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More power for regions as Government accepts Heseltine growth recommendations
The Government has accepted 81 of the 89 recommendations to encourage UK economic growth that Lord Heseltine made in his report Growth: No Stone Unturned.
At the heart of Lord Heseltine's review was a call for action to reverse excessive centralisation, freeing local areas from Whitehall control and giving businesses and local leaders the power and the funding to do what they need to achieve their potential.
The Government has announced it will create a new Single Local Growth Fund from 2015 that will include the key economic levers of skills, housing and transport funding, with full details set out at the forthcoming Spending Round.
And it will harness the power of competition to get the best from places, negotiating a local Growth Deal with every Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), with the allocation of the Single Local Growth Fund reflecting the quality of their ideas and local need.
Ministers say this is a 'something-for-something' deal and local areas will be challenged to put in place the right governance across local authorities, pool resources, and find match funding from the private sector.
The decisions have been welcomed by Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP chair Chris Pomfret.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said: "We asked Lord Heseltine to do what he does best: challenge received wisdom and give us bold ideas on how to bring government and industry together. He did just that, and that is why we are backing his ideas today."
Business Secretary Vince Cable added: "We have grasped the challenge that Lord Heseltine's report posed to Government and accepted the vast majority of his recommendations. The plans will boost the UK's competitiveness nationally and drive local growth through the local Growth Deals that we will be negotiating with every Local Enterprise Partnership.
"In line with Lord Heseltine's report, today we have also announced a package of wider support that is a big vote of confidence for our industrial strategy, particularly the aerospace, automotive and agri- technology sectors. This support not only gives businesses certainty, but shows the Government is determined to back those sectors where Britain can deliver and compete on a global scale in partnership with industry."
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Over the last few decades, central government has systematically deprived local government of control and power. Only half of the money spent locally is raised locally, robbing our cities and regions of both the power and incentives to drive local growth.
"That is why we've already allocated £2.6 billion through the Regional Growth Fund, forecast to deliver and safeguard 500,000 jobs and £13 billion of private investment. And through City Deals we are giving cities a core package of powers and freedoms.
"Lord Heseltine's review is the icing on the cake. His local vision is the best way to foster local growth and stimulate the economy. A single local growth fund that Local Enterprise Partnerships apply to, joined up working between local authorities so they make strategic decisions on projects that boost growth such as infrastructure spanning their areas, and specialist support from civil servants. It's a big change from the hand-out attitude of the past that stifled innovation and turned the regions into powerless centres that relied on Whitehall for jobs and spending."
Lord Heseltine's wide-ranging recommendations cover local growth, the relationship between Whitehall and the private sector, the environment for business in the UK and the education system.
These include: ensuring all government departments have growth objectives; increasing the number of secondments between Whitehall and the private sector; implementation of a package of regulation reforms announced at the Autumn Statement; encouraging greater business involvement with schools; and a UK Borders Agency review, informed by a CBI-chaired business group, of the application and enforcement of the rules on skilled migrants.
And in recognising the importance of universities to growth, the Government has asked Sir Andrew Witty (CEO of GSK and Chancellor of Nottingham University) to lead a review into the role universities can play in supporting their local areas to grow.
The Government's response confirms that the Single Local Growth Fund will contain elements of the key economic funding levers of skills, housing and transport. As part of the Spending Round, the Government will also review all the other funding streams that Lord Heseltine identified and will seek further alignment between skills and employment programmes. The Government will also ensure that the EU SI Funds are aligned with the Single Local Growth Fund.
The announcement that the Government has accepted the Heseltine Report was welcomed by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP. Chairman Chris Pomfret said: "The Government has supported virtually all the key recommendations for moving responsibility for economic growth to the local area. Surely this must be the correct move for decision making to go to those on the ground who know and understand their area, in our case, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
"We are particularly pleased to see the introduction of the local growth fund, which is due to come into being from 2015. This new single fund will enable us to target support more specifically and pool funds for transformational initiatives.
"We particularly welcome the discretionary element of the fund where LEPs can put forward specific proposals for additional money. While we have yet to see the detail, this does suggest the Government have gone some way to address our concerns.
"An element, but not all, of the funds are likely to be based on population rather than need. Whilst we have concerns about this - as areas such as the less populated South West tend to lose out - we will be arguing hard for more emphasis to be placed on need and opportunity.
"The whole process will be predicated on agreement to a strategic economic plan drawn up by the LEP but with the support of local authorities. We have this in place in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The Government's proposals also expect local authorities to pool economic development and other specialist resources with the LEP. Happily this is also already the case in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly".
The Government has announced it will create a new Single Local Growth Fund from 2015 that will include the key economic levers of skills, housing and transport funding, with full details set out at the forthcoming Spending Round.
And it will harness the power of competition to get the best from places, negotiating a local Growth Deal with every Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), with the allocation of the Single Local Growth Fund reflecting the quality of their ideas and local need.
Ministers say this is a 'something-for-something' deal and local areas will be challenged to put in place the right governance across local authorities, pool resources, and find match funding from the private sector.
The decisions have been welcomed by Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP chair Chris Pomfret.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said: "We asked Lord Heseltine to do what he does best: challenge received wisdom and give us bold ideas on how to bring government and industry together. He did just that, and that is why we are backing his ideas today."
Business Secretary Vince Cable added: "We have grasped the challenge that Lord Heseltine's report posed to Government and accepted the vast majority of his recommendations. The plans will boost the UK's competitiveness nationally and drive local growth through the local Growth Deals that we will be negotiating with every Local Enterprise Partnership.
"In line with Lord Heseltine's report, today we have also announced a package of wider support that is a big vote of confidence for our industrial strategy, particularly the aerospace, automotive and agri- technology sectors. This support not only gives businesses certainty, but shows the Government is determined to back those sectors where Britain can deliver and compete on a global scale in partnership with industry."
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Over the last few decades, central government has systematically deprived local government of control and power. Only half of the money spent locally is raised locally, robbing our cities and regions of both the power and incentives to drive local growth.
"That is why we've already allocated £2.6 billion through the Regional Growth Fund, forecast to deliver and safeguard 500,000 jobs and £13 billion of private investment. And through City Deals we are giving cities a core package of powers and freedoms.
"Lord Heseltine's review is the icing on the cake. His local vision is the best way to foster local growth and stimulate the economy. A single local growth fund that Local Enterprise Partnerships apply to, joined up working between local authorities so they make strategic decisions on projects that boost growth such as infrastructure spanning their areas, and specialist support from civil servants. It's a big change from the hand-out attitude of the past that stifled innovation and turned the regions into powerless centres that relied on Whitehall for jobs and spending."
Lord Heseltine's wide-ranging recommendations cover local growth, the relationship between Whitehall and the private sector, the environment for business in the UK and the education system.
These include: ensuring all government departments have growth objectives; increasing the number of secondments between Whitehall and the private sector; implementation of a package of regulation reforms announced at the Autumn Statement; encouraging greater business involvement with schools; and a UK Borders Agency review, informed by a CBI-chaired business group, of the application and enforcement of the rules on skilled migrants.
And in recognising the importance of universities to growth, the Government has asked Sir Andrew Witty (CEO of GSK and Chancellor of Nottingham University) to lead a review into the role universities can play in supporting their local areas to grow.
The Government's response confirms that the Single Local Growth Fund will contain elements of the key economic funding levers of skills, housing and transport. As part of the Spending Round, the Government will also review all the other funding streams that Lord Heseltine identified and will seek further alignment between skills and employment programmes. The Government will also ensure that the EU SI Funds are aligned with the Single Local Growth Fund.
The announcement that the Government has accepted the Heseltine Report was welcomed by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP. Chairman Chris Pomfret said: "The Government has supported virtually all the key recommendations for moving responsibility for economic growth to the local area. Surely this must be the correct move for decision making to go to those on the ground who know and understand their area, in our case, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
"We are particularly pleased to see the introduction of the local growth fund, which is due to come into being from 2015. This new single fund will enable us to target support more specifically and pool funds for transformational initiatives.
"We particularly welcome the discretionary element of the fund where LEPs can put forward specific proposals for additional money. While we have yet to see the detail, this does suggest the Government have gone some way to address our concerns.
"An element, but not all, of the funds are likely to be based on population rather than need. Whilst we have concerns about this - as areas such as the less populated South West tend to lose out - we will be arguing hard for more emphasis to be placed on need and opportunity.
"The whole process will be predicated on agreement to a strategic economic plan drawn up by the LEP but with the support of local authorities. We have this in place in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The Government's proposals also expect local authorities to pool economic development and other specialist resources with the LEP. Happily this is also already the case in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly".
