Councils to form joint committee in LEP change

Councils are set to join forces to oversee the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership as the government is ceasing its sponsorship and funding of the scheme.

Telford & Wrekin Council is set to establish a joint committee with Shropshire and Herefordshire councils to oversee, manage and distribute the assets and responsibilities of the LEP.

The three councils have been partners within the LEP since its inception in 2012. The scheme has distributed approximately £200million of government cash for ‘growth and development projects’ across each of the three local authority areas.

From next April government will cease sponsorship and funding of the LEP and is encouraging councils to ‘take on the functions’ currently delivered by LEPs.

Telford & Wrekin Council is set to agree to the joint committee at a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

A report to the cabinet says: “There will be a large number of those project awards that include provisions for clawback or repayment if certain agreed delivery criteria are not met.

“The joint committee will take decisions on the management of such decisions and allocate any residual resources as it sees appropriate.

“All government funding awarded to Marches LEP has been made via Shropshire Council as the accountable body. Those funding awards have been received as grants under the provisions of Section 31, Local Government Finance Act 2003. In this context the Marches LEP has been acting in a stewardship role and does not itself possess private ownership of those resources.”

Telford & Wrekin Council state that the change will see each council have ‘greater control’ in how support for business is tailored to meet local need.

The joint committee will manage the transition phase to and beyond March 2024 and ‘support collaboration’ where it adds the ‘greatest value and supports local economic priorities’.

The cabinet report adds: “All participating councils will be responsible for local delivery within their respective local authority area unless jointly agreed otherwise.

“Establishing this joint committee will not introduce any constraint or barrier to any of the councils being involved in other beneficial partnership arrangements, either with each other or third parties.”

A joint letter from the three council leaders says: “In making this transition we are committed to ensuring this work and legacy is celebrated alongside establishing appropriate new arrangements that maintain the collaboration between partners and across geographies that remains critical to support our shared ambitions.

“We recognise that the management of a number of funding programmes, contingent assets and liabilities will take many years to work through the system, so we envisage that the work of the joint committee will take as long as is required to manage these responsibilities effectively.

“In moving to these new arrangements, we also recognise the vital role that businesses play in developing strong local economic partnerships and we are committed to ensuring a strong business voice and representation within future arrangements. In this sense we hope that businesses can see that we are ambitious for greater levels of investment, growth and development.”