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Local Authority Economic Assessment Duty What it will mean in practice

Local Authority Economic Assessment Duty What it will mean in practice. Colin Lovegrove CLG. Purpose of Presentation. To set out: Economic assessments and their wider context Benefits of duty How it would work in practice. SNR Consultation. Sought views on:

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Local Authority Economic Assessment Duty What it will mean in practice

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  1. Local Authority Economic Assessment Duty What it will mean in practice Colin Lovegrove CLG

  2. Purpose of Presentation • To set out: • Economic assessments and their wider context • Benefits of duty • How it would work in practice

  3. SNR Consultation • Sought views on: • Proposals for taking forward economic assessment duty • Whether there is a case for statutory sub-regional collaboration that goes beyond transport • How best to take forward the single regional strategy • Government’s response expected soon!

  4. Economic Assessment - consultation responses • Broad support for a duty • Evenly split over need for Government guidance • Data access and quality • Need to engage district councils in two tier areas • Need to engage local businesses

  5. Strengthening the Local Authority Role in Economic Development • Sub-National Review set out need for strengthened local authority role in economic development: • Local authority place shaping role • New Local Government Performance Framework • Flexibilities/incentives • Multi Area Agreements/statutory sub-regions • Economic assessment duty • Current economic conditions places even greater emphasis on the local authority economic development role

  6. Why a duty? • Underpins local authority role in economic development • Builds on well being power • Robust economic evidence base to inform economic policy decisions • Give local authorities a stronger understanding of the economic challenges of their area • Ensure better targeted investment

  7. How the duty would work in practice • Duty to fall on all upper tier and unitary local authorities • Counties would be required to work closely with district councils • Duty on responsible authorities to consult key economic partners ie. RDAs, HCA, Jobcentre Plus • But also important to engage other social, environmental and economic partners • Building block for Sustainable Community Strategy & regional strategy • Inform LAA negotiations

  8. What should assessments focus on? • Give local authorities a clear and coherent understanding of local economic conditions • Identify economic linkages with wider economy • Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats (SWOT analysis) • Include assessment of worklessness • Review ways in which local authority and partners influence local economy • Factor in environmental pressures and impact on economic growth • Look at economic conditions under different scenarios

  9. Linking Upper Tier to Lower Tier • Duty on both tiers to work in partnership • District councils to feed in economic survey material needed to inform their local planning role • Both tiers to work from a shared & consistent economic evidence base • County wide economic assessment to feed downwards into Local Development Framework

  10. Geographic Scope of Assessments • Assessments need to reflect functional economic areas as closely as possible • Where functional economic areas transcend local authority boundaries, authorities should work together on a joint assessment • Joint assessments for MAA areas

  11. Frequency of Assessments • Need to be fit for purpose • New assessment to form part of Sustainable Community Strategy • Review assessments ahead of LAA negotiations and refreshes • Review in the light of changes in economic conditions

  12. Achieving consistency across the region • Important to achieve consistency in terms of scope of assessments across the region in feeding into regional strategy • Adopt common methodologies & indicators • Need for structured dialogue involving LAs, RIEPs, ROs, GOs & RDA • Regional signposting/fact sheets on data?

  13. Improving Access to Quality Data • Big issue in SNR consultation – data quality & access • Working with ONS & other data providers on feasibility of further improving data sets • But constraints around sample sizes when budgets are tight • Regional Observatories can help to sign post to regionally and locally held data • Structured regional dialogue to enable sharing of data to avoid duplication of effort

  14. Guidance • Draft CLG guidance early 2009 – light touch and non-prescriptive • IDeA capacity building project leading to practical sector led guidance: - guidance on process, range of evidence, commissioning research & developing capacity; - focus on smoother work at intra-authority level and with core LSP partners

  15. Capacity Building Support • Need for agreement across region on how to support authorities: • RIEP programme of support • Regional Observatory offer • RDA support • GO convening/support/challenge role

  16. To conclude…. • Economic assessments should be first base in developing economic development strategies • Improve economic development decisions • Collaboration with LSP partners important • Much to be done – LA capacity, single regional dialogue/addressing data issues

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