Insider Media Limited

The East Midlands’ new Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) will need support in the form of government funding before they can be self-sufficient bodies. That’s according to a report from the Department of Business Innovation and Skills Select Committee, which also recommended that the organisations retain the “know-how” of the regional development agencies they will replace. A body behind the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and city council bid told Insider that the LEPs must preserve “all of the positive elements of the Emda legacy”.

George Cowcher, chief executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said that the chamber had been campaigning “for months” about the lack of future funding for business support.

He said: “It is interesting to note that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills select committee is now making public pronouncements that it is conscious of the potential gap in LEP funding.”

The report from the committee, entitled The New Local Enterprise Partnerships: An Initial Assessment, warned that without initial funding from government, the partnerships may struggle to become self sustaining.

Under the new scheme, LEPs will not be awarded any government funding, but will have the opportunity to bid for cash from a £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund.

Cowcher said: “Business is ready to make the new LEP arrangements work, but there must also be a willingness on government’s part to do all it can to support a smooth transition between the RDA model and the new LEPs, even if that means providing additional funding in the early stages of the LEPs’ development until they can become self-sustaining.”

The report was critical of the way in which the RGF would be distributed. It stated: “The Regional Growth Fund will play an important part in supporting recovery and in rebalancing the economy, but it should be aligned with other sources of government funding to minimise gaps in overall support for enterprise and to recognise the needs of smaller businesses and of the rural economy.”

The report added that the RGF application process “is not straightforward” and “it risks being weighted in favour of more affluent areas”.

Cowcher added: “The shadow board of the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire LEP will meet for the first time next week and one of it’s most pressing priorities will be to ensure that we preserve all of the positive elements of the Emda legacy, which will give the LEP a solid foundation on which to build as it takes up responsibility for driving local economic growth.

"It must also be ready to act quickly to take full advantage of any potential government funding opportunities.”