Green light for 24 local enterprise partnerships

28 Oct 10
Ministers have given the go-ahead to 24 local enterprise partnerships as they published the local growth white paper.

By Jaimie Kaffash

28 October 2010

Ministers have given the go-ahead to 24 Local Enterprise Partnerships as they published the local growth white paper.

Among the bids to be given the green light are Greater Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool city regions and Tees Valley. They are the first wave to be approved.  

LEPs are partnerships between councils and local businesses and will work to stimulate private-sector growth.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said he was ‘delighted’ so many LEPs bids displayed ‘real imagination and initiative’.

‘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 bring.’

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles added that LEPs would help fix an economy ‘skewed by artificial boundaries and top-down prescription that did not work’.

Ministers today also opened the £1.4bn regional growth fund, which LEPs must bid for by January 21. This will ‘support communities that are currently over-dependent on the public sector’, the Cabinet Office said. Lord Heseltine, the former Conservative deputy prime minister, will chair the advisory panel that will consider the bids.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: ‘For too long growth in the economy has been pinned on a few sectors, like financial services, while other great British industries have been ignored. Prosperity has been confined to certain postcodes while huge swathes of the country have suffered serial neglect.

‘The coalition government is determined not to repeat these mistakes. We will support growth across the whole country, rewarding hard work and innovation in all of our industries. We understand that areas which rely on the public sector for jobs will need special help.’

The government is also looking at proposals to allow local authorities to keep the business rates they collect locally.

Richard Kemp, the leader of the Local Government Association Liberal Democrat Group, welcomed the proposals. He said the measure would ‘rekindle the links between local businesses and local councils, remove yet more shackles from local councils and help stimulate local economies’.

Kemp added: ‘Along with the removal of ring fencing, removal of inspection burdens and a forthcoming bill on decentralisation and localism, the government is taking fast action to deliver the pledges on localism made in the coalition agreement.’

Other measures contained in the white paper, Localgrowth: realising every place's potential, include: a £200m New Homes Bonus fund, which will match the additional council tax local authorities receive from building new homes; a ‘simple and streamlined’ planning process, which will give communities more power over decisions; and Tax Increment Financing powers that were announced by Clegg last month.

Alexandra Jones, chief executive of the Centre for Cities, said: 'The possibility of letting councils retain more of the proceeds of the local business rate is an exciting one, which would give city leaders more control over their finances and provide a clear incentive to prioritise local growth. 
 
'The government has recognised today that success will look different in different places, and that it should work with the grain of economic growth. The Centre for Cities has been advocating this for some time, and we hope the forthcoming review of planning will drive private sector growth for cities and towns throughout the UK - and in particular encourage buoyant cities to expand.'

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