The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has taken shape with the help of city centre law firm Wragge & Co.
Wragge & Co advised on the setting up and ongoing development of the partnership between local businesses and local authorities.
The LEP was established in October 2010 to help strengthen local economies, encourage economic development and enterprise, and improve skills across the region.
It initially consisted of Birmingham and Solihull, East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth, and was subsequently joined by Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, and more recently Redditch and Wyre Forest.
Introduced following the Government’s ‘Local Growth white paper: realising every place’s potential’, the LEP, chaired by John Lewis chairman Andy Street, is one of the largest in the country, covering a population of more than two million people.
One of its main aims is to create 100,000 private sector jobs across the region by 2020.
Wragge & Co local government partner Stephen Sellers advised on the structure of the LEP.
“As there is no blueprint for the form that LEPs should take, we provided creative thinking to determine how this partnership should work across a number of sectors,” said Mr Sellers.
“Our in-depth understanding of both business and local authorities enabled us to compose a structure to reflect the interests of all parties.”
Mr Sellers worked closely during the set-up period with the LEP development board chair Bridget Blow and Birmingham City Council’s in-house legal team, led by assistant director John Wynn.
Wragge & Co’s 20-partner local government team was also involved, providing first-hand public sector experience combined with a commercially-focused approach.
Acting for more than 100 local authorities across England, the team includes experts in employment, regeneration, public procurement, private financing initiatives, pensions and strategic partnering.
Speaking about Wragge & Co’s involvement Ms Blow said: “Private sector involvement was crucial at the start-up stage. Wragge & Co’s technical expertise, public sector knowledge and commercial focus meant it was ideally placed to devise the structure of the LEP and the form that it will take.
“This helped us to put in place a full board of directors with ambitious plans to support the economic growth of the region.”
Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council said: “The Government laid down the gauntlet to businesses and local authorities, and asked them to work together in a new way to tackle the challenges of growth and prosperity, and we have responded with a bold vision for the future. Together we have all the ingredients to be a powerful driver of not only our local economy, but the UK growth agenda as well.”
