A total of £5bn of private sector leverage has been secured by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to date as part of a list of headline figures announced at last month’s LEP Annual Conference (March 2016).
The level of private investment is part of a set of accumulated data collected by the LEP Network from the 39 business-led partnerships in England to demonstrate the impact of the work of LEPs and show that, to date, LEPs have:
- Created 115,000 new jobs
- Trained 78,000 learners
- Created 71,000 new businesses
- Supported 72,000 businesses
- Built 16,000 new homes, and
- Spent £945m on infrastructure
Welcoming the start of the LEP Annual Conference, the Prime Minister, The Rt Hon David Cameron MP said: “In the five years since I joined you for the first LEP conference in Coventry, I have been delighted to see the real impact Local Enterprise Partnerships are making across the country. Together you have invested over £15 billion in projects and programmes – boosting local economies and creating quality job opportunities that are improving people’s lives and their communities.
“I believe that local business leaders and local authorities must work together to make the best decisions for their area. This Government is pushing forward with the most ambitious devolution of power in a generation and business must be at the forefront of this. Now is the time for Local Enterprise Partnerships to get involved in devolution deals and tell us what you can do to drive growth.
“The achievements of LEPs are to be commended, but there is more to be done. So let me wish you a productive and enjoyable conference, and I look forward to seeing and hearing about what you come up with.”
Opening the LEP Annual Conference, James Wharton MP, Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse said: “These partnerships have had a significant and visible impact on their local economies helping deliver jobs and growth for the UK. Their business-led approach has seen billions invested by the private sector and thousands of jobs generated for local people.”
Welcoming delegates to the LEP Annual Conference, Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP and CEO of the Lincolnshire Co-operative, said: “The expanding role of LEPs has had a transformational influence on the local economic landscape: forging devolution deals, implementing growth deals underpinned with £5bn of private sector leverage, creating new Enterprise Zones, influencing the European funding programmes, and taking a lead on local education and skills policy.
“The figures to date show that they have evolved into an effective private public sector partnership with a unique USP; they are business-led partnerships with commercial business acumen, strong strategic leadership and an acute insight into the needs of local business. They have proven their worth by driving sustainable private sector-led growth and job creation and they will be pivotal in the next four years to ensure the UK economy remains robust.”