Gloucestershire joins local enterprise partnership network
The Gloucestershire local enterprise partnership covers a population of around 600,000 and represents over 25,000 businesses. It has the support…
The Gloucestershire local enterprise partnership covers a population of around 600,000 and represents over 25,000 businesses. It has the support from all seven councils in Gloucestershire. It joins the 33 partnerships announced since the Government’s Local Growth White Paper was published in October last year.
The priority of the private sector-led partnership is to promote growth and create jobs in the area. To achieve this, the Gloucestershire partnership plans to build strong relationships with its neighbouring local enterprise partnership to help address strategic issues. Some of the businesses supporting the Gloucestershire partnership include Silverwood UK, Forge First Ltd, Supergroup PLC, MOOG Controls Ltd and L-3 TRL Technology.
Mark Prisk said:
“I’m delighted that we are able to approve a proposal for a Gloucestershire partnership that had the best interests of the area at its heart.
“With the Regional Growth Fund and the Enterprise Zones both open for bids, now is the time for local enterprise partnerships to seize the opportunities to bring significant investment to their areas. I want all local communities to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of the private sector and the opportunities that growth brings.
“We are edging closer to having 100% coverage of local enterprise partnerships in England and we are continuing to assess proposals for further partnerships in areas which are currently not represented.”
Decentralisation Minister Greg Clark said:
“This new local enterprise partnership is testament to the strength of the local ambition, ideas and leadership in Gloucestershire. Councils, businesses and civic leaders are taking the reins of their local economy today with a common goal: to promote jobs, growth and prosperity in Gloucestershire.
“We now have 34 local enterprise partnerships covering over 90 per cent of the country, moving us closer to creating a fairer and more balanced economy driven by private sector strength.”
Last week Mark Prisk announced a range of measures to help local enterprise partnerships get up and running, and to support them in their ambitions for growth.
The measures include a one off £5 million Start Up Fund to help partnerships get on a sustainable financial footing. This funding could cover costs for such things such as training. An online toolbox will provide partnerships with information on government economic development policies and how national and local initiatives can dovetail to help local businesses and entrepreneurs. Partnerships now also have relationship managers in BIS Local offices who will act as a single point of contact for information and guidance.
Local enterprise partnerships bring together local business and civic leaders, working to support their local economy. They operate within a geography that reflects natural economic areas and provide the vision, knowledge and strategic leadership needed to drive sustainable private sector growth and job creation in their area.
Notes to editors:**
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The Gloucestershire local enterprise partnership covers: Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury.
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In September 2010 the Government received 62 responses to its invitation to form local enterprise partnerships. Proposals covered every part of England outside London. Today the Gloucestershire partnership has been asked to set up its board and progress its proposals to the next stage. It joins the 33 partnerships approved since October. The total 34 now approved are:
- Black Country
- Birmingham & Solihull with E. Staffordshire, Lichfield & Tamworth
- Cheshire and Warrington
- Coast to Capital
- Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly
- Coventry & Warwickshire
- Cumbria
- Enterprise M3
- Gloucestershire
- Gt. Cambridge & Gt. Peterborough
- Greater Manchester
- Hertfordshire
- Kent, Greater Essex & East Sussex
- Lancashire
- Leeds City Region
- Leicester & Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Liverpool City Region
- London
- New Anglia
- North Eastern
- Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby, & Derbyshire
- Oxfordshire City Region
- Sheffield City Region
- Solent
- South East Midlands
- Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire
- Tees Valley
- Thames Valley Berkshire
- The Heart of the South West
- The Marches
- West of England
- Worcestershire
- York and North Yorkshire
- Taken together, these 34 partnerships represent:
- 1.9m or 94 per cent of all businesses (active enterprises) in England
- 22m employees (employee jobs figures) or 94 per cent of all employees in England and;
- A population of 49m or 94 per cent of England’s population.
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A map of approved local enterprise partnerships is available from http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/economic-development/leps
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Proposals for partnerships were assessed in line with the expectations set out in the 29 June 2010 letter from the Business Secretary and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/regional/docs/10-1026-final-letter-local-enterprise-partnerships
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Specifically, the Local Growth White Paper proposes that local enterprise partnerships will be able to consider a diverse range of roles, reflecting the differing local priorities in different areas, including:
- working with Government to set out key investment priorities, including transport infrastructure;
- coordinating proposals or bidding directly for the Regional Growth Fund;
- supporting high growth businesses, for example through involvement in bids to run the new growth hubs;
- participation in the development of national planning policy and ensuring business is involved in the consideration of strategic planning applications;
- lead changes in how businesses are regulated locally;
- strategic housing delivery, including pooling and aligning funding streams;
- working with local employers, Jobcentre Plus and learning providers to help local workless people into jobs;
- coordinating approaches to leverage funding from the private sector;
- exploring opportunities for developing incentives on renewable energy projects and Green Deal;
- involvement in the delivery of other national priorities such as digital infrastructure
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Revised proposals from partnerships which have not yet been approved will be welcomed by Government as they become ready_. _
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Notes to Editors
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