Prescott 'risks delaying Gateway project'

John Prescott's interference could delay the Thames Gateway redevelopment scheme, a committee of MPs said today.

The all-party public accounts committee says the project to revitalise the east of London is struggling to cope with the bureaucracy imposed by Mr Prescott's department.

The MPs claim the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's involvement could lead to "confusion and delay".

The committee says the scheme is being run by an array of ill-defined organisations and public bodies. These include three regional development agencies, three government departments, local authorities, urban development corporations and a Cabinet sub-committee.

The MPs say Mr Prescott needs to define their responsibilities to improve "co-ordination and decision-making".

Elsewhere, the report, called Success in the Regions, raps Mr Prescott for the poor performance of the regional development agencies. It says they have concentrated on short-term contributions and "too little on longer term regional impact".

The report cites the South-East England Development Agency which has the "bureaucratic burden" of 40 different funding streams.

Edward Leigh, Tory chairman of the public accounts committee, said: "Regional development agencies were hampered in their early years by poor relationships with government departments that fund and oversee their work. I am very disappointed that RDAs have had the bureaucracy of complicated funding and delays in decisions.

"They have been given too little freedom to respond to regional priorities and have had too little influence over spending on skills and transport which are so vital to regional development.

"The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister should do more to streamline the funding sources, cut unnecessary red tape and determine the responsibilities of the various players at regional and national level."