Sub National Review of Economic Development

1
Sub National Review of Economic Development
Regeneration

• Suffolk LAA Block 4 Board
• June 2008

2
Background

• July 2007 Govt. published the Sub-National Review
  of Economic Development and Regeneration (SNR)
• Key proposals include
• Abolition of RAs
• Streamlining regional govt. by requiring RDAs to
  produce an integrated ED spatial strategy
• Strengthening LA role in ED including new
  statutory duty to assess local economic
  conditions
• Support for LA collaboration across admin
  boundaries

3
Key Changes

• RDAs
• Increased strategic role
• Single Regional Strategy
• Programme-based approach to delivery
• Delegation of funding to LAs (upper tier)
• Key role in supporting LAAs
• Streamlined RDA tasking framework

4
Single Regional Strategy (SRS)

• RDA
• Develop draft SRS working closely with LAs and
  other stakeholders
• Agreement needed with LAs
• Subject to formal scrutiny by LA
• Subject to parliamentary scrutiny
• LAs
• Work together as sub-regions to prepare evidence
  based proposals for draft SRS
• SRS signed off by regional forum of LA leaders
• Work with RDA to develop agree draft SRS
• Scrutinise RDA and hold it to account for its
  exec functions
• Implement SRS alongside other stakeholders/
  partners

5
SRS

• Each SRS should cover
• Overview of key regional challenges
• How economic growth can be best delivered
• Distribution of housing supply figures, including
  targets for affordable homes
• How risks and opportunities of climate change
  will be managed
• how development will be reconciled with reducing
  Carbon emissions
• Priority geographical areas for regeneration
  investment
• Strategic requirements provision for transport,
  waste, water, energy etc
• Regional economic growth objective raise
  sustainable trend rate of growth in comparison
  with previous economic cycle

6
RDA Delegation

• Funding will be delegated on a programme basis
  where appropriate to LAs (upper tier)
• RDAs need to ensure capacity exists at LA/
  sub-regional partnership level
• Govt exploring MoU between RDAs and LAs to
  underpin delegation accountability arrangements
  providing vfm assurances to Parliament

7
RDA Tasking Framework

• Streamlined tasking framework proposed
• Simplified objectives based on growth defined by
  single overarching objective
• Indicators supporting the REP PSA include
• Regional GVA per head growth rates
• Regional GDP as a share of EU15 average
• Regional productivity as measured by GVA per hour
• Regional employment rates
• Replace 12 PSAs RDAs were tasked against
  previously
• Each RDA will have a regional growth objective
• Objective will be negotiated between RDA and BERR

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Other Key Changes

• Regional Assemblies
• Cease to exist by 2010/11
• Consultation on detailed proposals and will
  require primary legislation for transfer of
  powers to RDAs, managed transition over next 2-3
  years
• Over next 2 years RAs will continue to have key
  role in taking forward spatial strategies
• Under new arrangements LAs will continue to
  develop and agree the SRS alongside the RDA

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Other Key Changes

• LAs
• Creation of a focused statutory ED duty (upper
  tier)
• Undertake an assessment of the economic
  circumstances and challenges of their local
  economy
• Sectoral composition of the local economy,
  including future challenges
• Local labour market
• Skill levels
• Condition and planned investment in local
  infrastructure
• Data on local productivity, enterprise and
  enterprise education
• Produced in consultation with local partners
  including the RDAs

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LA Economic Assessment Duty

• Duty would
• Require upper tier LAs in consultation with key
  partners (incl. districts and RDAs) to carry out
  an assessment of the economic conditions of their
  local area
• Result in an assessment that would contribute to
  the analytical underpinning of strategies and
  targets at local, sub-regional and regional
  levels
• Assessment may be produced jointly by 2 or more
  LAs in a single functional economic area or
  sub-region e.g. by all LAs participating in a MAA

11
LA Economic Assessment Duty

• Duty would add value through
• Improved evidence base to inform SCS, LDF and LAA
• Improved understanding of how ED can support
  regeneration priorities
• Analysis of how local areas fit into wider
  sub-regional and regional functional markets
• Better understanding of how LAs and partners
  through their wider policies influence
  sustainable ED
• Development of shared evidence base that supports
  sub-regional ED activity (MAA or other
  sub-regional structure) and supports LAs dialogue
  with RDAs on development of the SRS

12
Collaboration Across Sub-Regions

• Functional economic areas unlikely to follow LA
  boundaries therefore collaboration between LAs
  could lead to better economic outcomes
• SNR sets out advantages of ED decision making at
  the sub-regional level
• MAAs
• Govt has set out the case for MAAs to complement
  LAAs and enable LAs to move towards improved
  economic prosperity by working across admin.
  boundaries
• Govt. is currently negotiating with over a dozen
  sub-regions looking to agree the first MAAs by
  June 08
• TGSE probably April 09 and HG may follow once
  outcome of LGR known/ implemented

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MAAs

• Work with interested sub-regions to explore the
  potential for allowing groups of LAs to establish
  sub-regional authorities to pool responsibilities
  on a permanent basis for economic policy areas
• Voluntary at point of creation
• Focus on activities where sub-regional working
  can potentially add value
• Should have an economic core relate principally
  to ED (other activities not ruled out)
• LA partners and public sector bodies will share
  collective responsibility for outcomes

14
MAAs

• Should reflect functional economic areas
• Consistent with SRS and local SCSs and complement
  LAAs of participating authorities
• Build on existing SRPs and arrangements
• First MAAs in place by June

15
Sub-Regional Collaboration

• SNR recognises that some sub-regions may wish to
  go beyond MAAS and other existing mechanisms for
  sub-regional collaboration
• Govt. proposes to work with interested LAs
  towards establishing statutory sub-regional
  arrangements for ED
• Enhance ability of LAs to drive forward
  improvements to support sustainable sub-regional
  growth and enable funding responsibility to be
  devolved/ delegated directly to the sub-region
• Would bind in LAs to long-term decision making

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Sub-Regional Collaboration

• Possible activities
• Delivering relevant parts of the RES / SRS
• Preparing joint LDF/ taking planning decisions of
  a strategic nature
• Co-operating on economic growth projects
  supported by business rate supplements (subject
  to legislation)
• Implementing any business rate supplement
• Making decisions in relation to HE and skills
  funding (subject to legislation)
• Investment for housing growth and renewal

17
Economic Development Companies

• EDCs key role deliver more co-ordinated
  approach to ED, engaging closely with pvt sector
• Structures/ functions will vary and LAs will
  decide on specific activities working closely
  with RDAs and other partners
• Roles may include
• Co-ordinating physical development projects
  across cities or city-regions
• Developing economic strategies across multiple LA
  areas
• Co-ordinating housing market renewal/ targeted
  housing growth alongside broader economic role
• Marketing/ branding cities/ city-regions
• Assisting LAs build up high quality private
  investment proposals

18
Skills

• Funding for 14-19 year olds will transfer from
  LSC to LAs
• Consideration on a single brokerage service as
  simplest way for business to access govt. support
  in light of BSSP
• SNR will take forward Leitch recommendation for
  creation of Local Employment Skills Boards
  (ESBs)
• ESBs should build on what already exists and one
  of key goals should be simplifying range of
  existing bodies

19
Consultation

• CLG and BERR currently consulting on SNR
• Consultation period end 20th June