Councils are key to unlocking economic potential.
The Government has identified kickstarting economic growth as the pre-eminent mission of its Plan for Change and, in recent weeks, there has been a raft of policy announcements.
Four new growth funds were announced in the Spending Review in June, including one for mayoral combined authorities in the North and Midlands.
The Industrial Strategy set out the critical role local authorities across England can play in supporting the Government’s eight key growth sectors. And the recently published English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill aims to put into law the role of mayoral strategic authorities in delivering local growth plans.
Councils have shown, over many decades, that they are essential to driving sustainable and inclusive growth, knitting together national and local resources and connecting these to the needs of residents and businesses.
To build on this, and at a time of change, the LGA has commissioned the Growth and Reform Network (a collaboration between consultants Metro Dynamics, and think tanks the Future Governance Forum and the Centre for Progressive Policy) to undertake new research to evidence the vital role of local authorities.
Initial analysis, released at the LGA’s annual conference in Liverpool, reveals that councils across England could unleash £276 billion of untapped economic potential – equivalent to more than a tenth of national output.
The analysis strips out national, sectoral and regional trends to pinpoint genuinely local economic potential, identifying areas where local leaders, with properly resourced councils, could make a significant difference in tackling local economic challenges, unlocking local jobs and boosting business opportunities.
Urban areas could deliver at least £234 billion, according to the analysis. Rural areas also present untapped potential worth at least £42 billion – equivalent to nearly 10.7 per cent of the rural economy.
The analysis highlights that there are places not currently covered by a mayoral combined authority, nor on the Devolution Priority Programme, that are ready to press ahead now on delivering inclusive growth.
These areas cannot afford to wait another three or four years for a devolution agreement. They need support and resources to deliver for their communities and businesses, which could unlock at least £77 billion of additional growth.
To guide this work, we have convened a steering group, with expert representation from across the sector.
At the LGA’s annual conference, we organised a roundtable with local leaders that underpinned the importance of collaboration between local and combined authorities, and highlighted excellent work now under way.
Examples included the long-term collaboration between government, BAE Systems and Westmorland and Furness Council through Team Barrow, which aims to support ongoing shipbuilding in the town, but also diversify and strengthen the local economy.
We expect to launch our final report in the autumn and look forward to working with local government to make the best case for the sector.
- We want to use this research to showcase the excellent work already under way across England and would like to hear from you if your council has a case study to share. Please email alex.howell@local.gov.uk