Board hits back amid rumours LEPs may be scrapped

East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) could be scrapped as part of a UK-wide move by the Government to abolish the organisations the Coalition administration introduced immediately after the 2010 General Election.

According to reports, LEPs across the country could scrapped in the forthcoming Levelling Up White Paper, the publication of which has been delayed until next year.

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove is said to be keen on regional mayor-led devolution deals, rather than LEPS which are voluntary bodies designed to bring business and council leaders together to help set local economic priorities.

The LEPs themselves replaced the regional development agencies.

However, a Government official is quote in the Financial Times as saying LEPs are ““weak, ineffectual and bottom up with poor geography”. Another added: “Most of them are a waste of space.”

Gove is said to want subsume the LEPs into combined authorities – and some may even avoid being scrapped altogether.

The D2N2 LEP, which covers the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire areas, has hit back at the plans and issued a statement through its board.

The statement said: “We are aware of comments in the media about LEPs generally and the competence of the volunteer board members and professional staff of LEPs. The latest Performance Reviews carried out by government sets out how highly effective, competent and efficient LEPs are and will continue to be in delivering the levelling up agenda.

“The D2N2 LEP has played an integral part in the ongoing national review of Local Enterprise Partnerships. We remain optimistic about the outcome because we are clear about the added value D2N2 has brought to our region over ten years and that we have a key role to play in our low carbon future. As a business-led local partnership, we are keen to ensure that local partners and local businesses continue to have a clear strategic input in driving national priorities and regional economic growth.

“Since it was established, the D2N2 LEP has secured more than £1.5 billion in investment for the region. Our Local Growth Fund deal has successfully delivered 60 major projects and created over 16,000 jobs. In addition, we have supported 17,000 of our region’s SMEs through our Growth Hub, helped over 12,000 learners, and led the bid to secure the UK’s only inland Freeport.

“Local Enterprise Partnerships are ideally placed to deliver on the Government’s Levelling Up ambitions, support Plan for Growth and Net Zero ambitions, as demonstrated by our recent launch of a new Low Carbon Growth fund which has received excellent levels of interest. As a board we firmly believe we have the creativity, the expertise, and the experience to collectively deliver the sustainable economic growth that our region needs and deserves.”