Business Minister Michael Fallon told the Department for Business, Innovation and Skill (BIS) Select Committee that the support is intended to help sharpen the focus and accelerate the change effected by LEPs.
“I want (LEPs) to have more direct contact with Whitehall so they will from now on have a single strategic adviser in the department or in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), as a direct point of focus as they move forward to finalising their growth plans," Fallon told the Committee according to reports. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/9613784/Local-enterprise-to-get-civil-service-support.html
The Government announced last month that £24 million funding would be made available to LEPs to help them deliver their growth plans. The funding would be provided on a 50/50 basis by BIS and DCLG and LEPs would be required to source matching local funding of equal value.
Fallon said the civil service support was the second part of his plans to demand better results and more growth from LEPs.
