The Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership is looking at ways to mitigate the impact of central government funding coming to an end next year. The Government announced in the Spring Budget that it intends to pull its funding for LEPs as of March 2024.
The LLEP is now trying to work out which of its functions can continue, who should manage them and where the funding should come from. They include the Business Gateway Growth Hub, its Careers Hub – which has had funding confirmed until August 2024 – and various business strategy and support groups.
The work of some LEPs around the UK could be taken up by combined authorities where they exist – however Leicester and Leicestershire have separate councils.
The LLEP, which has 26 members of staff, has now set up a transition group – lead by new CEO Phoebe Dawson – to review the best way forward and talk to partner bodies, councils and business groups.
She said: “Government has put a timeline in place and therefore transition planning must commence promptly.
“Not only will this preserve our legacy, and provide the best outcomes for all of our stakeholders, it will also give greater clarity to our team members in relation to their own futures.
“Team members are naturally concerned about the uncertainty around their own functions.
“The board has ratified transition, and we will provide that transition with an updated Delivery Plan setting new objectives for each of the team.
“This will maximise the value of functions within our existing portfolio, while also positioning us to continue seizing upon opportunities as we move towards March 2024.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Spring Budget plans for LEP services to be delivered by local government from as early as April 2024.
LLEP co-chair Andy Reed OBE said: “Phoebe has been a valuable recent addition to the LLEP team and will focus on finding ways to further progress the many good things the LLEP has delivered over the years.
“The announcement during the Spring Budget was not unexpected and we had been talking with stakeholders for more than a year.
“What is important now is that we build on that collaboration with more formal talks to agree our approach ahead of the Government funding deadline in nine months’ time.”
Fellow co-chair Anil Majithia said: “It’s really important that we maintain our service delivery as the cost of doing business continues to challenge so many.
“LLEP officers will ensure smooth transition as our teams continue helping local businesses towards increased productivity, investment-readiness, and growth.”
The Delivery Plan will be presented to the LLEP board at its August meeting.
