Value for money?

Advantage West Midlands (AWM), the taxpayer-funded unelected regional quango, is advertising a position – taxpayer funded of course – for a student to:

1. Identify and explain the operational dynamics and economic geographies of the business and professional services (BPS) economy that is developing in the West Midlands region (essentially the Birmingham city-region).
2. Identify and explore the factors that contribute to the competitiveness of BPS firms located in the West Midlands. The key to this is identifying and understanding the unique selling points (USP) of BPS firms located in this region.
3. Investigate the mechanisms by which BPS firms in the West Midlands are competing with BPS providers located in London and the South East.
4. Generate outputs that will inform policy interventions that will protect and enhance the national and international competitiveness of BPS firms located in the Birmingham city-region/West Midlands.

The cost to the taxpayer? Around £14k per annum for a 3 year period. £42k would pay for a policeman for 2 years, surely a better use of funds than employing a pro-EU, pro-regionalisation politics student to “prove” that the regions are a good thing?