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25.07.18

Government announces plans of LEP revamp

An extra £20m is up for grabs for LEPs in a new government announcement aimed to “supercharge” economic growth in local communities.

Released by the government yesterday, the proposals will offer the additional funding between 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 to support the implementation of changes such as increasing their diversity and ensuring that they operate in transparent way.

The plans, outlined in the publication of the ‘Strengthened Local Enterprise Partnerships,” which highlighted the lack of accountability, general confusion, and lack of diversity of England’s 38 LEPs, include supporting partnerships to consult widely and openly on appointing new chairs and improving diversity on boards.

The government will also make it a requirement for women to make up at least one third of LEP boards, with the expectation of equal representation by 2023.

Communities secretary James Brokenshire said: “This publication of the Strengthened Local Enterprise Partnerships policy represents a step change in approach for LEPs. We will continue our work to strengthen these leading institutions to develop ambitious strategies for growth and build an economy which is fit for the future.”

Brokenshire will also create a mandate for LEPs to submit proposals for revised geographies, including removing instances in which two LEP areas overlap.

Local growth minister Jake Berry said: “We’ve committed over £9 billion to help LEPs through 3 rounds of Growth Deals to deliver on their investment priorities, while creating new and exciting economic opportunities for local businesses and communities across the country.”

Berry noted that this “landmark shake-up” of LEPs will allow the government to deliver on commitments to create over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund by 2021.

An LGA spokesperson said: “The best local partnerships are created bottom-up and driven by local partners that have the economic well-being of their local communities at the heart of what they do.

“While it is important the structure and governance of LEPs reflects the need for transparency and accountability highlighted by the Ney Review, on their own these changes will do little to help the country to match the productivity levels of its rivals.”

The British Chambers of Commerce director of research and economics Mike Spicer said success for local business communities will be measured by whether companies feel that they have a strong voice in setting long-term strategy for the area, a say in prioritising resources, and whether LEPs deliver tangible improvements to the local business environment.

“At their core, LEPs exist to ensure that the public and private sectors come together to develop a long-term plan, allocate funding, and get the fundamentals right for local businesses to grow. They must not be distracted from this core purpose, either by local politics or by Whitehall process overload,” he added.

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Image credit: tupungato

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