East Midlands local growth champion revealed
Former Bullingdon Club member and MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner Nick Hurd MP, has been unveiled as a local growth champion for the East Midlands.
Hurd will liase with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the D2N2, Greater Lincolnshire and Leicester and Leicestershire regions after an announcement by Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark that all Ministers in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will be tasked with building relationships with a number of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).
Northamptonshire LEP will be serviced by Baroness Neville-Rolfe.
Hurd is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Charities, Social Enterprise and Volunteering at the Cabinet Office in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government until July 2014. On 28 November 2015, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for international development following the resignation of Grant Shapps MP.
Ministers will also engage with businesses and local leaders in the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and will act as a first point of contact for respective LEPs in England within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: “Government has helped transform the business landscape by putting power back into the hands of local communities and businesses to drive economic growth. To make sure every corner of the UK benefits, I am giving ministers in my team geographic areas of responsibility so they can build on existing relationships to better connect government policy with the businesses and industries we’re working with.
“This is part of our plan to build an economy that works for all. An effective industrial strategy has to recognise and take advantage of the differences and unique strengths that exist across the country, and I will be encouraging all my ministers to get out there and meet the people who know their area best.”
