Tech North spent £66,500 of taxpayer money on a 51-page report

Government quango Tech North spent tens of thousands of pounds on a single report as part of an effort to get a clearer picture of the startup scene in the North of England.

The "Digital Powerhouse Report" was commissioned in a bid to "identify the opportunities that exist for the North's digital tech sector," according to Tech North executive chairman Herb Kim. It was produced by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in conjunction with Impact Hub.

Tech North initially declined to reveal the price of the report but a Freedom of Information Request made by Business Insider shows that £66,500 of tax payer money was spent on producing the 51-page document.

Carl Ellis, director of Manchester-based H&E Inventions, said: "The fact that this report cost £66,500 is insane. That's £1,200 a page, including the covers."

Ellis added: "The combined cost of the two PhDs that underpin the entire reason for my company's existence was ~£26k over three years. From that I have a growing company and real products that are changing the printing and packaging industry."

After hearing how much was spent on the report, another startup worker said: "It's a fucking infographic, not a report."

A former Tech North employee said he didn't think the report was worth the money. "It's very fluffy with lots of 'nice' ideas, which are unlikely to be put into practice. It's mostly a rehash of previous research and reports, especially the Tech Nation 2016 report."

He added: "It reads like something written by people who don't really understand or have much knowledge of the grassroots tech community because they aren't from the north. In my opinion, the report should also have been done by a northern organisation like IPPR North or ODILeeds & Leeds Data Mill."

James Bedford, head of investment strategy at Tech North, provided the following statement:

"The Digital Powerhouse Report is an important resource aimed at further stimulating entrepreneurship and investment in the North. After a procurement process involving three tenders, the RSA was chosen by Tech North based on value-for-money, understanding of the brief, ability to undertake the research and deliver a high quality report. This included interviews with a range of partners and a series of roundtables in the North. The report shows that the region has the potential to generate an additional £5.7bn GVA and has been well received by the Northern tech community with wide-spread news coverage and social media impact. Building on its legacy, Tech North is organising a series of roundtables with entrepreneurs and business leaders for further discussion on how to continue growing digital businesses in cities across the region."

Tech North receives £2 million a year from the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). The organisation is overseen by Tech City UK, which has also come under fire for its spending after government minister Ed Vaizey revealed that it spent £452,446 on PR and comms in two years.