Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
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New Local Enterprise Partnerships criss-cross the country
The commitment and ambition shown by councils and business to radically reshape the way business and government interact at the local level was praised by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Business Secretary Vince Cable today.
Following the closing day for submitting local enterprise partnership proposals the Government confirmed that it has received 56 proposals from across the country.
Ministers have been impressed by many of the proposals which are radical in their approach. They identify the variety of challenges facing individual local economies and put forward innovative ways of tackling them – reflecting the importance of allowing local areas to determine their own economic development and drive private sector job growth.
The Government is keen to see partnerships remain proactive and maintain momentum. Over the coming weeks Ministers will consider the proposals in detail, looking at how they will support economic growth, before providing feedback to partnerships ahead of the publication of the White Paper on sub-national economic growth and the introduction of the Localism Bill.
Tackling the debt crisis and rebalancing the economy are urgent national priorities.
Local enterprise partnerships can rewrite the economic geography of the country - unconstrained by arbitrary boundaries of Regional Development Agencies and the top-down prescription approach taken previously. Proposals include partnerships that cut across existing regional boundaries and include universities or community groups among them.
Eric Pickles said:
“These 56 local enterprise partnership proposals are just the beginning of a new radical way of delivering prosperity and rebalancing the economy.
“We are facing economic problems that need solutions from local communities. The secret to the success of local enterprise partnerships will be working on the basis of local economic geography – gone are the artificial political regions of RDAs - this will better serve the needs of local business.
“The bureaucracy of Regional Development Agencies gave local authorities little reason to engage creatively with economic issues. Local enterprise partnerships are a way of tying council and business interests together, and creating the conditions for business to thrive and prosper.”
Vince Cable said:
“Business leadership in local enterprise partnerships is critical. Mark Prisk and I have met many leading groups including the CBI, the Institute of Directors, the Federation of Small Businesses, and the British Chambers of Commerce who have all contributed their thoughts to how it should work. It is clear that there must be genuine partnership between business and local government and that local enterprise partnerships should be practical bodies for promoting enterprise, not talking shops.
“Trade and investment promotion, sector leadership, innovation, business support and access to finance will in future be led nationally, though with devolved local management in many cases. This still leaves huge scope for local initiatives to promote enterprise. The outcome will vary just as local economic priorities differ across the country. In some areas, there might be a focus on skills. In others, local enterprise partnerships may help set priorities for planning and infrastructure decisions. The key is that these partnerships are built from the bottom-up and will have the flexibility to determine their own agenda, rather than have it handed down to them by Whitehall.”
Yesterday was also the closing date for the consultation on the
Regional Growth Fund. Announced in the Budget, the £1bn fund will
provide support for projects that offer significant potential for
sustainable economic growth and can create new private sector
jobs. The two-year fund will particularly help areas that have
been traditionally reliant on the public sector make the
transition to private sector growth and prosperity. Proposals for
funding will be sought from private organisations and
public-private partnerships, and local enterprise partnerships
will have a key role to play in coordinating bids across areas and
communities.
Around 350 responses to the consultation were received, from
organisations including trade associations, business groups, local
authorities, universities and, environmental bodies, setting out
their views on how the Fund can be designed to best meet the needs
of local areas and communities. The Government’s response to those
views and further criteria for funding proposals will be set out
in the forthcoming White Paper.
Notes to Editors
1. The full list of local enterprise partnership proposals is as follows:
Bexley, Dartford, and Gravesham
Birmingham and Solihull with
East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth
Bournemouth, Dorset
and Poole
Brighton and Hove, Croydon, the Gatwick Diamond and
West Sussex - Coast to Capital
Cheshire and
Warrington
County Durham
Coventry and
Warwickshire
Cumbria
Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
East
Anglia (Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and North Essex)
East
Sussex
Empowering Enterprise - Cornwall and the Isles of
Scilly
Enterprise M3 - Covers parts of Hampshire and Surrey
including Andover, Basingstoke, Aldershot, Farnborough, Fleet,
Hook and Camberley
Fylde Coast, Lancashire
Gatwick
Diamond
Gloucester, Swindon and Wiltshire
Greater
Cambridge & Greater Peterborough
Greater
Lincolnshire
Greater Manchester
Hampshire
Heart of the
South West
Hertfordshire
Hull, East Riding &
Scarborough
Humber
Kent and
Medway
Kent-Essex
Lancashire
Leeds City
Region
Leicester and Leicestershire
Liverpool City
Region
Newcastle Gateshead
Norfolk
North
East
Northamptonshire
Northumberland and North
Tyneside
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and
Derbyshire
Oxfordshire City Region
Pennine
Lancashire
Sheffield City Region
Solent
South East
Midlands
South Somerset and East Devon
South Tyneside and
Sunderland
Stoke-on -Trent and Staffordshire
Surrey
Connects
Tees Valley
Thames Valley Berkshire
Thames
Valley Buckinghamshire
The Black Country
The Marches
Enterprise Partnership - Shropshire and Herefordshire
The Peel
Group - Atlantic Gateway - Liverpool and Manchester
Visitor
Economy Southern England
West Midlands
West of
England
Worcestershire
York and North Yorkshire
2. Three distinct responses in respect to cross boundary
working arrangements have also been received from Peak District,
South East England and West Leicestershire and Northern Warwickshire
3. In June Business Secretary Vince Cable and Communities
Secretary Eric Pickles have asked councils and businesses to
consider forming new local enterprise partnerships: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/1626475
4. The joint letter to councils can be found at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1626854.pdf
5. BIS' online newsroom contains the latest press notices, speeches, as well as video and images for download. It also features an up to date list of BIS press office contacts. See http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom for more information.
Communities & Local Government
Media Enquiries: 0303
44 41137 Out of hours: 0303 444 1201
Email:
press.office@communities.gsi.gov.uk
News Releases:
www.communities.gov.uk/newsroom
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Una Flynn
Phone: 020 7215 5256
Una.Flynn@bis.gsi.gov.uk
