Cable reveals successful LEP bids
BUSINESS Secretary Vince Cable today announced the succesful bids to establish new local enterprise partnerships.
The bids for the partnerships between local authorities and business based on the Leeds and Sheffield City Regions were among 24 of 56 approved nationwide.
But the Government rejected plans set out for LEPs covering North Yorkshire and the Humber.
Mr Cable said: “I was delighted that so many of the proposals for local enterprise partnerships showed real imagination and initiative and a genuine desire to drive local economic growth. I am pleased to announce that we are asking 24 of these partnerships to set up their boards and get to work.
“The knowledge and expertise of the private sector, local authorities and their local communities will be crucial as we work to create a better environment for business and ensure that everyone has access to the opportunities that growth brings.
Gary Williamson, chief executive of Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Chamber and our members have broadly supported the Leeds City Region LEP, although we have questioned the lack of detail, but I am pleased that their bid has been accepted.
“The next, but crucial, step is to ensure that the LEP remains business-led. Our local authorities need to build real business relationships and include the private sector in the decision-making process”.
“With no funding from central Government, the challenge now is to ensure that the LEP doesn’t simply become another layer of bureaucracy or a talking shop and that we actually achieve the collective public–private sector vision for the Leeds City Region.
“This will be no easy task, as I suspect that the Regional Growth Fund will be spread thinly across the English Regions”.
The Government has also published a new White Paper on regional economic growth including details of the new Regional Growth Fund and the introduction of tax increment financing.
Councillor Paul Scriven, leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “I am delighted that Sheffield is among the first of the LEPs announced by the coalition Government. The LEP heralds a new era in moving the city area forward, now we can truly create our own destiny for the city region’s economy. Working with local business to some up with the right solutions for local people, to boost business and create jobs.
“This is more than just drawing lines on a map. It is about providing real people with opportunities by growing our economy, redressing the balance of public versus private. In next 10 years we could add £2bn extra to the local economy and become the UK hub for modern manufacturing. We have big ambitions and are here to deliver for the people of Sheffield and the city region.”
Master Cutler Bill Speirs said: “We are pleased that the Government has accepted the proposal for the LEP in the Sheffield City Region. Everyone from the region’s companies, the Company of Cutlers, the Chambers of Commerce and the local authorities are committed to a vision that will see the Sheffield City Region make a greater contribution to the UK economy and provide conditions in the local economy that will allow our businesses to grow.
“This will enable the region’s economy to be revitalised and offer people a great place to live, work, and visit as well as a fantastic place to invest.”
Nigel Cussen, a partner in the Leeds office of independent planning consultancy DPP, said: “LEPs will not have a planning focus, more of an economic development one. The main problem we can see with them is that the strategic focus will be lost; there is no wider, regional overview – something the RDAs were good at providing.
“There is a feeling that the Leeds LEP will simply be a rehash of the Leeds City Region focus, which has been in existence for the past two or three years. If that is the case, developers will have at least some comfort in that they are used to working within the framework.”
