AWM - "IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT"

22-05-2010

Business leaders have denounced the government's suggestion that it might scrap regeneration agency Advantage West Midlands - which has an annual Whitehall budget of £48m. They say - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Plans have been drawn up for the creation of new Local Employment Partnerships which could eventually replace AWM and its equivalents around the country.

Simon Topman (pictured), chairman of West Midlands Chambers of Commerce said: “West Midlands Chambers of Commerce are very concerned that removal of the regional development agencies (RDAs) will take away a vital component to business development across the region.

“We need a regional voice and if indeed RDAs are to go, then a powerful body capable of linking the disparate elements of our region together, needs to be found.

"Advantage West Midlands has fulfilled its role with success. It is high time we learn to recognise a successful organisation and leave them in place to continue their good work and not change them every few years just because a new government arrives.

“Business needs consistency if it is to thrive. We should remember the old American adage, ‘if it aint broke don’t fix it’.”

There was some hope for AWM yesterday when Business Secretary Vince Cable hinted that it might yet survive.

In an interview with the Liverpool Daily Post he highlighted the North West and the West Midlands as regions where the work of RDAs had a role “where there are serious structural problems and where there appears there is broad agreement they are doing a good job...

“We are shifting resources, there will be less to spend in areas that don’t need the money – like the South and South East."

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