Shapps: LEP funding could come from town halls

Funding for the LEPs with which the coalition government intends to replace RDAs could come from local authorities pooling their resources in addition to coming from the budgets of RDAs.

The Hosing Minister, Grant Shapps said that funding for local enterprise partnerships could come from local authorities who "may want to pull together their resources", as well as from RDAs, which look likely to be formally abolished in 2012.

 However, Shapps said that the £1 billion Regional Growth Fund, announced in the emergency Budget by chancellor George Osborne, would "not necessarily" fund LEPs. Rather, the fund is intended to help build a base for private sector in areas where there is a high reliance on public sector employment, Shapps said.

He added that land assets held by RDAs would not be taken on a by a national body but instead could be transferred to local authorities, LEPs or "even further down".

"Our vision is that you hold things at the lowest possible level – street and neighbourhood level, social enterprises, perhaps parish, district or borough level", Shapps said
 

www.regen.net 16/07/2010