Growth fund is said to cost £33,000 a job
THE coalition’s flagship fund to boost economic growth is attacked as an expensive let-down in an official report published today.
The initial £1.4bn phase of the regional growth fund will deliver 41,000 jobs at an average cost of £33,000 each – broadly similar to previous job creation schemes, the National Audit Office said. The expected cost of each job created ranges from £4,000 to more than £200,000.
The fund was set up in a blaze of publicity in June 2010 to boost jobs and growth in areas reliant on the public sector but the NAO said it had not “optimised” value for money. It is also unclear how much of the private sector boost will survive long-term.
Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, called for tougher job targets for the second £1bn funding round.
Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, said the report raised “serious concerns” over value for money for taxpayers.
Chuka Umunna, shadow business secretary, said: “The scale of incompetence and confusion in the implementation of the RGF is simply staggering. As the report points out, it is astonishing that no administrative resources were allocated to it and that specialists were not used to evaluate bids.”