CLICK REFRESH TO UPDATE
19:26 We've just uploaded an interactive map (courtesy of CLG/Bis) of the 24 successful LEP bids. You can check it out here.
18:06 Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “It’s extremely positive to see ministers giving thought to a more substantial relocalisation of business rates, something that would free councils from government grant and give them a real financial reward for approving development that generates economic activity and creates new jobs.”
17:36 John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general, said: “We are very concerned about the ambiguity raised around business rates in today’s announcement. If this means re-localising rates, the CBI is opposed to giving local authorities power to set these. Such a change would mean that businesses would face unknown varying levels of tax across the country.
On the LEPs announcement, Cridland commented: “The White Paper brings welcome clarity to what will be established to replace RDAs. The CBI is encouraged by the economic scale of many of the approved LEP proposals. This gives LEPs the ability to focus on business-led regional growth, through transport and planning, and by attracting inward investment and promoting key industries.
“To date business has been a bit sceptical about Government’s plans because of the lack of clarity about the role to be performed and the danger of LEPs being too small. It is early days but the Government appears to have responded to these concerns.”
“To date business has been a bit sceptical about Government’s plans because of the lack of clarity about the role to be performed and the danger of LEPs being too small. It is early days but the Government appears to have responded to these concerns.”
16:16 Full coverage of the growth white paper can be found over on our website, regen.net
16:11 Ed Cox, director of ippr north said: “The Regional Growth fund is trying to be all things to all people. Given how constrained spending is, it is essential that public money to spur growth is focused on those areas that most need support." He added: “LEPs are a huge challenge for local government and business. It's clear from the White Paper they are unlikely to be well resourced so it is absolutely essential that they are powerful - otherwise they will be toothless tigers."
15:59 Alexandra Jones, chief executive of think-tank 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."
15:50 Just got off the phone to Gordon Marsden, the shadow business minister. He warned that the situation for many parts of the country, where LEP bids have not been given the go-ahead, was "grim". He said that a number of England's most deprived local authority areas were not included in the first wave of successful LEPs. "At the moment we have a black hole in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the country," Marsden said.
"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."
15:50 Just got off the phone to Gordon Marsden, the shadow business minister. He warned that the situation for many parts of the country, where LEP bids have not been given the go-ahead, was "grim". He said that a number of England's most deprived local authority areas were not included in the first wave of successful LEPs. "At the moment we have a black hole in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the country," Marsden said.
The shadow business minister also warned that money from the £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund could be spread too thinly. "We've now got the Government admitting that they want to take housing market renewal money out of the growth fund. And DfT will be putting money into the pot, but therefore they'll be wanting transport coming out of it. At what point does this become a loaves and fishes exercise?".
Finally, Marsden warned that RDA assets could be sold off, rather than being passed to the emerging LEPs. The white paper gave "no clarity" over what would happen to the RDA's substantial land and property assets, he said. "The big worry is that the money will just be snaffled by the Treasury," he said.
15:04 The National Farmers' Union has warned that only a handful of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) recognise food and farming as key sectors. NFU head of policy services Andrew Clark said: "Reading through the initial proposals, it is apparent that farming and food are recognised as key sectors by only a handful of LEPs. Considering that farming generates some £7.1billion in gross value added terms to the UK economy, while agricultural raw materials literally feed the UK food and drink industry, it is disappointing that agri-food and rural issues are ignored in many proposals."
14:24 Nicola Riastrick, a partner and planning law expert at law firm Winckworth Sherwood said: “The introduction of LEPs is unlikely to get developers excited. The government has already said that they will not have a statutory role in the planning process and should ‘concentrate on the key nexus between housing, transport and planning’, whatever that means."
14:23 Nigel Cussen, a partner in the Leeds office of planning consultancy DPP, comments: “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.”
12:33 BREAKING The RDA function of inward investment will be delivered centrally, but white paper says that LEPs may bid to be a "delivery agent for nationally commissioned trade development support"
12:33 BREAKING The Department for Communities and Local Government will manage the disposal of the regional development agencies’ land assets, while the business department will manage the disposal of business and technology related assets. The white paper says: "The aim will be to achieve the best possible outcome for the region, consistent with achieving value for the public purse."
12:33 BREAKING The first round of bidding for cash from the £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund is now open. The fund will have a minimum bidding threshold of £1 million.
12:32 BREAKING Tax Increment Financing will be introduced initially through a bid-based process. Lessons from a set of initial projects will inform future use of the power.
12:32 BREAKING A new delivery structure for distributing European Regional Development Fund cash – currently administered by the regional development agencies - will be announced in next year’s Budget.
12:31 BREAKING Local enterprise partnerships will be expected to fund their own day-to-day running costs, says the white paper. They may wish to submit bids to the £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund, but they will not receive preferential treatment, according to the document.
12:30 Right. To start, with, here is the list of the 24 successful LEP bids:
- Birmingham & Solihull with E. Staffordshire, Lichfield & Tamworth
- Cheshire and Warrington
- Coast to Capital
- Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly
- Coventry & Warwickshire
- Cumbria
- Gt. Cambridge & Gt. Peterborough
- Greater Manchester
- Hertfordshire
- Kent, Greater Essex & East Sussex
- Leeds City Region
- Leicester & Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Liverpool City Region
- Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby, & Derbyshire
- Oxfordshire City Region
- Sheffield City Region
- Solent
- S.E. Midlands
- Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire
- Tees Valley
- Thames Valley Berkshire
- The Marches
- West of England
11:39 Labour's Hilary Benn on the offensive over LEPs in Commons, highlighting business concerns raised in this morning's Financial Times (see post at 09:57)
11:18 For details of the key questions the growth white paper needs to answer, read this blog post.
11:16 You can also follow our live coverage of the growth white paper over on Twitter - @regenerationUK
11.08 We're expecting upwards of 20 LEP bids to be given the green light later on today. Communities secretary Eric Pickles suggested at the Tory Party conference that up to 22 LEPs would be given the green light. Regeneration & Renewal revealed earlier this week that some of the LEPs to be given the go-ahead will be created by merging some of the initial bids for local enterprise partnership status. Business secretary Vince Cable, meanwhile, confirmed this week that LEPs will receive no funding for administration costs from central government.
10:00 Here's a quick LEP joke to lighten the mood from Insider Media:
Q: How many people does it take to change a lightbulb in an LEP office?
A: Dunno – everyone’s in the dark.
A: Dunno – everyone’s in the dark.
09:57 The Financial Times this morning highlights concerns from business that the LEPs - the first wave of which will be announced later today - will be little more than a fragmented network of “toothless talking shops”.
Image courtesy of Duncan Phillips/CASS
A new low-carbon, sustainable economy must come out of the rubble of the old economy.
ReplyDeleteMore than ever, the UK’s prosperity depends on secure sources of clean energy, avoiding the financial and social effects of climate change, and maintaining a flourishing natural environment which underpins our quality of life.
The Government wants to free up local councils and business to boost the economy. This comes with a responsibility: all players must focus on the right sort of economic activity. Growth at any price is not good enough.
The new Local Enterprise Partnerships should have a lead role in helping central Government to cut carbon and restore wildlife.
And the new Regional Growth Fund must only finance projects which have proper regard for action on reducing carbon and restoring nature.
Ministers must introduce 'local carbon budgets' to make sure that all local areas are pulling in the right direction – councils and businesses united to bring about ambitious carbon cuts and reshaping low-carbon economies.
Paul de Zylva, Friends of the Earth England
I agree with Paul.
ReplyDeleteWe should not forget the Green Investment Bank: it should be adequately funded, and it should be given a prominent role in helping to achieve a low carbon resilient economy.
I am worried that some areas in strong need of regeneration intervention, e.g. Hull, have been left out of the equation altogether. What mechanism has been put in place to provide much need regeneration funds to those areas?
Corrado, Stockholm Environment Institute in York
Hello mmate great blog post
ReplyDelete