Lancashire Enterprise Partnership to be part of Powerhouse steering group

Lancashire's Local Enterprise Partnership chairman is set to sit on a new board to help guide the progress of the Northern Powerhouse.
Jake Berry MP speaking at the Northern Powerhouse ConferenceJake Berry MP speaking at the Northern Powerhouse Conference
Jake Berry MP speaking at the Northern Powerhouse Conference

Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry has unveiled the plan for an influential new body to support the government’s ambitions for the Powerhouse across the region.

The Rossendale Conservative MP was speaking at a three day conference in Newcastle featuring leading figures from across government and industry including Business Secretary Greg Clark and the Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney.

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He said Edwin Booth and the chairmen of each of the 11 LEPs will sit on a newly formed, government-funded board called the NP11.

It will act as one voice representing each of their regions as a modern day council for the North to work with and advise the government on issues such as how to increase productivity, overcome regional disparities in economic growth and tackle the historic north-south divide.

Jake Berry said: “As we approach leaving the European Union we need to ensure that every area of the UK continues to economically flourish.

“The Northern Powerhouse will be a vital support to the UK in achieving this and so I am very pleased the 11 LEP chairs have agreed to form the new NP11 board.

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“For the first time since 1472, we will bring together the business voices of the Northern Powerhouse in our Council for the North. They have one task: to enrich all the peoples of the North of England – this is the foundation stone of the Northern Powerhouse and, with the skills and expertise of the NP11, we will shift the North’s economy into overdrive.

"Together we will deliver a North of England which is an economic powerhouse and one which can proudly take its place on the world stage both now and as we leave the EU."

Edwin Booth, chairman of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, said: “The LEP is very supportive of this initiative and I believe it is a practical step forward for the whole of the North.

"It also clearly recognises the place-leadership role of LEPs, the expertise they draw-on from both the private and public sectors, and the massive contribution they can make to help deliver the Government’s Powerhouse agenda.

"I look forward to working with the Minister, and colleagues from other Northern LEPs, to create a collective partnership from which we can all benefit.”