourism Information Centre (TIC) Framework funded by ERDF Objective 2 funds

was approved. The ERDF funded Beacon Business project was also approved during

the period. This will provide ‘Profit through Productivity’ training to tourism businesses over the next two years. The Agency is also working with the North West Higher

Education Tourism Partnership to ensure alignment between their ERDF funded

activity and that of the Tourist Boards and others. Work has continued on a market demand framework, with the development of closer working between RDAs

(particularly the North East and Yorkshire) and with Visit Scotland. Hadrian’s Wall

Heritage will be incorporated early in 2006/07 following a collaboration between the

Agency and One North East. A full Board has now been appointed and is meeting regularly.

• Collaborative Events - Events supported throughout the year included the TV Nations and Regions Conference attended by over 500 people within the national

TV/film industry. The national Social Enterprise Conference was attended by over 450

people from across the UK. The Agency also worked with Sustainability Northwest on

the Climate Change Summit in January. Other event highlights included the London 2012 Conference to highlight ways in which the region could benefit from the Olympic

Games. This included working alongside the Football Association on the launch of the

Sport and Community Regeneration publication in January as well as Sport England in relation to the London 2012 Conference. The Agency is also organising the regional

Enterprising Britain competition. The tourism team played a leading role in a seminar

on the Visitor Economy run jointly with the Northwest Universities Association and the Northwest Cultural Observatory in January. The North West’s leading enterprise and

entrepreneurship conference and exhibition - Business Enterprise Xchange (BEX) -

returned to the Manchester International Convention Centre in November. In October,

the cream of the region’s tourism businesses battled it out to be named the best in the Northwest at the second annual England’s Northwest Tourism Awards. The high-

profile event, organised by the NWDA, was held at Liverpool Hope University.

29

• Major Events Strategy - Support was provided to the Salford City Council/British

Triathlon bid to stage the World Triathlon Championships in 2010 which is also being

supported by UK Sport. Support was also given to the successful Manchester City Council/England Hockey bid to stage the European Hockey Championships in 2007 at

Belle Vue, Manchester - this event is also being supported by UK Sport. The Agency

also gave its help to a bid by the Big Issue to host the Homeless World Cup in 2008 as

part of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture celebrations. This bid is also endorsed by the Liverpool Culture Company, the Football Association and the Department for

Culture Media and Sport.

• European Capital of Culture - The Agency facilitated the production of a joint

marketing plan between The Mersey Partnership, Capital of Culture and Liverpool

Biennial to bring a coordinated approach to marketing Liverpool as a visitor destination.

• World Museum, Liverpool - Formerly Liverpool Museum, this visitor attraction

opened to the public in April 2005. The massive £35m project to expand galleries and improve facilities was funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund (£32m), EU Objective

One (£3.6m) and the NWDA (£1.9m).

30

SECTION D – PERFORMANCE MONITORING

Key performance monitoring issues including risk management, the Performance

management framework, output performance, corporate performance indicators and

Independent Performance Assessment.

• Risk Management - Early in the year the Agency put in place Directorate level risk

registers associated with Business Plan delivery. The process was created to ensure

that high level risks resulting from these Directorate registers can be fed into the corporate risk register. The process involved a regular of review risks through

quarterly reporting which highlighted performance achievements per quarter and

major risk or issues faced during each quarter and new risks arising. A new corporate Risk and Performance Management Group was established to review and agree

action, on a quarterly basis, on key risks across the Agency. Major corporate risks

identified and managed during the year related to:

o Business Link review.

o Cumbria Vision Renaissance.

o Property Public Private Partnership. o Major projects: Aintree Racecourse, Ancoats, Mann Island, Media Zone and

Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus.

o Independent Performance Assessment. o Project management.

o Delivery of output targets.

o Organisation review.

New risk management procedures on projects were developed, implemented across

the Agency in the second half of the year through the Systems And Process

Improvement Programme change programme which is covered in detail within the Organisation Issues section.

• Output Performance - The Agency exceeded targets on nine of the ten headline and mandatory indicators with only the target on NVQ Level 2 being missed. In a number

of cases, targets have been significantly exceeded due in part to the transition from

the former Tier 3 output framework to the new Tasking Framework (see below) which

required targets to be set for new output types without any previous baselines to work to. Further commentary on outputs is provided in the table of output results in Annex

Three.

• RDA Tasking Framework - The Agency has implemented the Tasking Framework of

new output indicators introduced by Government for all RDAs in April 2005. The

Framework links RDA outputs to Government PSA targets. This was achieved through

the creation and implementation of a Transition Plan in conjunction with the SAPIP change programme. The Transition Plan enabled Agency staff to transfer project

outputs from the redundant Tier Three regime to the new Tasking indicators.

• Output Performance By Urban, Rural and Disadvantaged Areas - Actual outputs

achieved for the headline and mandatory indicators are disaggregated into urban,

rural and disadvantaged areas. This disaggregation methodology involves calculating outputs against the rural and urban Local Authority Districts (LAD) that the outputs fall

within. Outputs from regional and sub-regional projects are calculated using the

region’s rural/ urban population ratio. The 25 LADs identified in the 2003-06 RES as

regeneration priority areas are used to calculate outputs within disadvantaged areas. The 25 are listed below:

31

• Allerdale

• Barrow in Furness

• Blackburn with

Darwen

• Blackpool

• Bolton

• Burnley

• Copeland

• Ellesmere Port and

Neston

• Halton

• Hyndburn

• Knowsley

• Lancaster

• Liverpool

• Manchester

• Oldham

• Pendle

• Preston

• Rochdale

• Salford

• Sefton

• St. Helens

• Tameside

• West Lancashire

• Wigan

• Wirral.

OUTPUT INDICATORS URBAN RURAL DISADVANTAGED

1. Number of j obs created or

safeguarded. 11,588 4,150 5,406

2. Number of p eople assisted to get a job.

7,835 1,296 939

3. Number of new businesses created * 1883 887 1856

4. Number of b usinesses assisted to improve their performance.

16,971 3,965 4,249

4a) Businesses in new collaboration

with UK knowledge base 1,524 285 490

5. Public and private regeneration infrastructure investment levered.

Total (£m)

286,706,244

91,104,662

356,565,914

5f. Hectares or R eclaimed or remediated land

272 55 189

6. Number of p eople assisted in their skills development as a result of RDA

programmes.

18,383 4,729 4,824

6a) Number of adults achieving at least NVQ2

772 157 236

6b) Number of adults gaining basic

skills 2,354 999 1,225

* As outputs are only available by sub -region rather than Local Authority District, calculations have been based upon regional urban/ru ral and disadvantage population proportions .

• Corporate Performance Indicators - A table of results set against targets is contained within Annex One. All targets were achieved except for the following:

o Response time to letters from MP/MEPs - The failure to reach the target level was due to (a) delays in replying to a particular enquiry regarding the Mann Island

project where there was a connected Freedom of Information enquiry being dealt

with and associated legal issues, (b) three letters relating to Women’s Enterprise

received during the Christmas period, and (c) a delay due to additional information/clarity concerning an enquiry regarding the Phoenix Fund.

o Staff Turnover - Annualised staff turnover is 18% which is above the target. This figure can be broken down as 12.5% voluntary and 5.5% involuntary departures

(the latter relating to end of fixed term contracts or redundancy following internal

re-organisation). “Natural” turnover is therefore within the target figure.

o Prompt payment of invoices - While the Agency missed its target in respect of the

payment of invoices within 30 days, the performance rate of 89% is an

improvement on the previous financial year (2004/05: 83%). The payments processes are being continuously reviewed and the Agency will use current

reviews to continue this improvement in 2006/07 with the aim of achieving the

prompt pay target in the forthcoming year.

o Telephone Calls - Due to an equipment failure on the call logging system the

Agency is unable to provide statistics on this indicator for the second half of the

32

year. Half year figures are presented in the annex.

• Performance Management Framework - The NWDA published a Performance Planning and Management Framework for the 2005/06 financial year. At the

corporate executive level the Framework links the production and monitoring of the

Regional Economic Strategy, the Corporate Plan, the Strategic Investment Plan, and

the Annual Business Plan.

• Independent Performance Assessment - In the 2005 Budget, Government

announced a new Independent Performance Assessment (IPA) process for RDAs. IPA is based upon the Comprehensive Performance Assessment used for the Local

Authorities. The Assessment was designed and undertaken by with the National Audit

Office (NAO). As part of the process the Agency produced and published a Self Assessment which was then validated by NAO who spent two weeks in the Northwest

during March 2006 collecting documentary evidence from the NWDA and a range of

external partners and stakeholders. The NAO published its report on NWDA on 9 June

2006. The report placed NWDA in the top of four categories - Performing Strongly with a score of 20 out of 24. The NWDA together with the East of England Development

Agency were the first of the nine RDAs to go under this assessment. Whilst making

good progress against its objectives, the Agency recognised in its Self-Assessment that there are still areas where the Agency can improve. To this end, the Agency

included an Improvement Plan within its Self Assessment to deal with these issues.

Areas for improvement included:

o Working more closely with Sub Regional Partnerships to strengthen integration of

their plans with new RES to ensure delivery of the RES at a sub-regional level.

o Continuing to embed programme and project management improvements across all levels of the organisation.

o Continuing to prioritise projects and programmes that are truly transformational.

o To continue to improve how the Agency manages change and adapts to changing priorities.

o Developing the evaluation of past projects and incorporating lessons learned into

future investment decisions. o Improving co-ordination of regional research and the internal policy capacity of the

Agency.

• Policy Evaluations - During the year the Agency commissioned two pilot studies to

provide a thorough evaluation of two major regional policies: Rural Renaissance and

the Manufacturing Action Plan. The studies also provided methodologies so that the NWDA could learn and undertake future policy evaluations. Both studies have

delivered a series of recommendations resulting from activity in both areas that

commend the impact made by both and suggest learning points for the remainder of

Rural Renaissance activity and other policy development. Findings are to be disseminated internally and externally through the NWDA Policy Advisory Group and

an Evaluation Action Plan. The exercise has also helped the Agency develop a

comprehensive evaluation framework, covering all aspects of strategy, policy, programmes and projects which will be aligned to DTI’s Impact Evaluation Framework

and will be finalised in Autumn 2006.

33

SECTION E – FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY

• Financial Performance - 2005/06 financial performance can be summarised as

follows:

o Gross Expenditure: £434.161m

o Gross income: £50.407m

o Net expenditure: £383.754m

The Agency received a Grant in Aid allocation from the DTI of £383.945m and 99.95%

of this was spent with just a £191,000 underspend recorded, well within permitted

tolerances.

• Efficiency Plan - The Agency achieved total savings of £18.2m, against an annual target of £9.1m. The DTI requires RDAs to rate their Efficiency Programmes in

accordance with its RAG Rating Methodology. The Agency’s programme is rated

GREEN as we have over-achieved against our overall target for the year in all savings

categories, as follows:

o The Agency has exceeded its annual target on Programme cashable savings with

£5.3m to date against a target for 2005/06 of £3.7m. This has been achieved by reducing project costs with no change to objectives or loss of benefits.

o The Agency has over-achieved against its annual target on programme non-cashable savings, £12m against an annual target of just over £4.5m. Non-

cashable savings are additional outputs generated by the programme and

performance in this area reflects the fact that most of the Agency’s output targets

were exceeded during the year.

o The Agency has achieved its annual target on cashable administrative

expenditure savings, £0.8m against an annual target of £0.7m for 2005/06. An example of efficiency gains in this area is the reduced use of external legal

consultancy following the establishment of an in-house team.

34

SECTION F – ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES

• System and Process Improvement Programme (SAPIP) - From April to November 2005, the Agency designed improved and integrated processes and systems related

to project development and delivery, under a carefully managed change programme

known as SAPIP. This included a new project management framework, and an on-line project toolkit and the establishment of a Programme Office to provide ongoing

support. Implementation across NWDA took place between November 2005 and

March 2006 which included comprehensive training for 300 staff. SAPIP is one of the

most ambitious improvement programmes undertaken by NWDA, and has been an immediate success in terms of enhancing programme controls and project

management and has been cited by NAO as best practice in public sector innovation.

• Project KIA (Know It All) - Project KIA was launched during the year in order to develop a Data and Information Management System and a fully functional

Knowledge Management System incorporating Client Relationship Management

across the Agency. Project KIA is now well into the implementation phase with

procurement of the software and technical installation being conducted.

• Organisation Reviews - The Agency completed a restructuring of the Enterprise Innovation and Skills directorate during the first half of the year The review was

undertaken in order to establish clear routes from strategy through to delivery and to

provide clarity both internally and externally of roles, responsibilities and

accountabilities. In January 2006 an Organisation Review was launched to re-shape the whole NWDA organisational structure. The details of this review are contained in

the section on Strategic Priorities.

• Investors in People - The Agency was officially awarded the Investors in People

Standard (iiP) in July. NWDA Chief Executive Steven Broomhead was presented with

the Award at an Investors in People Awards ceremony, which took place at United Utilities, Langley Mere, Warrington.

• NWDA Board Member Changes - Rob Johnston left the Board in December 2005,

and his replacement, Vanda Murray, joined on 1 April 2006.

35

ANNEX ONE – CORPORATE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Customers

Complaints – Acknowledge a complaint within 24

hours and provide a full response within 10

working days

MPs/MEPs – Acknowledge receipt of letter within

24 hours and provide a full response within 10 working days

PQs – Respond to all Parliamentary Questions within the stipulated deadline

Telephone Calls – Answer incoming calls within 7

seconds

People

Sickness absence rate

Staff turnover rate

Recruitment (internal competition only) –

Timescale for recruitment, allowing for one month

notice period

Recruitment (external competition) – Timescale

for recruitment, allowing for one month notice

period

Recruitment (external competition) – Timescale

for recruitment, allowing for three month notice period

ICT

User satisfaction (rating out of 7)

% of help calls resolved within agreed timescales

Network availability within core business hours

Finance

Payment of undisputed invoices within 30 days

% Difference between forecast and actual

expenditure

Efficiencies

Overall reduction in administration budget and generation of efficiency in programme, which is

incorporated back into the programme budget.

Target

100%

100%

100%

75%

<3.5%

<15%

<11 weeks

<17 weeks

<25 weeks

5

80%

100%

95%

<10%

2.5%

Actual

100%

93%

100%

69%*

2.2%

18%

5.3 weeks

7.5 weeks

16.3 weeks

6.2

95%

100%

89%

0.05%

3.4%

* Due to failure of the call logging system, no data is available for the second half of the year. The figure of 69% represents the half year position.

36

ANNEX TWO – ECONOMIC CONTEXT: MONITORING REGIONAL OUTCOME INDICATORS

For each regional outcome indicator listed in the 2005/06 – 2007/08 Corporate Plan, the latest data update is reported in the table below. Please note that these indicators have been used to monitor regional progress - no baselines or targets were set for these indicators. A ‘comparator’ column has

been added to show (where possible) progress against previous years data.

GVA DRIVER INDICATOR LATEST DATA COMPARATOR SOURCE

Gross Value Added per head

14,940 (2004)

89% of UK

13,586 (2002)

89% of UK

National Statistics.

Economic Performance

Average gross weekly household income

£527 (From 2002/03 to 2004/05). UK = £574 for same

period.

£489 (From 2001/2 to 2003/04). UK = £554 for same

period.

Expenditure and Food Survey, Office for National Statistics

GVA per hour worked 94.4% of the UK (2003)

94.3% of the UK (2002)

Earnings & Productivity Division, National Statistics.

Productivity Rural productivity measured by mean taxpayer income earned by district

£19,300 (2002/03)

£18,000 (2000/01). Inland Revenue.

R&D Spend - £m and as a % of GVA 2.1% (2003)

2.2% (2001) National Statistics.

Number of patents granted

274 (2004)

326 (2003) DTi, Patent Office. Innovation

Number of 5* HEI departments 25 (2001)

2001 Research Assessment Exercise.

VAT Registrations – per 10,000 of the population.

In, 2004, there were 39.5 start-ups registered per 10,000 population, 16.7% below the national rate of 47.4%.

National Statistics, NOMIS Enterprise

Business survival rate after twelve months 92.4% (2003)

91.5% (2001) Small Business Service.

37

Business survival rate after three years 67.3% (2001)

66.7% (1999) Small Business Service.

% in employment who are self-employed (working age)

10.8% (2005)

10.3% (2002)

Labour Force Survey, NOMIS

Investment Gross fixed capital formation £14.8bn (2000)

£15.3bn (1998).

National Statistics, Regional Accounts Branch

Graduate retention (Number of students that stayed in

the Northwest) 52% (2003/04) 49% (2001/02) Higher Education Statistics Agency

Skills

NVQ Level 2,3,4 qualifications (% with)

16.3% of those with working age with NVQ2+ (2004). 14.8% of those with

working age with NVQ3+ (2004). 23.1% of those with working age with NVQ4+ (2004).

15.1% of those with working age with NVQ2+ (2000). 12.9% of those with

working age with NVQ3+ (2000). 19.6% of those with working age with NVQ4+ (2000).

DfES.

Export value

£19,136m (2005)

£17,838m (2004) UK Trade and Investment

Trade Number of exporters

7,139 (2005)

6,963 (2004) UK Trade and Investment

Broadband connectivity

Citizens 68.6% (2003)

Business 37.6% (2003) The survey was not repeated.

NWDA ICT Data Collection Exercise

ICT

Use of ICT by business 73.8% (2003) Survey not repeated.

NWDA ICT Data Collection Exercise

Growth Companies

Proportion of business units by employment band

By employment sizeband between 2002 and 2004: 1-10 employees grew by 4% 11-49 employees fell marginally by 0.2%. 50-199 employees rose by 5.3%.

Annual Business Inquiry

38

200+ employees rose by 4.6%.

Employment rate of those of working age 72.7% (2005)* 71.4% (2003) Annual Population Survey, NOMIS. Employment

Gross weekly (median) pay £333 (2005) £329.4 (2004) ASHE, Office for National Statistics

Income support claimants as a % of working population

7.6% (2005)

8.3% (2003)

Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, DWP.

Social Inclusion

No. Of Local Authorities where house prices substantially < national average house price

37 out of 43 LADs were below the average England and Wales of £192,745 in 2006.

38 out of 43 LADs were below the average England and Wales of £175,401 in 2004.

Land Registry

Stock of derelict, underused or neglected land

11,830 hectares (2004)

10,710 hectares (2001)

National Land Use Database.

Amount of co2 emissions 12 million tonnes (2001)

16 million tonnes (2000) DEFRA.

Environmental

Sustainability

Mega watt installed capacity of sites generating electricity from renewable sources in 2002.

323 Mega Watts (2006).

166 Mega Watts (2002).

DTI/NWDA.

Northwest England as a good place to live 87% (2005)

79% (2001) MORI Survey, NWDA

Northwest England as a good place to do

business

62% (2005)

62% (2001) MORI Survey, NWDA

Image

Tourism spend

Domestic Spend = £2.6bn (2003). Overseas Spend = £611m (2003)

Domestic Spend = £2.8bn (2001). Overseas Spend = £436m (2001).

**United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS)/International Passenger Survey (IPS)

* Annual Population Survey replaced Labour Force Survey during the period.

** Changes made to the data collection methodology within the 2004 UKTS, has led to serious concerns within the RDA network on its accuracy. For this reason, 2003 data has been used as the latest available reliable figure.

39

ANNEX THREE – NWDA OUTPUT PERFORMANCE

TARGET OUTPUT INDICATORS

Min Max ACTUAL COMMENTS

1. Number of jobs created or safeguarded. 11,500 15,500 15,738 This target has been exceeded, and the jobs total surpasses performance in 2004/05. Out-turn is marginally outside the target range.

2. Number of people assisted to get a job. 675 1,125 9,131

Target has been significantly exceeded. This is a new output indicator for NWDA in 2005/06 and lack of previous experience in measuring this activity led to target being severely under-stated.

3. Number of new businesses created/attracted to the region.

1,680 2,520 2,770

Performance surpassed annual forecast with outputs coming mainly from BLO interventions. A better than expected performance in the second half of the year led to the target range being

marginally exceeded.

4. Number of businesses assisted to improve their performance.

9,360 14,040 20,936

The target has been exceeded due to the inclusion of Business Link intensive assists in the reported figures – these were not included in the target due to a lack of certainty at the time that they complied with the Tasking Framework definition.

4a. Number of businesses within the region

assisted to engage in new collaborations with the UK knowledge base.

410 690 1,809

The target range has been significantly exceeded.

This is a new output indicator for NWDA and lack of previous experience led to target being severely under-stated. Major contributions have come from HEIF2, Cluster Development, and the University of Manchester & UMIST Careers Service.

5. Public and private regeneration infrastructure investment levered.

(i) Total (£m) (ii) % private leverage

270

38%

450

62%

378 61%

Out-turn figures for overall investment and the proportion of private sector investment are within

the target range.

5f. Hectares of Brownfield Land reclaimed and/or redeveloped

310 410 327

Out-turn within the target range. NWDA remains the highest contributor to the Government’s national brownfield land target with a 30% contribution.

6. Number of people assisted in their skills development.

13,600 20,400 23,112

Out-turn is outside the target range primarily as a result of parts of the target being based on the previous Tier 3 definition (1 week of learning) rather than the new Tasking definition (1 day of

40

learning). This meant that the target was under-stated.

6a. Number of adults in the workforce achieving at least a full Level 2 qualification or equivalent.

1,500 2,500 929

This target has not been achieved. NWDA has previously predicted that the target would not be met as it was based, in large part, on a misunderstanding of the definition associated with the indicator. Further, Level 2 is not a skills investment priority for NWDA (or other RDAs) – the RDAs consider that mainstream LSC funding is

focussed on Level 2 and the much smaller level of RDA funding should be channelled into the higher level skills required to improve regional economic performance. In its lead role for skills, NWDA is in discussion with Government about the relevance of this output indicator to the RDAs.

6b. Number of adults gaining basic skills. 900 1,500 3,353

Target range has been significantly exceeded. This is a new output indicator for NWDA and lack of

previous experience in measuring this activity led to target being severely under-stated.