Yorkshire Forward Annual Report and Accounts 2008/09 HC 834 £26.60 Yorkshire Forward Annual Report and Accounts 2008/09 Annual Report and Accounts presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills in pursuance of Sections 15 (2) and 17 (3) of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 20 July 2009. HC 834 London: The Stationery Office £26.60 © Crown Copyright 2009 The text in this document (excluding the Royal Arms and other departmental or agency logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document specified. Where we have identified any third party copyright material you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. For any other use of this material please write to: Office of Public Sector Information, Information Policy Team, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU or e-mail: [email protected] ISBN 9780102959376 Contents Contents Chair’s statement 6 Chief Executive’s statement 8 Management commentary Headline summary 10 The recession and Yorkshire Forward’s response 15 Yorkshire Forward: delivering and performing 24 Planning for the future with Team Yorkshire and Humber 48 Yorkshire Forward’s Board and the Regional Assembly 52 Progress in the region 58 Business activities and performance 59 Director’s report 70 Remuneration report 74 Statement of Internal Control 80 The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the Houses of Parliament and Yorkshire Forward 82 Financial statements 83 Notes to the financial statements 87 Annex A – register of interests 106 Annex B – Yorkshire Forward output targets 2008/09 114 Responding. Re-evaluating. Realigning. 5 Chair’s statement Chair’s statement Over the six years I have had the privilege of contributing my thoughts to the Yorkshire Forward Annual Report and Accounts; I have taken the opportunity to sum up the positive growth we have seen in our regional economy. This year is different. 6 Yorkshire Forward Annual Report and Accounts 2008/09 Chair’s statement The signs of economic challenge that came to Our businesses must continue to invest in their to dedicate their energy and expertise to the fore in 2007/08 have deepened into global future through their staff and their products. making our organisation the best it can be. recession in 2008/09, and like many others, They must not lose focus on the long-term There is no doubt that the last 12 months the Yorkshire & Humber economy has felt the game and continue to position themselves for have been challenging for our region, and no effects. The latest evidence suggests that our recovery. For our part, I am determined that question that more is to come. But as we face regional economy shrank by 1.5% in the final Yorkshire Forward will continue to invest in these challenges, we could do worse than quarter of 2008 and current projections them, both in supporting their efforts to manage remember the slogan of an ad campaign from indicate it will contract by 2.7% during 2009. the challenges of today, whilst also investing the Second World War. Whilst I would not in the opportunities that tomorrow will bring. suggest our current situation is comparable, However, we should remember that in spite of I believe there is much merit in our region the current climate, Yorkshire & Humber has a And as we tackle the challenges of today we continuing to do what it does best and to strong and diverse economy that will help it to must remember that none of us can succeed ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’, and I know that manage this recession. alone, either as businesses or public bodies. we will come out fighting. Our strength comes from our commitment to I know that it is easy to get bogged down in work together, and I believe Team Yorkshire and the negative headlines and worrying forecasts Humber is a partnership to be proud of. Over – one of the unique facets of this recession is the last 12 months Yorkshire Forward has been the impact of media coverage on confidence. working extremely closely with our partners in But we must each endeavour to retain a Local Government Yorkshire and Humber to balanced perspective and give good news develop the new arrangements that will ensure as much credence as bad. And we must our organisations work effectively in the Terry Hodgkinson remember that we have weathered recessions implementation of a new Integrated Regional Chair before, and whilst they are immensely difficult, Strategy for the region, and I would like to thank Yorkshire Forward they do end. them and their chair Arthur Barker for their continued efforts. I would also like to thank the I believe one of the greatest strengths of this Yorkshire & Humber Assembly, and its chair region is the stoicism, determination and Peter Box for the excellent work they have thriftiness of its people. And it is these qualities achieved over the past eight years, that has laid that will help Yorkshire & Humber manage this down strong foundations for the development recession and come out stronger on the other of the new strategy. side. But we must be careful to ensure our strengths do not manifest themselves into I would also like to recognise the efforts of weaknesses – our stoicism cannot become my own contingent of Team Yorkshire and cynicism, nor can our thriftiness become a Humber, the Board of Yorkshire Forward fear of investing in our future. and its Executive Directors. They continue Responding. Re-evaluating. Realigning. 7 Chief executive’s statement Chief executive’s statement Yorkshire Forward’s role has always been to support the growth of Yorkshire & Humber’s economy. For ten years we have achieved this under generally sunny economic skies. However, in the last 12 months those skies have clouded over and the role of Yorkshire Forward has changed and become even more vital. It has also become a lot simpler. 8 Yorkshire Forward Annual Report and Accounts 2008/09 Chief executive’s statement Our primary focus now is to ensure viable and carbon capture and storage that will agency in the UK, but one of the best in the companies stay afloat, as many people as create thousands of jobs and cut the UK’s world. This pursuit of excellence is central possible stay in work and key regeneration carbon emissions. We also continue to make to the way we run the agency and we will never schemes keep going. the case for retaining as many jobs within the believe we are the finished product. On the new Lloyds Banking Group and Bradford and contrary, we realise we have to get better at We are working closely with our family of Bingley as possible in our region. communicating with key partners, bedding in business support agencies – Business Link new responsibilities like European funding and Yorkshire, the Manufacturing Advisory Service The recession has also brought into sharp focus making our decision-making more transparent. and Welcome to Yorkshire – to ensure our the absolute necessity to invest taxpayers’ We also believe that diversity is a huge support hits the mark. Calls to Business money wisely. I have led Yorkshire Forward over strength and so we make sure that we have Link Yorkshire have tripled over the past the last three years with value for money as skills, experience and expertise from all walks 12 months and we have announced over one of the central values of the agency. Every of life and industry making the agency work. £73m of funding in loans for business member of staff knows that they must invest Around half of our staff has private-sector expansion and training support. every pound of taxpayers’ money as if it were experience. We also work directly with every their own. So our running costs are amongst council, every major business organisation and We are working to ensure that when the lowest of similar organisations, with less all key stakeholder groups in the region, and companies like Corus, Otto Grattan, Youngs than seven pence in every pound being spent value those relationships. and ITV Yorkshire have to make difficult on our administration. For every pound that we decisions about staffing levels, their people invest, independent studies have shown that I consider it a great privilege to be Chief receive a personalised package of support the economy gets an average £4.50 in return. Executive and I know I speak for all our highly that can get them back into work or training We have made sure that we pay small committed, talented and hard-working staff as quickly as possible. businesses nine out of ten of their invoices when I say that working at Yorkshire Forward within ten working days. is more than just a job. People may sometimes Another sign of the recession has been the get the impression that quangos are cold, stalling of major development projects in our Our other corporate values are equally important calculating, passionless organisations. I can region, and whilst we do not possess the in these testing times. It is vital that we are as emphatically say that Yorkshire Forward is no resources to keep every project on site, we are open as possible, with our Board agenda and such organisation. We believe in our region and endeavouring to keep as many developments papers released in advance of meetings, our care passionately about the impact we make.