Written evidence from Central Berkshire
Diamond Forum
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The economic geography of our area is complex,
multi-faceted and multi-layered. We are able to identify numerous
economic areas, eg the "Thames Valley", the M4 Corridor,
Western London fringe, Central Berkshire Diamond and the West
Berkshire mixed economy. We have numerous business sectors and
interests and a rich mix of local authorities (at the extremities
of our economic geography up to three County Councils, seven Unitary
Authorities and 11 District Councils). With this in mind and against
the backdrop that LEPs are expected to cover an area with a population
of c. 1 million we are working with colleagues, including Berkshire
Economic Strategy Board to develop a "Thames Valley Berkshire"
proposal.
Berkshires population is 842,450 (2011 projection[24])
and is forecast to grow to 921,610, an increase of 9.40%, by 2026.
Over the same period Berkshire's GVA total is
projected to grow to £35,307 million (20% of the South
East GVA). It is expected that the Berkshire economy will support
an additional 75,000 jobs to 2026, 3% higher than the South
East.
Central Berkshire's main commercial sectors
are ICT, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and financial and
business services. The area is a popular location for UK and European
headquarters and is already the most attractive location outside
London for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): 40% of all
FDI in the SE lands in the area. Large employers (200+ employees)
account for 1% of Berkshires total number of businesses—they
employ 36% of our workforce.
Our "Thames Valley" Berkshire approach
utilises the international strength of the "Thames Valley"
enterprise brand and, in conjunction with "Thames Valley
Buckinghamshire" and North Hampshire, harnesses the political
strength of its constituent parts; we therefore envisage a loose
collaboration of LEPs—Thames Valley Berkshire, Thames
Valley Buckinghamshire and North Hampshire. This
would enable individual LEPs to come together as a wider economic
region for truly strategic interventions and would also address
the emerging concept of an "economic growth hub".
We see appropriately empowered and funded LEPs
as a key development in ensuring our area continues to thrive
and prosper as an international business location bringing jobs,
economic prosperity and enterprise opportunities to our residents—whilst
continuing to contribute positively to the Exchequer.
STRUCTURE AND
ACCOUNTABILITY OF
LEPS
The "Central Berkshire Diamond Forum"
is already a good example of how, in our opinion, a LEP should
operate: it is largely self-financing and supported by an arms
length economic development company (EDC), which acts as secretariat
and co-ordinating body. We feel that this tailor-made option is
the best way in which LEPs can demonstrate accountability—by
emerging from accepted, organic structures that have been developed
by local business and political leaders and reflect local need,
ambition and circumstance.
While a LEP Board will provide the strategic
leadership role we will explore the options of how we can better
co-ordinate existing resources and services across the area, including
potentially using our EDC. It has a proven track record of delivery
and is a business-led Community Interest Company (CIC) that already
draws on and pulls together "blue chip" and globally
significant companies including:
— First Great Western Ltd.
— John Lewis Partnership.
— Oracle Corporation UK plc.
The company also brings a long-term funding
commitment from the private sector, which further legitimises
the credibility of the extant and proposed partnership. Critically
it does not and has not relied on funding from SEEDA, the HCA
or other such agencies—although it would of course seek
to maximise funding through bidding for Regional Growth Funds,
amongst others.
Our proposed LEP would be accountable to numerous
audiences—through its constituent political representatives
to the local electorate and also accountable to its funders—in
our case including private sector organisations who would simply
withdraw funds should our LEP not meet their objectives—and
potential public funders that would naturally set clear outcomes
for receipt of funds.
THE FUNCTIONS
OF THE
NEW LOCAL
ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPS
AND ENSURING
VALUE FOR
MONEY
LEPs should have a corporate, rather than a
municipal structure and thus be able to operate at pace, to pursue
opportunities faster and to aggregate otherwise disparate efforts.
By ensuring better alignment and co-ordination across the area
we will reduce duplication and this ensure better value to the
public purse. Our LEP will bring interests together and align
partners to shape a long term strategy beyond the specific limitations
of electoral cycles and partisan policies. That said the support
of local political leaders is critical to the performance and
accountability of the LEP, and its strategic Board.
Any LEP should understand its economy's strengths
and weaknesses, and importantly the areas where intervention
rather than interference is needed.
We believe our LEP should be a focus of concerted
action and act as "strategic co-ordinator" across the
following economic development functions:
— Employment and skills—ensure
our education led supply side meets the skills requirements of
the area both currently and into the future. We seek the authority
to pool skills budgets with powers to oversee skills funding allocations
in the area and to work with employers and providers to set priorities
for 16-19 and adult skills budgets and to commission further education
provision thereby ensuring provision meets employment demand.
— Planning—co-ordinate with
Berkshire's Authority's Planning units to ensure that economic
growth and employment generating development is appropriate and
meets the changing needs of our business sector.
— Infrastructure—working with
our constituent Unitary Authorities and partners identify the
key strategic infrastructure requirements for Berkshire and develop
co-ordinated plans for their delivery.
— Transport—utilising the
expertise and track record of the Berkshire Strategic Transport
Forum our LEP seeks powers to develop a holistic transport strategy,
and prioritise the key regional and sub regional interventions
required to sustain our economy. Additionally through our "federation"
of Thames Valley LEPs we will identify the truly strategic interventions
required to facilitate business investment and growth.
— Housing—our LEP will draw
together our existing two "single conversation" areas
seeking to influence key strategic housing provision appropriate
to the needs of our businesses and communities. We seek powers
to aid co-operation over housing and planning decisions ensuring
they meet the needs of our economy.
— Inward investment—build
on the international recognition of the Thames Valley brand to
deliver nationally led inward investment programmes locally. Berkshire
is already the most attractive location for Foreign Direct Investment
outside of London—we seek powers to build from this position
of strength to drive investment and jobs growth—and thus
allow the area to continue to contribute positively to the Exchequer.
— Business retention and aftercare—of
equal priority is our need to "look after" existing
businesses and remove their barriers to growth. Large employers
(200+ employees) account for 1% of Berkshires total number of
businesses—they employ 36% of our workforce.
— Business support and enterprise—recognising
the vital role of small business in sustaining our economy and
their inter-relationship with our major employers our LEP will
create an environment where businesses can start, existing business
has the confidence to grow with a co-ordinated and easily accessible
entry to business support. We see the LEP as having a contractual
role—through its Co-ordinating Body—with the existing
Innovation & Growth Team (IGT) for the Thames Valley. While
this is currently SEEDA funded it fulfils an essential role by
providing comprehensive and tailored business support to innovative
high growth companies. It is these companies that we see as being
essential to the future "Green Knowledge Economy" of
our area.
THE REGIONAL
GROWTH FUND
AND FUNDING
ARRANGEMENTS UNDER
THE LEP SYSTEM
The issue of resources for LEPs is crucial.
LEPs provide a real opportunity to achieve better value for money
in delivering localised economic development by drawing together
and devolving the functions and funding streams currently undertaken
by a number of national and regional organisations into a single
area based "pot" thus providing considerable scope for
achieving efficiency savings by simplifying delivery, de-layering
and reducing burdens.
Whilst our EDC has been highly successful in
attracting private sector funding as well as providing leadership
in local economic development for some time it will, should it
take a wider Berkshire role, undoubtedly require additional resources
to operate effectively and ultimately deliver private sector jobs
growth. The EDC has helped to identify local economic investment
priorities and implemented the use of supplementary business rates
by successfully developing the first Business Improvement District
in the south east (outside London), in 2005.
GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS
FOR ENSURING
CO -ORDINATION
OF ROLES
BETWEEN DIFFERENT
LEPS/ARRANGEMENTS
FOR CO-ORDINATING
REGIONAL ECONOMIC
STRATEGY
In Central Berkshire we fully recognise the
need to work in partnership with—at a strategic, co-ordinating
level—other LEPs, local authorities and agencies across
the wider Thames Valley sub region and with the existing partnerships
that are already addressing some of the more significant challenges
such as strategic transport, particularly the urban area access
and mobility around Central Berkshire and more widely, the connectivity
of Berkshire and the Thames Valley with London Heathrow Airport.
We envisage our loose collaboration of Thames Valley LEPs having
sufficient scale and expertise to lead and manage EU funding streams.
THE LEGISLATIVE
FRAMEWORK AND
TIMETABLE FOR
CONVERTING RDAS
TO LEPS,
THE TRANSITIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS, AND
THE ARRANGEMENTS
FOR RESIDUAL
SPENDING AND
LIABILITY OF
RDAS
We recognise the need to move at pace: to secure
support for a cohesive bid and to prepare the ground for a LEP
that can function ahead of the necessary legislation. We feel
strongly that an existing, workable structure should be formalised
as opposed to a new structure being created. We are confident
that our proposed LEP could be operational from January 2011 and
thus be able to ensure a smooth transition from the RDA.
We recognise that the conclusions of the BIS
Select Committee and the forthcoming White Paper will further
define the concept of Local Enterprise Partnerships but we are
ready now to establish a LEP that is able to sustain Berkshire
as one of Britain's most economically potent areas.
APPENDIX 1
The Central Berkshire Diamond Forum draws together
Leaders/Chief Executives from the Boroughs of Bracknell, Reading
and Wokingham alongside Berkshire Economic Strategy Board and
business leaders from:
— 3M (technology company serving customers
and communities with innovative products and services).
— Boehringer Ingelheim (one of the top
20 leading pharmaceutical companies in the world with UK sales
of £388 million).
— SEGRO plc (listed on the London Stock
Exchange and on the Euronext in Paris; one of the largest REITs
in the world with £5.3 billion worth of assets).
— Oracle Corporation UK plc (UK HQ with
European functions).
— Two SMEs (one with a global portfolio).
— The Leaders—or their representatives—of
three unitary authorities.
— University of Reading (one of the top
200 universities in the world (THE-QS World Rankings 2009)).
13 August 2010
24 Source: www.berkshireobservatory.org/Population-Projection-Summary
retrieved 7 July 2010. GLA Data Management and Analysis Group
August 2009 Back
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