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(From The Journal)

A GOVERNMENT report has said regional development agency One North East offers value for money.

The report was carried out by Price- WaterhouseCoopers and analysed the 'spending impact' of the country's nine RDAs.

Carried out on behalf of Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the study looked at a range of RDA investments over the past five years and the outcomes achieved for their respective regions.

Key findings included that between 2002-03 and 2006-07, for every pounds 1 spent by the RDAs, an average of pounds 4.50 of economic output (or Gross Value Added - GVA) was put back into regional economies.

In the report, the headline statistics for One North East over the past five years are that it: .. Directly created more than 24,400 jobs from the investments it made Helped to create 1,140 new businessHelped 1,710 companies improve their business performance .. Reclaimed 210 hectares of disused land for new business development Helped more than 6,300 people into employment Assisted more than 98,000 people to gain new skills In particular, One North East's work in the area of Business Competitiveness and Development, which covers ...