Local economic growth and Local Enterprise Partnerships: A perspective from the UK National Audit Office

Increasing local economic growth is critical to both deficit reduction and local government financial sustainability. The UK Government reshaped the funding and structures for local growth post 2010 and a key part of this was setting up the 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships. A well-functioning and high-achieving LEP is important to local authorities in an area, to businesses and nationally in pursuit of strong and sustainable growth, more evenly shared across the country. The question for the NAO is how far these key organisations and their operation reflect the components of value for money which taxpayers might expect. Over the last few years, the NAO has reported frequently on the progress and value for money of a variety of initiatives to encourage local economic growth and we have looked for evidence of the themes we pursue in our value-for-money work in those initiatives. Our view is that the Department for Communities and Local Government needs to think through the levers and measurement criteria it needs to understand whether value for money is being achieved by LEPs and from the newly forming landscape with devolution deals, combined authorities and locally elected mayors.