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Supporting your Local Economic Assessment
From April 2010 county councils, unitary authorities and London boroughs have a duty to prepare a Local Economic Assessment (LEA). The Assessment, and the process of doing it, should enable local areas to improve their response to economic challenges and to be more influential in the development of the local economy.
What do LEAs require?
Although the draft guidance has now been withdrawn by CLG, in line with it's agenda of cutting regulation and prescription, the guidance stated that the LEA should
- provide a sound understanding of the area's economic conditions, and how they affect residents and businesses
- identify comparative strengths and weaknesses in the economy, as well as challenges and opportunities
- identify the local economic geography, including the linkages with neighbouring areas and the wider economy
- identify local constraints to growth and employment, as well as the risks to delivering sustainable economic growth
The broad emphasis of LEAs has not changed. Therefore, an LEA should be 'place-based' and forward-looking. There are no specific guidelines for what should be covered, or how it should be undertaken, and this should be seen as a strength. Authorities will be able to develop a focus and approach that can best illuminate their specific issues, rather than adopting a 'one size fits all' standardised approach.
Preparing a robust, future-facing LEA
Whatever approach is developed, it should use and build on a sound, robust and, where possible, forward-looking evidence base. To improve understanding of the role of place, in other words how an area works, the Assessment should be data-informed, rather than data-driven. Cambridge Econometrics (CE) has an established reputation for working with local authorities to develop local economic development initiatives, providing rigorous and robust data and innovative analysis, and regularly works with economic development consultants SQW Consulting to ensure that the analysis and policy recommendations reflect 'on-the-ground' realities.
CE has expertise in many areas relevant to developing a robust LEA evidence base, including:
- the wider role of 'place'
- through estimating and analysing travel-to-work patterns - future growth trajectories for the economy
- our Local Economy Forecasting Model (LEFM) provides a sophisticated basis for identifying local economic prospects within the context of wider regional and national prospects and for developing alternative scenarios - the carbon implications of growth
- quantifying the potential impact of future patterns of growth on energy use and CO2 emissions locally, taking into account local conditions and national policy initiatives - the housing implications of economic growth
- considering the future demand for different types of housing - the impact of underlying demographic trends
- CE maintains and applies the Chelmer Population and Housing Model, the well-established and widely-used demographic model that provides projections of local population, households and potential housing need
Supporting your LEA: Example Projects
For further information, email:
Mike May-Gillings
Manager, UK Local Economy Services