AN INDEPENDENT study has concluded the region’s under-fire development agency is “generating economic benefits” – even as it faces the axe.

The quangos set up to attract investment and jobs add at least £4.50 to every regional economy for every £1 spent, according to the investigation by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In five years, the North West Development Agency (NWDA) created or saved 97,000 jobs, created 3,500 businesses, helped a further 14,000 and helped 97,000 people improve their skills, the study said.

Among the projects which delivered major benefits were:

The creation of Liverpool’s Commercial District, which added £56m to the economy from a £7m investment and created or saved 1,500 jobs;

The Strategic Sites Programme to create new employment sites, which added £59m to the economy from a £56m investment, created or safeguarded 1,200 jobs and brought in £122m of investment;

The Regional Marketing Programme to promote the region to employers, employees and tourists, which added £119m to the economy from a £16m investment.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson declared, a decade after they were set up, that regional development agencies “are working”.