The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)
I, together with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, would like to inform the House that, following the submission to form a local enterprise partnership, we have today written to the Mayor of London and to London councils inviting them to put their governance arrangements in place.
Local enterprise partnerships will be important drivers of growth in the future, bringing together local businesses and elected leaders to create the right conditions for growth. They see a real power shift away from central Government and quangos and towards local communities and the local businesses who really understand the barriers to enterprise in their areas. This announcement brings the total number of partnerships so far invited to put their governance arrangements in place to 31—nearly 90% of the country. We will continue to work with other areas with a view to establishing further local enterprise partnerships across England.