EEDA - East of England Development Agency

EEDA demonstrates strong performance in independent assessment

19 July 2010

The National Audit Office today published a report that recognises EEDA as a strongly performing organisation. This came as EEDA’s annual report for 2009/10 reported record results for creating and safeguarding local jobs.

The NAO’s Independent Supplementary Review (ISR), which focused a spotlight on the performance of eight regional development agencies across England, found that EEDA had performed strongly – the highest score – in terms of prioritisation and delivers ‘good performance’ in terms of continuous improvement and implementing evaluation into performance management.

Alongside the NAO’s conclusions, EEDA’s end of year review for 2009/10 reported record-breaking figures for creating and safeguarding local jobs, despite the economic conditions.

EEDA’s annual report for 2009/10 – which was submitted to Parliament today – highlights EEDA’s role in creating or safeguarding 7,936 jobs, helping 15,956 people get a job and supporting nearly 40,000 people to gain new skills for the workplace. 

This builds on a strong track record of delivery where, over a ten year period, EEDA has directly created or safeguarded over 45,000 jobs, helped 200,000 people gain new skills for the workplace, helped thousands of businesses start-up, grow or improve and helped to attract £1.3 billion of further investment to benefit the East of England.

Prof William Pope, chair of EEDA, said: “These are outstanding results, particularly in these challenging times, and demonstrate the strong role that EEDA plays in supporting the East of England’s economy.  This builds on a ten year record of continued success, creating jobs, supporting local businesses, improving people’s skills and transforming places. 

“We are now in a time of change – clearly there is a planning and transition period to work through.  In the meantime, EEDA – and our support services like Business Link – are open for business. We have a £75 million programme of work to deliver this financial year and we will continue to do so professionally and effectively.”

“The East of England is at the forefront of economic recovery and is one of only three regions that makes a net contribution to the Exchequer - £6 billion a year from a £110 billion economy. We will continue to focus our efforts on supporting businesses to grow and succeed. These results are a testament to the dedication and hard work of EEDA staff who have responded effectively in supporting the people and businesses of this region in what has been a very tough year.” 

Deborah Cadman, chief executive of EEDA, said:

“The NAO’s report confirmed that local businesses and partners recognised that EEDA had demonstrated strong leadership and delivered the services and investments needed to survive the recession and prepare for recovery. This shows we are one of the top-performing RDAs in England and that we have improved significantly over the last three years.  EEDA’s effective performance demonstrates strong value for money in delivering a more successful economy in the East of England.”

EEDA’s Annual Report and Accounts and the ISR Report can be found on the EEDA website.

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