Local Enterprise Partnerships – Fact or Fiction!!!!

Here are some facts about our beloved LEP’s across England. Well, there are 39 LEP’s managing Growth Funds for economic regeneration. The largest growth deal awarded to a single LEP is Leeds City Region – a massive £627.5 million out of £7.3 billion was allocated as of March 2016. There is an incredible sum of £12 billion to be awarded to LEP’s between 2015/16 and 2020/21, with an estimated 420,000 jobs to be created.

Despite these huge sums of money, it is anticipated that £85 million has not been spent on projects in 2015/16 – the question is why?

The whole industry is crying out for project funding to deliver projects that will contribute to the local economy – ask any Local Authority. Government set out its plan back in 2010 in its white paper “Local Growth”, realising every places potential. The objective was to achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries. Devolving power to local communities where the drivers of growth are local decisions. Key to plans for local economic growth are the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP’s).

The LEP’s have replaced the Regional Development Agencies and are business led partnerships between the private sector and local authorities. A clear mandate of steering growth strategically in local communities, without biases, but with no guidance on how they should be structured. In addition to their role in local economic growth, the government regards LEP’s as essential to its progressing English devolution agenda. Some LEP’s have also previously supported bids for City Deals, which aim to empower cities and boost local economic growth.

It still remains unclear on the role LEP’s will play in the devolution deals as the landscape changes considerably with 10 deals across England. It will be challenging to assess the value for money of growth deals without a clear idea of what the government hope to achieve through them. With no specific objective for what they hoped to achieve, it is not clear how the government will determine that funding will be sufficient. LEP’s must draw a multi-year strategic economic plan to bid for growth deal funding, setting out priorities for long term growth in the community.

LEP’s have pursued “shovel ready” projects to spend funding and not the projects that will represent best value for money for local economy. Some LEP’s are finding it difficult to develop a long term pipeline of projects, and depend on local authority partners for staff and expertise. However, cuts in central government funding means local authorities are struggling with staff resources with no contributions from the private sector. The delivery of growth deal projects effectively requires access to staff with expertise in complex areas such as forecasting, economic modelling etc.

The government encouraged the establishment of LEP’s from 2010 as private sector led strategic partnerships to influence local growth priorities. LEP’s are responsible for huge amounts of growth deal funding but are struggling to deliver in the current economic climate and advent of devo deals. Local economies are at risk as the clock ticks without any real sign of significant improvement, the rhetoric continues as people are enthused by words. The original question remains “Fact or Fiction”? LEP’s are here “Fact”, are they adding value and delivering on the remit set out by government “Fiction”.