1 Governments approach to local growth Pete Northover, BIS London and East National Housing Federation East of England Regional Council 3 September 2013.

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Government’s approach to local growth

Pete Northover, BIS London and East

National Housing Federation East of England Regional Council3 September 2013

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Who we are: BIS Local Teams

6 small teams based on Local Enterprise

Partnership boundaries

We work with Departments, agencies and local partners to:

• Support the delivery of BIS’ – and some OGD – local growth policies

• Advise Ministers and senior officials on the delivery of BIS policy at local level

• Respond effectively to economic shocks

• Identify and realise economic opportunities

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London & EastRegion includes:

• Norfolk• Suffolk• Hertfordshire• Cambridgeshire• Rutland• Essex• Kent • East Sussex• London

NOT Beds & Luton (part of BIS East Mids)

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Role of Local Enterprise Partnerships

• SoSs for BIS and CLG wrote to local authorities and business leaders on 29 June 2010 inviting proposals to establish LEPs.

• Business-led partnerships, with local authority representation to:

– Provide the strategic leadership in their areas to set out economic priorities

– Create the right environment for business and growth, by tackling issues such as planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure priorities, employment and enterprise and the transition to the low carbon economy

– Better reflect the functional economic areas of the areas they serve

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LEPs’ role in local growth initiatives: Regional Growth Fund

• £3.2bn fund, helping companies throughout England to create jobs between now and the mid-2020s – key part of Govt’s rebalancing agenda

• Successes in the East of England

– Round 1: Two project bids from individual companies (e2v and GM)– Round 2: Two project bids (Lotus, Norwich) and Luton BC, for M1 junction– Round 3: A number of project bids, but also New Anglia LEP Business Growth

Fund programme– Round 4: Further support for New Anglia Business Growth Fund and Agritech

Programme across GCGP and New Anglia LEP areas– Rounds 5 and 6 - £300m pa - tba

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• Designated sites with Business Rates relief, superfast broadband and simplified planning

• First 11 Zones in the 2011 Budget – now 24 in total

• In East of England• Alconbury (GCGP LEP)• Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (New Anglia LEP)• Harlow (South East LEP)

LEPs’ role in local growth initiatives: Enterprise Zones

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• £730m fund for LEPs to unblock stalled infrastructure investments

• Allocations in the East:– Gtr Cambs and Peterborough LEP: £16.1m– Hertfordshire LEP: £16.2m– New Anglia LEP: £18.2m– South East LEP: £49.2m– South East Midlands LEP: £18.8m

• Revolving fund, with recycled receipts available for further LEP investments.

LEPs’ role in local growth initiatives: Growing Places Fund

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Heseltine Review

• An ambitious report – which provoked an ambitious response

• Govt has accepted vast majority of the 89 recommendations:– 81 accepted in full or part– 5 rejected– 3 deferred to Spending Round

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Spending Review announcements

• A new Local Growth Fund (LGF) will amount to £2bn in 2015/16 and will include funding from transport, skills and housing.

• This is the starting point for the Local Growth Fund will continue to be at least £2 billion a year in the next Parliament.

• The SR confirms that the LGF will include £5 billion of capital funding (Transport Majors) from 2016/17 to 2020/21, to enable long term planning of investment in local areas.

• For the first time, LEPs will be given the responsibility to decide how the £5.3 billion EU Structural and Investment Funds for 2014/20 will be spent in their local area.

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Growth Deals

• A partnership between the Government and LEPs, with the shared objective of growth

• Builds on the work of City Deals

• Local Growth Deals = A Local Growth Fund allocation AND a wider offer of additional levers and influence

• An opportunity for local business and civic leaders to set out their vision and priorities for local growth in their areas

• Local areas will need to show they are committed to this agenda by bringing their own resources to the table as well

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Strategic Economic Plans• LEPs have been asked to develop multi-year strategic plans, bringing together

bids for funding from the Local Growth Fund with plans for EU Structural and Investment Funds for 2014-2020, and details of leveraged funding from Local Authorities and the wider public and private sector.

• LEPs’ plans will need to demonstrate:

• Local leadership, depth of partnerships and deliverability • Political and financial accountability • Transparency

• Areas which develop strong strategies that they can demonstrate these strengths will benefit in two main ways:

1) They should receive more money 2) They will earn more local accountability / wider powers and responsibilities

• Effective delivery in the first year will influence future years

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Single Local Growth Fund

Single Local Growth Fund 2015-2016

AREA FUNDING STREAMS 15/16 (£M)

TRANSPORT

Local Authority Transport Majors 819

Local Sustainable Transport Fund 100

Integrated Transport Block 200

SUB-TOTAL 1,119

SKILLS

Further Education capital 330

ESF skills match funding 170

SUB-TOTAL 500

HOUSINGNew Homes Bonus 400

SUB-TOTAL 400

TOTAL 2,019

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Timetable

The expected timetable for Growth Deals is as follows:

• July 2013 – LEP guidance• October 2013 – LEPs to update Govt on progress on Strategic Economic Plans• End Dec 2013 – LEPs to share draft of Strategic Economic Plans with HMG• January 2014 – Feedback to LEPs• March 2014 – LEPs to submit final version of Strategic Economic Plans to HMG• April to June 2014 – assessment of LEP Plans and Growth Deal negotiations• July 2014 – SLGF allocations announced and Growth Deal agreed

But LEPs’ Investment Strategies for European Structural and Investment Funds will need to follow a faster timetable:

• October - First draft strategies to be submitted to Government • Oct – Jan – Iterative feedback and development of strategies• End Jan – Final submission of strategies to Government• February – Government agrees LEPs’ plans• March – LEPs develop pipeline of projects• July – Spending commences

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Priorities for LEPs in the East

Nurturing science based Enterprise &

Innovation

Harnessing our relationship with

London

Re-invigorating vibrant towns for the 21st Century

Advocating and influencing improvements to transport

infrastructure

Enabling the development and occupation of Alconbury

Enterprise Zone

Promoting enterprise growth and innovation

Enabling business-led skills provision and improving the work readiness of

the unemployed

Improving international promotion, increasing inward investment and

exporting

Growing key sectors

The green economy

Supporting business

Building our skilled

workforce

Enabling infrastructure for business

Attracting inward

investment

Engaging business: setting an enterprise and growth agenda

Business critical

infrastructure

Investment

Internationalism & commercialism of

the knowledge base

Deliver onNorthampton

Waterside Enterprise

Zone

Inward investment

Investing in new physical and

digital infrastructure

Ensureskills outcomes match

business andsocial enterprise needs

Support LA economic

development activties

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BIS Local contacts for East of England

Local Enterprise Partnership area BIS Local lead

Greater Cambridgeshire and Greater Peterborough LEP (including Rutland)

[email protected]

07825 841820

Hertfordshire LEP

New Anglia LEP (Norfolk and Suffolk)

[email protected]

07823 535206

South East LEP (Kent, Essex and East Sussex)

[email protected]

020 7215 3295

South East Midlands LEP (Bedford, Central Beds and Luton, amongst others)

[email protected]

07825 938272