Member Article

One NorthEast's performance praised

The North East’s regional development agency has received praise in a recent independent assessment of its work. The National Audit Office awarded One NorthEast a score of 22 points out of a possible 24 after an intensive two-week inspection of the agency’s activities. One NorthEast was found to be performing strongly on ambition, performance management and achievement and performing well on prioritisation and capacity.

The report said: “One NorthEast has a strong vision and works well with partners from across the region” and “One NorthEast has an excellent track record of achieving both financial spend and output targets.” All regional development agencies are being assessed on behalf of the Government, analysing their work in five key areas of ambition, prioritisation, capacity, performance management and achievement.

Margaret Fay, One NorthEast Chairman, said: “The National Audit Office performance assessment is an in-depth, independent study of the way One NorthEast works, our effectiveness and a measure of our achievements. “I’m delighted that the Agency has performed so strongly, which is a tribute to the strength and effectiveness of our board, the dedication of our chief executive and his team and the absolute professionalism and hard work of our staff. “However, we are not complacent and there is still much work to be done in the region. We have to raise our game still further to provide the direction and leadership our region needs through the Regional Economic Strategy, to cut the economic productivity gap with the national average.”

The regional assessments included evidence from interviews with North East businesses and organisations as well as One NorthEast staff. The assessment welcomed the “strong and inclusive” work behind the new Regional Economic Strategy which sets out the economic blueprint for the North East over the next decade.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .