Presentation Transcript

1. LEPs, Local Growth Fund& Growth Deals

   Iain McNab BIS London and East
2. Start of a Journey The Spending Round underlines the Government’s commitment to the devolution of economic powers from central government to local areas, putting business-led LEPs, working with their local partners, at the heart of promoting growth. LEPs need to demonstrate the impact they can achieve with greater funding and flexibility and over time Government will seek to expand the scope of funding included. LEPs have been asked to develop multi-year strategic plans, bringing together bids for funding from the Local Growth Fund with plans for EU Structural and Investment Funds, and details of leveraged funding from Local Authorities and the wider public and private sector.
3. Spending Round The SR increases the resources under the ‘strategic direction’ of LEPs to £20 billion through to 2020/21. The Local Growth Fund (LGF) will amount to £2bn in 2015/16 and will include funding from transport, skills and housing. This is the starting point for the LGF and the Local Growth Fund will continue to be at least £2 billion a year in the next Parliament. The SR confirms that the LGF will include £5 billion of capital funding (Transport Majors) from 2016/17 to 2020/21, to enable long term planning of investment in local areas. For the first time, LEPs will be given the responsibility to decide how the £5.3 billion EU Structural and Investment Funds for 2014/20 will be spent in their local area.
4. LGF for 2015/16: Breakdown LGF 2016/17 to 2020/21 – minimum of £2bn pa but includes £1bn pa from transport budgets (available for allocation)
5. Growth Deals A partnership between the Government and LEPs, with the shared objective of growth Builds on the work of City Deals An opportunity for local business and civic leaders to set out their vision and priorities for local growth in their areas Local Growth Deals = A Local Growth Fund allocation AND a wider offer of additional levers and influence Local areas will need to show they are committed to this agenda by bringing their own resources to the table as well
6. Strategic Economic Plans A Strategic Economic Plan for growth – not just for the Local Growth Fund Demonstrating wider commitment to growth across local spending and decision-making Creating an environment which enables private investment in growth Aligning or pooling local authority capital and revenue spend on growth Effective collaboration on economic development activities Maximising the synergies with wider local growth programmes including EU funding.
7. Strategic Economic Plans Underpinning principles Local leadership, depth of partnerships and deliverability Deliver collective decisions Are coterminous with the LEP area where appropriate Build a strong relationship with the business community Political and financial accountability Effective political and financial accountability is essential Can be delivered either locally via democratically elected council leaders or nationally via Ministers Transparency Basic reporting and independent audit requirements to support transparency and effective accountability Ongoing co-design over the next few months
8. Allocation and timetable Draft timetable: July 2013 – LEP guidance September/October 2013 – LEPs to share outline of Strategic Economic Plans with HMG End Dec 2013 – LEPs to share draft of Strategic Economic Plans with HMG January 2014 – Feedback to LEPs March 2014 – LEPs to submit final version of Strategic Economic Plans to HMG April to June 2014 – assessment of LEP Plans and Growth Deal negotiations July 2014 – SLGF allocations announced and Growth Deal agreed The importance of the Strategy Areas which develop strong strategies that they can deliver effectively, supported by strong governance and arrangements for local accountability, will benefit in three ways: They should receive more money They will earn local accountability Wider powers and responsibilities Effective delivery in the first year will influence future years
9. 14-19 LEP activity Leicester and Leicestershire LEP undertaken a comprehensive Skills Needs Analysis, which revealed significant skills mismatch issues as well as highlighting employment challenges for young people in Leicester and Leicestershire;   launched a Skills Academy at the MIRA Enterprise Zone prioritised action to increase Youth Employment and address NEETs as part of their City Deal worked with the county's FE colleges to support the development of a joint FE prospectus heavily promoted the UK Skills Show, offering 'Have a Go' opportunities in advance of of next month's show
10. Stoke and Staffordshire LEP keen to ensure that that young people coming out of school / college are adequately prepared for the opportunities available to them in the area. They are particularly keen to change young peoples’ perceptions of manufacturing industries as the LEP believes that significant growth will come from advanced manufacturing and applied materials over the next decade. For this reason the LEP has established an ‘Education Trust’ – here is an excerpt from their Core Brief: “…. the LEP’s Education & Skills Sub-Group encouraged partners to develop the concept of an Education Trust. The idea, a national first, is for senior representatives from the ‘supply side’ (schools, colleges, universities, private training providers etc.) to sit on the Education Trust alongside representatives from the ‘demand side’ (employers) to take action to (i) ensure that education and training provision is relevant to the needs of local businesses and (ii) raise educational aspirations and attainment. The first meeting of the Trust took place in November 2012”. JCB chair the Trust as. A couple of years ago they set up the first UTC (with £20m from DfE plus private sector investment) - the JCB Academy is for 14 – 18 year olds keen to progress a career in engineering. It’s a big decision for the youngsters as they have to leave their current schools where they will have been since they were 11, to join the JCB Academy. The Academy’s first GCSE results were published last year – 99% A*-C!
11. Apprenticeships reform There are three key aims for reforms: Puttingemployers in the driving seat of Apprenticeships. In future, Apprenticeships will be based on standards designed by employers to meet the needs of their sector. Radically simplify the system. The new employer-led standards will be short and easy to understand. They will describe the skills and knowledge that an individual needs to master to be fully competent. They will relate to a clear occupation (e.g. baker) rather than, as now, to a broader sector area (e.g. food and drink). Increase the quality of Apprenticeships. An apprentice will need to demonstrate their competence through rigorous independent assessment, focused primarily on testing their competence at the end of their Apprenticeship. We will introduce grading to Apprenticeships – Pass, Merit and Distinction. All Apprenticeships will be required to last at least 12 months and English and maths requirements will be stepped up gradually, reflecting the importance of these transferable skills.
12. Apprenticeships reform 2 We are consulting separately on how to give employers greater control over funding for Apprenticeships, which will further support these three aims. The consultation lasts until 01 October and results will be announced later this year. We will launch Apprenticeship Trailblazer projects as early adopters in a range of sectors. These will be led by employers and professional bodies, who will develop the new Apprenticeship standards for a number of occupations. The first of these will be announced in the Implementation Plan and others who are interested can contact us at: Apprenticeship.Trailblazers@bis.gsi.gov.uk The Trailblazers will pave the way for full implementation of the reforms during 2015/16 ad 2016/17 with the aim that all new Apprenticeship starts from 2017/18 will be on the new programme.As the new standards are developed and agreed, we will cease funding Apprenticeships under former frameworks.
13. Apprenticeships reform 3 In future: employers will determine what competenciesan apprentice must acquire to undertake an occupation effectively, and how these are tested; assessment will be rigorous to ensure each Apprentice has genuinely met the standard set by employers by the end of their Apprenticeship; and employers will be given the buying power to select the most appropriate training provision, forcing training providers to up their game. This will lead to better quality Apprenticeships more suited to employers’ needs