HC 434 The New Local Enterprise Partnerships

Written Evidence submitted by Cornwall Council

New Local Enterprise Partnerships: Additional Information

At the oral evidence taken by your Committee on Tuesday 12 October, you asked me to provide a further briefing on the local investment fund and business investment mentioned in the LEP bid from Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. I hope that the following information provides sufficient detail:

In answering your question at the session about the local investment fund, I emphasised the advantages available to Cornwall Council as a result of local government reorganisation in facing up to the budget reductions now affecting the public sector- the "unitary dividend". We are, in fact, well-advanced in preparing our revised business plan and supporting budget for 2011/12, with the Council's Cabinet already having agreed the basis for consultation. As part of this emergency budget, our Cabinet has confirmed its intention to establish a capital fund of nearly £39.5 million for major regeneration projects. They recognise that we need to set aside funding for the remainder of our Convergence Programme in the light of the demise of the RDA. The fund will be used for schemes such as a medical innovation centre, a Cornwall sports village, improvements at Hayle harbour and the Port of Falmouth development initiative. All of these are consistent with the Local Investment Plan, the Convergence Programme, and the emerging Regional Growth Fund. I should emphasise that this Council fund is agreed and achievable.

Direct business investment is a separate issue and is already part of the business support structure in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Utilising our Convergence funding, we have worked closely with partners to give direct, demand-led support to business in Cornwall. Adding to the core Business Link offer, our aim is to restructure the economy to one with a higher proportion of high value added business, underpinned by more productive enterprises across the business base. Investments stretch across sectors, across size of business and to new and existing business (including inward locating businesses). To date we have invested over £40m EU funding in direct business support, with the bulk of match funding coming direct from the private sector. We firmly believe that it is precisely this type of investment which has led to excellent GVA growth figures in Cornwall - from 67.9% to just over 75% in 2007.

As part of our work to develop a Local Enterprise Partnership, businesses in Cornwall
and the Isles of Scilly have told us of further improvements they would like to see in delivery of direct business support and investment. These include more support targeted on low carbon business (where we are now working with the South West Regional Development Agency on a low carbon challenge fund); a further simplified business support landscape with a single entry point; more support on enterprise (where we are now working on an Enterprise Programme for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly); and, more private provision for business support (where we are now looking at the opportunities to use a voucher arrangement to facilitate further private provision).

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, whilst making economic progress second only to London in the past decade, still have a considerable distance to go in consolidating and building on a platform of Objective One and Convergence investment to move past the EU GDP average figures. The creation of a Local Enterprise Partnership will be a critical factor in that consolidation as we work with our business to ensure that our economic growth continues. We are, of course, delighted that the Government had now given our bid unqualified support.

1 November 2010