To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to promote best practice between local authorities and local enterprise partnerships.
Answered on
19 March 2015
Since 2011 the government has funded the Local Enterprise Partnerships Network to enable them to come together to discuss issues of shared interest, provide a shared platform for the exchange of knowledge and best practice and support private sector board members to build capacity.
We also established the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth in October 2013. The Centre, which is co-funded by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Economic and Social Research Council has a key objective which is to ensure that robust evidence is embedded in the development of policy on local economic growth and that new policies are effectively evaluated. As part of its work the Centre engages with an extensive network of practitioners, including local enterprise partnerships and local authorities to develop and disseminate best practice and develop communities of interest.
Local Enterprise Partnerships, which are partnerships of local authorities and business are proactively working across their boundaries, often through the Local Government Association, on areas of shared interest.