The Government’s announcement that it is ‘minded to’ transfer Local Enterprise Partnership (LEPs) functions to councils was no surprise. The writing has been on the wall since the publication of last year’s Levelling Up White Paper and the move was welcomed among County Councils’ Network (CCN) member councils.

This doesn’t mean our members haven’t valued the contribution of their LEPs. In a 2018 survey, some 85% of our member councils said they had ‘good’ or ‘very good’ relationship with their LEPs, reflecting the resources and infrastructure our councils have provided to these organisations since their inception. But CCN, like the current crop of Government ministers, believes local democratic institutions are best placed to lead on the growth agenda.