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Saturday 30 July 2011

LEP Start Up Fund: who got what?

32 proposals were submitted to BIS for the £5 million start up fund. The average amount per LEP (assuming all funding was distributed) would be £156,250. Here is information on who got what. Percentage = percentage received from total amount bid for.

Where there is only a percentage this means I have not yet been able to find out the exact amount.


Coventry and Warwickshire got £200,000 100%

Thames Valley Berkshire got £198,835 100%

Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough £220,500 90%

Staffordshire Stoke-on-Trent Local Enterprise Partnership £172,500 98%

Black Country £75,000 100%

Coast to Capital £240,000 75%

Cornwall and IoS £76,000 100%

Sheffield £246,000 68%

Hertfordshire £180,000 90%

Greater Birmingham £160,000 73%

York and North Yorkshire £120,000

Dorset £177,500 95%

New Anglia £180,000 100%

Solent £95,000 100%

Humber £177,000 100%

Heart of the South West LEP £170,000 100%

South East £201,000 100%

Enterprise M3 £210,000 100%

The Marches £137,000 93%




Unknown:

North Eastern Local Enterprise Partnership 90%
Leeds City Region 69%
Cheshire and Warrington 90%
Tees Valley Unlimited 91%
Liverpool City Region 100%
Leicester and Leicestershire 97%
Greater Lincolnshire 100%
York and North Yorkshire 100%
South East Midlands 100%
West of England 100%
Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire 69%
Worcestershire 100%
Cumbria 100%
Greater Manchester 100%

Tuesday 26 July 2011

LEP Network Interview with the British Chambers of Commerce

I Interviewed Mike Spicer from the British Chambers of Commerce on the LEP Network 26th July 2011

What will the LEP Network do?

It will be a light-touch network that enables LEPs to come together to discuss issues of shared importance, engage with Ministers, and share knowledge and good practice. It will be a gateway to news and information, and will assist LEPs to ‘self-serve’ with their troubleshooting, capacity-building and problem-solving needs.

The Network officially went live on 21 July, so it’s still very early days. We have a draft programme of activities that we are testing with LEP leaders to ensure it reflects their needs and is driven by their requirements.

The core programme will consist of events; electronic forums for regular communication; a monthly bulletin; a website and an annual benchmarking report of LEP-area economies.

We hope that over time it becomes a valued and trusted platform for LEPs and the wider community of interest around local economic development.



Who is it for?

It’s there for LEPs. LEPs come in all shapes and sizes and the make-up of Boards, in terms of public and private-sector participants, varies greatly too. The Network needs to be inclusive to reflect that and be successful.

While LEPs are resource-constrained, that doesn’t mean they can’t draw on expertise and experience in a way that avoids the use of significant additional resource. Using the power of networks is one such way. We’ve already seen virtual social networks spring up around the LEP agenda. But I think it’s fair to say that at this stage they are mainly confined to the wider community of interest and have a public-sector slant.

The Network will help to address this lack of capacity on the private-sector side but will not be exclusive to it. I think a major strength that the BCC brings to this is experience of engaging with Chamber members, other local business bodies and the wider community on the issue of local economic development. This experience will inform how we frame Network activities so they are as inclusive as they can be.

We have also been in discussions with the LGA about how we can make this work for both the public and private-sector participants in LEPs.



What will you do?

My role is to lead the project management of LEP Network activities and be the main point of contact for those looking to find out more about how they can get involved.



Are you a new national secretariat?

No. This is not about re-creating some equivalent to the old RDA National Secretariat: RDAs shared common lines of accountability into central government and the secretariat supported that by co-ordinating communications and positions.

But LEPs are evolving from the bottom up - free from central control and shaped according to local need: the LEP Network is based on these principles too and will be driven by the priorities of its members.

LEPs have told us loud and clear: they do not want the Network to be a collective mouthpiece for them, and they do not want some grouping drawn from the Network that could, over time, come to be seen as the primary route for the Government to engage with the LEP agenda.



For how long will you be facilitating this network given funding restraints?

The Department for Communities and Local Government has made a grant available to cover some of the costs of Network activity over its first two years, the remainder will be met through in-kind contributions from the BCC.

So our role is to get it up and running. We will be working with partners across the Network to explore the options for sustaining it beyond the grant period.



How do I get involved (LEP/business/representative group)?

There are several ways you can get involved - by attending events; providing news and other material for the website and monthly bulletins; and contributing to online discussions.

The Network will hold events throughout the year: some will be directed primarily at LEP Boards, others will be open to the wider community of interest.

We will also be organising a Business Representatives Forum, drawn from across national business groups and sector organisations. This will be a forum for business groups to raise common issues about local economic development from their members, in a way that can be fed into the Network.



I understand that there is an event on 15th September – how can I register?

The LEP Network’s inaugural event will be held in London on 15 September. It is open to LEP Boards, senior government officials and business group representatives. This first event is by invitation only. The aim is to maximise the quality time between LEP leaders and Ministers. The event will feature keynote addresses from BIS and CLG Ministers; a ‘LEP Question time’ session – a chance for LEP leaders to ask questions of senior members of the Government; and plenty of opportunities for networking.



There will be a second, larger event, in February / March 2012 that will be open to the wider community of interest. We also plan to hold regular thematic workshops.



Will you have a website/email address?

Yes. The Network website will go live over the next few months. It will be a portal for information on LEPs and news from around the Network; carry discussion threads; be a hub for LEP-relevant research; and include information about LEP Network events with details of how to get involved.

The LEP Network email address will go live from 1 August and will be: info@lepnetwork.org.uk



Can I register for updates / newsletter / events? Will you have a distribution list?

Yes. You will be able to register by emailing info@lepnetwork.org.uk from 1 August and there will also be a facility to sign up through the website when that goes live.



Will I be able to bid for funding from you?

No – the Network is not a funding body. But information on how to access / raise funding will be included within the scope of Network activities.

Saturday 23 July 2011

Sub-national economic development: Where do we go from here?

Sub-national economic development: Where do we go from here?


Lee Pugalis, September 2010
 
A little dated but still worth a read as many of the points are still valid.
 
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/60737924?access_key=key-jpd9v6f8rnac1goo00n

Sunday 17 July 2011

Everything you need to know about LEPs(2): essential LEP reading; groups to join and best practice


LEPs are part of the Government’s Local Economic Growth Agenda which also includes: Enterprise Zones; Regional Growth Fund; Reforming the planning system; Incentivising Local Authorities to go for growth (including the New Homes Bonus and the Local Government Resource Review which is due in July 2011); UKTI: new arrangements for Foreign Direct Investment support; and around skills: freedom from central control; two-way engagement between colleges & training organisations and local partners.

Each LEPs role will be decided locally, however the focus will be around these themes: economic development, skills, planning, housing and tourism. 

There are 36 LEPs.  They are at different stages of development. 

Many LEPs have websites which are a great source of information.  In terms of establishing a LEP and what they will be doing here is a list of documents that I would recommend viewing:

Coast to Capital chairman role job description
South East Midlands chair job description
South East Midlands director role
Hertfordshire LEP terms of reference
Cheshire and Warrington presentation from stakeholder forum presentation on 4th July
Stoke and Staffordshire Selection criteria for Board Members
Solent LEP mission statement and guiding principles
Oxfordshire LEP business plan
Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Board Terms of Reference
West of England June Board minutes 

All of which are available on the appropriate LEP website
A couple of other reports worth reading are:

Patrick McVeigh’s thoughts on LEPs via CLES http://www.cles.org.uk/features/decisions-decisions/
Janice Morphet Infrastucture Development Plans and LEPs which is available through LinkedIn

There are my tips of groups to join for more information on LEPs.

Linked In:
From RDA to LEP
Local Enterprise Partnerships
Check if your local LEP has a LinkedIn group

You will need to register and then join the Local Enterprise Partnerships ‘community’


If you would like me to share your documentation / papers / other best practice please forward it to me.  This blog has had more than 6000 hits in two months.

lorna_gibbons@hotmail.com

Sunday 10 July 2011

List of Local Authorities in more than one LEP

LA (District/ Unitary) covered (spatially)LEPs
BarnsleyLeeds City Region Sheffield City Region
CravenLeeds City Region York and North Yorkshire
HarrogateLeeds City Region York and North Yorkshire
SelbyLeeds City Region York and North Yorkshire
YorkLeeds City Region York and North Yorkshire
North East DerbyshireSheffield City Region Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire,
ChesterfieldSheffield City Region Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire,
BassetlawSheffield City Region Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire,
BolsoverSheffield City Region Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire,
East StaffordshireGreater Birmingham and Solihull Stoke and Staffordshire
LichfieldGreater Birmingham and Solihull Stoke and Staffordshire
Cannock ChaseGreater Birmingham and Solihull Stoke and Staffordshire
TamworthGreater Birmingham and Solihull Stoke and Staffordshire
RedditchGreater Birmingham and Solihull Worcestershire
BromsgroveGreater Birmingham and Solihull Worcestershire
Wyre ForestGreater Birmingham and Solihull Worcestershire
King's Lynn and West NorfolkGreater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough New Anglia
Forest HeathGreater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough New Anglia
North HertfordshireGreater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough Hertfordshire
St EdmundsburyGreater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough New Anglia
UttlesfordGreater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough Kent, Greater Essex and East Sussex
DacorumHertfordshire South East Midlands
CherwellOxford City Region South East Midlands
East HampshireSolent Enterprise M3
Test ValleySolent Enterprise M3
WinchesterSolent Enterprise M3
North East LincolnshireLincolnshire Humber
CroydonCoast to Capital Pan London
East Riding of YorkshireYork and North Yorkshire and Humber


For a full list of LEPs and LAs follow this link to an Excel spreed sheet http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/economic-development/docs/l/11-p113f-local-authority-areas-covered-by-leps.xls

Monday 4 July 2011

The 29 bids for a second wave of 10 Enterprise Zone are as follows:

Local Enterprise Partnership
Enterprise Zone Proposal
Cheshire and Warrington
Omega - an outstanding business location for Cheshire and Warrington
Coast to Capital
Enterprise@BognorRegis
 Cornwall & Isle of Scilly
Newquay AeroHub Enterprise Zone
Coventry & Warwickshire
Coventry & Warwickshire Gateway
Cumbria
Fuelling the Future - Cumbria Enterprise Zone
Derby Derbyshire Nottingham Nottinghamshire
Markham Vale Growth Zone
East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock
Discovery Park, Sandwich, Kent
East Sussex, Essex, Kent
Enterprise West Essex @ Harlow
Enterprise M3
Enterprise Zone M3
GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership
Gloucestershire Enterprise Zone
Greater Birmingham and Solihull
Greater Birmingham and Solihull Enterprise Belt
Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough
Alconbury Business Campus
Greater Lincolnshire
South Humber Bank Gateway Enterprise Zone
Heart of the South West
Energised, Advanced, Inspired: Plymouth's Enterprise Zone for the Heart of the South West
Heart of the South West
Heart of the South West Low Carbon Energy Enterprise Zone
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire Enterprise Zone @ Maylands
Humber
Humber Renewable Energy Super Cluster
Lancashire
The Lancashire AEM (Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing) Enterprise Zone
Leicester and Leicestershire
MIRA Technology Park
London
Upper Lee Valley
London
Croydon
Marches
Marches Enterprise Zone
New Anglia
Energy for New Anglia
Oxfordshire
Science Vale UK Gateway Zone
Solent
The Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus
South East Midlands
Northampton Waterside
Stoke and Staffordshire
North Staffordshire Enterprise Zone
Worcestershire
South Kidderminster Advanced Manufacturing and Business Park
York and North Yorkshire
The Yorkshire Coast Enterprise Zone