The London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) is the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for London. LEPs were first established in 2011 (2012 in London) and are responsible for promoting a business-led, more locally responsive way to bid for and spend government grants to support economic development.
Currently, the LEAP has two sources of funding: central government capital grants and European Union grants. Once the UK leaves the EU, the EU grants will no longer be available and while this will be replaced by UK Government funding in the short term, no one knows how it will work.
Key issues surrounding the LEAP are:
- Routine underspends and unallocated monies
- Difficulty demonstrating value for money
- Uncertainty about how the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund will work
In the medium to long term, it is not known how the LEAP will spend anticipated future business rates income from the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone. There is still £41.5 million in funding unallocated in 2019-20.
Tomorrow, the London Assembly will consider the LEAP’s contribution to the Mayor’s wider economic agenda, and the support it provides to London businesses. The guests are:
- Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor & Co-Deputy Chair for Mayor’s Office, LEAP
- Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, LEAP Member, Co-Chair of Royal Docks Enterprise Zone Programme Board & Mayor of Newham
- Simon Pitkeathley, LEAP Business Member
- Debbie Jackson, Interim Executive Director, Development, Enterprise & Environment & LEAP Senior Responsible Owner
- Daniel Bridge, Programme Director, Royal Docks
Following this, Assembly Members will submit motions on various topics.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, 6 June from 10:00am in The Chamber at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).
Media and members of the public are invited to attend
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE via webcast or YouTube
Follow us @LondonAssembly and take part in the meeting discussion using #LEAP
Notes to editors
- Agenda Papers
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Alison Bell on 020 7983 4228. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.