London assembly reports confusion

The London Development Agency should have full
responsibility for the co-ordination and funding of economic and
social regeneration, according to a report published this week by
the London assembly.

The report by the assembly’s economic
development committee was the result of a year-long review of the
progress of publicly funded regeneration schemes across the
capital.

While the committee reported “a lot of very
good work” and “big improvements”, it described the overall picture
as “confusing, often with no clear links between different agencies
working in the same area”.

The report concludes: “We are particularly
concerned at the separation of the London Development Agency’s
responsibility for economic regeneration from the Department for
Local Government, Transport and the Regions and Government Office
for London’s responsibility for social regeneration. We recommend
that the London Development Agency be given full responsibility for
the co-ordination and funding of both.”

In practice, this would mean moving money
connected to the neighbourhood renewal strategy and the new deal
for communities initiative into the London Development Agency’s new
“single pot” for physical, social and economic regeneration, which
comes into force from April.

Under the “single pot” arrangement, regional
development agencies will take over the community regeneration
commitments from the single regeneration budget (SRB) programme and
the physical and economic regeneration commitments of English
Partnerships.

But voluntary sector and community
representatives have expressed concern that RDAs will focus too
much on economic regeneration and that social projects will miss
out (News, page 12, 13 December).

– Rebuilding London’s Future from www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports