Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress he has made in completing the review of Local Economic Partnerships.

Following the announcement of the review of Local Enterprise Partnerships at Spring Budget, we have engaged with local partners, business organisations, higher and further education representatives, senior officials from local authorities across England and chief executives from Mayoral Combined Authorities. I am grateful to them for their time and constructive engagement over the course of the review.

Since initiating the review, we have also committed to publish a landmark Levelling Up White Paper, which will set out Government’s vision for empowering local leaders and institutions, including LEPs, and will be published in 2022.