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Since the formation of the Coalition Government in May, local government policy has been reviewed by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) which continues to play a role in representing the interests of citizens, delivering and commissioning local services, promoting the ‘Big Society’ and ensuring that ‘localism’ is genuinely achieved, delegating real power to the lowest appropriate level.

Local authorities will be a key player in both utilising new delegated powers but also, by working closely with community groups and the voluntary sector, in devolving powers further down to the grassroots whilst still ensuring that the day-to-day services they provide to their communities are efficient and effective, offer good value for money and deliver what people actually want.

These principles will not only further the ‘localism’ agenda but also strengthen democratic accountability by holding elected officials to account through referendums and greater transparency.

Detailed consideration is currently being given on how best to take these principles forward, including an anticipated ‘Localism’ whitepaper.

As part of that process, the DCLG want to put the powers to create economic growth in the hands of local people to make the most of ‘local’ knowledge to foster local enterprise, support local businesses and promote local prosperity through Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) which will replace Regional Development Agencies (RDA) across the country.

The Coalition Government is not proposing that LEPs should take on all existing RDA functions, as they believe that some, including inward investment, sector leadership, responsibility for business support, innovation, and access to finance, are best led at the national level –– but that local enterprise partnerships will support the local delivery of many of these functions including business support.

Currently business support policy is overseen by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) which wants to not only modernise how support, information and advice is provided to businesses but deliver such support within a smaller budget, as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review and the drive towards LEPs on which the White Paper on sub-national economic growth sets out more detail. 

Initial discussions that Winning Pitch have had directly with BIS, support the notion of support designed centrally and delivered locally.

Winning Pitch September 2010