LEPs: It’s a time for business ‘heroes’ says Blackett
IT’S time for the business ‘heroes’ of the West Midlands to step forward to ensure the economic development of the region doesn’t descend into chaos, says Birmingham Chamber chief Jerry Blackett.
Mr Blackett was speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com as preparations got underway for a major conference on July 26 when businesses and local authority leaders are expected to come together to discuss the formation of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).
LEPs are the bodies that the new coalition Government wants to replace Regional Development Agencies like AWM . With just 25% of the budget of their predecessors, LEPs are expected to be smaller in scope and size, and there could be as many as six in the old AWM area. The Government wants them to be chaired by major business leaders, but working in concert with local authorities. In the West Midlands, there is concern that local rivalries could lead to the ‘Balkanisation’ of the region and too many LEPs, each of which is too small to be effective.
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Mr Blackett said he is working with Birmingham City Council chief executive Stephen Hughes and other business groups to create a draft proposal for an LEP to cover Birmingham, the Black Country, South Staffordshire and Solihull. The proposal would be discussed at the conference, which, he said would be “a defining moment” for the region.
“By then we will be in a position to have draft terms about how we want to run these LEPs,” he said.
“We want to go to business people, particularly our heroes in the region who we all look up to, who we would love to come and run these LEPs. I want these people to pick up this document and say: ‘I believe again – I do think this is going to make a difference.
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“We are at a very important moment for the private sector to haul us forward. July 26 is a chance to bring together from across our region the best of our businesses.”
Details of the July 26 conference at the Lakeside Conference Centre in Birmingham, which is being organised by Business Voice WM, are available from Ray Flynn on rayflynn@advantagewm.co.uk.
- For the second part of this video interview, see TheBusinessDesk.com on Monday
- Marc Reeves Blog: A soap opera for our times: the West Midlands’ LEP fiasco
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