6 Regional Development Agencies and
trade promotion
133. Export promotion plays a key part in regional
as well as national economic strategies and Regional Development
Agencies (RDAs) are key partners in supporting that work. UKTI's
regional teams are co-located with the RDAs and effectively act
as the international trade arms of the RDAs, using RDA funding
to supplement UKTI's national funding programmes. Since April
2009, RDAs have secured a greater role both in business planning
and in the delivery of international trade services in the regions.
A new agreement requires UKTI to secure consent from RDAs on any
trade strategy developments and any new national trade support
programmes. Some RDAs have staff based overseas, but their job
is to promote inward investment to their region and not to engage
in trade promotion work for companies in their area. [168]
134. The RDAs' evidence stated that RDAs do not have
trade representatives overseas.[169]
However, the Sponsors' Alliance mentioned that RDAs do, in fact
operate forms of export promotion projects: overseas trade missions
or exhibition participation, seminars and meet the buyer events.
It stated that those events often overlap or even "conflicted
with nationally-focused events in the same sector or market,"
adding that: "it has not been uncommon in recent years to
find regional pavilion groups at overseas trade exhibitions, often
in competition to a national UK pavilion."[170]
135. This was not the only account we received of
RDAs engaged in activities which had the potential to overlap,
or possibly even conflict with events run by UKTI. Through the
course of our inquiry we have heard reports of RDAs competing
both with UKTI and with each other to secure business.[171]
Such activities undermine the efforts of UKTI and confuses potential
customers. The BCC pointed out that some of the activities of
RDAs could dilute the British "brand":
The United Kingdom has a strong image abroad. From
the United States to the Persian Gulf and beyond British goods
and services are seen as being high quality. And yet the UK brand
has been watered down by separate representation from all three
devolved nations and nine English regions that constitute the
country. [This] only serves to confuse potential customers of
British firms who are likely to be unaware of the constitutional
particulars of the UK.[172]
136. However, according to some accounts the situation
may be improving. When he appeared before the Committee in February,
Lord Jones said:
I think the relationship got a lot better when I
was there and I think it will endure, and there was a lot less
of [the situation where] you went to the Detroit Motor Show and
every RDA was there separately with UKTI. What a waste of public
money that was. That has now come down to just two or three. It
is far more focused. It could be better still but it is far more
focused.
Similarly, the CBI's written evidence stated that
the amount of duplication had reduced, but believed that improvements
could go further:
UKTI has made some advances in trying to address
the issue of overlapping and duplication related to the RDAs and
the devolved administrations, which link to our concerns about
the coordination and reinforcement of the UK brand. Continued
efforts here, together with monitoring on the ground, would be
useful.[173]
137. We heard particular criticism of the tendency
of RDAs to arrange regional visits—visits where the common
link between the companies participating is that they operate
in the same geographical area rather than all working in the same
sector. Such visits make it difficult to arrange meetings which
are useful to all the participants. Similarly businesses based
overseas find sectoral visits from the United Kingdom much more
useful than regional visits. Asked if he agreed with this analysis
Lord Davies replied "I do; I am a big believer in sectoral
experience and speciality".[174]
138. This does not mean that it is impossible for
RDAs to run successful trade missions, but they should focus on
sectors. As Mr Marshall suggested, this might involve several
RDAs working together to arrange visits: "I think what is
probably more appropriate is a number of regions have got together
and said, 'If this is going to be our sectoral focus, who have
you got within this sector?'."[175]
139. As well as benefiting from a more sectoral approach
to trade visits we believe that UKTI staff who work with RDAs,
the regional trade advisers, should also take a more sectoral
view of their work. A sectoral specialist based in one region
should be willing to advise industries based in nearby regions
if they have specialist knowledge that business could benefit
from. The Manufacturing Technologies Association stated that:
The inability of the International Trade Advisors
to offer advice to companies outside their regions, even if they
are sector specialists in the relevant sector, is a wasteful and
leads to considerable duplication of provision. We would be very
supportive of any moves towards adopting a more sectoral approach,
which looked to provide coverage across the UK. This would help
the organisation to be more market led - investing in the right
people to deliver relevant strategies to the sectors they represent.[176]
140. These criticisms raised legitimate questions
about the role that regional agencies play in trade promotion,
and what RDAs should do to promote trade and inward investment
in their area. Some organisations advocated a purely national
approach to such activities, for example the Institute of Directors
stated that both trade promotion and inward investment should
be done only on a national level.[177]
Others held less radical views, but still believed that activities
should be nationally focused, and that any work that RDAs did
should be secondary to, and in support of, UKTI's national strategy.[178]
141. We have also heard that the regional structure
of some of UKTI's operations, particularly the regional trade
advisers who are based with RDAs, can be confusing to business.
This was mentioned by witnesses giving evidence to our ongoing
inquiry into the motorsport and aerospace industries. Mr Aylett,
Chief Executive, Motorsport Industry Association reported that:
We are often at a show that is being funded nationally
by UKTI and there is a regional UKTI activity going on of which
we are unaware […] the international customers were unaware,
they do not understand why there would be an East of England UKTI
activity[179]
The Association said that it found that situation
so complicated that they "just invite anybody with the card
of UKTI to anything that we do in the hope that they can work
it out because it is very, very complicated."
142. We have previously raised concerns about RDAs'
overseas activities leading to large amounts of duplication. Our
Report on RDAs noted that many organisations had complained that
their overseas efforts were "not co-ordinated with national
efforts, duplicated work done elsewhere […] [and argued that]
such activities would be better done through UKTI or other national
initiatives."[180]
We are concerned that insufficient progress appears to have been
made on this issue since that Report.
143. Regional
Development Agencies have been given an important role to play
in trade promotion. However, we continue to hear worrying accounts
of unnecessary duplication of programmes and competition between
different agencies. If this is allowed to continue the benefit
of the RDAs' work, and that of UKTI, will be undermined. In particular,
RDAs should be required take a more co-ordinated approach to trade
missions both with other RDAs or UKTI—so that the problems
of duplication are avoided.
168 Ev 104-105 Back
169
Ev 104 Back
170
Ev 132 Back
171
Ev 98 Back
172
Ev 83 Back
173
Ev 98 Back
174
Q 237 Back
175
Q 344 Back
176
Ev 117 Back
177
Institute of Directors and the TaxPayers' Alliance, How to save
£50 billion: Reducing spending for sustainable public finances,
September 2009, p 40 Back
178
Ev 132 Back
179
Transcript of oral evidence taken before the Business, Innovation
and Skills Committee on 15 December 2009, Q 164 [Mr Aylett] Back
180
Business and Enterprise Committee, Forth Report of Session 2008-09,
Regional development agencies and the Local Democracy, Economic
Development and Construction Bill, HC 89-I, para 48 Back
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