The limitations of LEPs

My financing people certainly seemed to have cheered up in recent days which I guess might be down to the Eurozone crisis being in remission.  But it is genuinely hard to be optimistic about growth. 

In our own backyard, on the anniversary of the announcement of the first 24 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), the UK government's "flagship policy for delivering economic growth and decentralisation", a study published today by our mates at Centre for Cities shows that many of the original LEPs have made limited progress.  Eight have yet to have their boards recognised by government, only two have produced a long-term strategic plan and five do not have a dedicated website.  In some cases, LEPs have appointed huge boards and advisory teams; the South East LEP has 43 board members and the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP has 14 associated focus groups, with at least 160 people involved.  This, the centre argues, could add a level of bureaucracy and process that might slow decision-making.  This, I would argue is a clever strategy to give jobs to the boys and girls. In addition to these issues, some LEPs also face mismatches between spatial geography and the political and economic reality and pressures of partnership working across new boundaries. 

CfC argues that LEPs still have potential if the government acts now to empower them to meet the rising expectation that they will be primary drivers of the government's growth agenda.  It says: "the government needs to give capable LEPs the resources, powers and freedoms to take forward policies for local growth by devolving responsibility for transport and skills, as well as providing some financial support for the administration of the LEP".  They are trying to be positive, but CfC do not point out that London, the engine for the economy in the UK, with its single LEP, ducks the whole issue completely, thereby further polarising the country into London and "the rest". 

It is a shame.  With such poor focus how can we attain growth in the long term? 

The worst thing is that I sense the private sector has lost interest.  The guys I'm working with certainly have.  People who want to get things done just do not have any spare capacity to bone up on the internecine nonsense that generally beset area partnership politics.  Would you rather have a LEP or a powerful civic leader like Howard Bernstein? You go figure.