The LEPs' Successors in Northeast England

Newcastle City Centre

Author Anthony Foster Licence CC BY-SA 2.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

In Guidance for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Local and Combined Authorities: Integration of LEP functions into local democratic institutions of 4 Aug 2023, the Department for Levelling Up, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Business and Trade announced that central government funding to local enterprise partnerships would cease from April 2024 and their functions would be transferred to local authorities.   I discussed the announcement in The End of LEPs in IP Northeast on 8 Aug 2024.

In The Northeast Devolution Deal, I wrote on 9 Jan 2023:

"The integration of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership into the North East MCA will ensure there continues to be a strong and independent local business voice which informs local decision making and strategic economic planning. In absorbing the role and functions of the North East LEP, the North East will deliver a number of functions on behalf of central government departments agreed jointly between government and the North East."

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership's functions were transferred to the North East Combined Authority on 7 May 2024 (see The North East LEP is now part of the North East Combined Authority on the North East Combined Authority's website).  The business support and funding resources previously available through the local enterprise partnership can now be accessed through the North East Growth Hub. The districts comprising the North East Combined Authority area are County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

The other local enterprise partnership in the region was the Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership.  It has now been replaced by the Tees Valley Business Board.   The Board consists of local business leaders who feed into the work of the Tees Valley Mayor, Combined Authority and Local Authorities, to advise on, establish and help lead projects, schemes and programmes that deliver real change to the local economy.

Because of the transfer of the business support functions from the local enterprise partnerships to local authorities, I have removed the links to the North East LEP amd the Tees Valley LEP and replaced them with links to the North East Growth Hub and the Tees Valley Business Board.

A likely consequence of the transfer of the local enterprise partnerships' functions to local authorities is that local government officials and employees could benefit from training on intellectual property.  On 1 Oct 2024, I delivered a talk on intellectual property for local government officials in London.  I should be glad to deliver a similar talk to the North East and Tees Valley combined authorities or any other local authority or business support agency in the country.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page.