Editing Regional development agency (section)

{{Short description|Economic and social advancement NDPBs in Britain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2017}}
{{Politics of England}}
In the United Kingdom, '''regional development agencies''' (RDAs) were nine [[non-departmental public body|non-departmental public bodies]] established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of [[England]]'s [[Government Offices for the English Regions|Government Office]] regions between 1998 and 2010.  There was one RDA for each of the [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS]] level 1 [[regions of England]]. Similar activities were carried out in Wales by the [[Welsh Government]] Department of Economy and Transport, in Northern Ireland by the [[Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment]] and in Scotland by [[Scottish Enterprise]] and [[Highlands and Islands Enterprise]].

In June 2010 the UK government announced the abolition of the RDAs which took place on 31 March 2012, with a view to reducing the [[government deficit]]; similar economic development would be undertaken by local councils and [[local enterprise partnership]]s (LEPs).<ref name="TS">"[http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/politics/fears-over-cumbria-funding-as-northwest-development-agency-faces-chop-1.721816?referrerPath=news Fears Over Cumbria Funding as Northwest Development Agency Faces Chop] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401224136/http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/politics/fears-over-cumbria-funding-as-northwest-development-agency-faces-chop-1.721816?referrerPath=news |date=1 April 2012 }}", ''Times & Star'', 17 June 2010, retrieved 2010-06-19</ref> There was no direct replacement for the RDAs as LEPs did not at first receive funding from central government, and local councils did not receive an equivalent injection of income from central funds, having been called upon to make savings and support similar initiatives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/economic-development/docs/l/11-739-local-enterprise-partnership-capacity-fund-guidance|title=Local Enterprise Partnership Capacity Fund|date=February 2011|website=Department for Business, Innovation & Skills|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20111109003724/http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/economic-development/docs/l/11-739-local-enterprise-partnership-capacity-fund-guidance|archive-date=9 November 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>