Local Growth Deals: policy briefing

Our policy briefing digs into the detail of the 39 deals struck with LEPs.

Briefing published on 22 July 2014 by Louise McGough

The recently agreed Local Growth Deals look very different to what was originally proposed by Lord Heseltine, not only because the size of the pot is significantly more modest, but more fundamentally because the deals have focused on specific project funding, rather than the devolution of funds and the freedom to allocate them locally.

That said, the fact that funds have now been committed to a number of important local transport, housing and skills priorities is positive. The challenge for LEPs now is to oversee the delivery of these projects, while also making the case that in future years Growth Deal rounds should focus more on the devolution of funding, rather than its allocation.

This briefing digs into the detail of the Growth Deals, comparing and contrasting them to see the degree to which they reflect the varying nature of the economy across England.

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