The Leicester and Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership came together again this week to plan its future direction whilst the sub-region waits for its Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation outcomes over the next two years.
✔️ I am happy to accept the invitation from the Leicester City Council City Mayor and the Leader of Leicestershire County Council to continue to Chair the Board through to 2028 and hopefully the next phase of our devolution journey.
📈 But as anyone who knows me will know this is not a period to pause and wait for change. I see this next period as the point in which we prepare ourselves for what comes next by creating a sub region based on collaboration and working what we've got at our disposal.
💼 This doesn't mean we are standing still either. This week we saw the outcome of our work across the City County and Rutland through the Connect to Work programme (£17m), the upcoming launch of our Tourism strategy, and the £19m bid for the Local Innovation Partnerships Fun via our Innovation Board led by Katie Normington
🥇 I have a vision that despite still sitting outside the MCA tent for funding at the moment we don't sit on the side-lines waiting and moaning. We grab every opportunity available. It doesn't mean I won't shout loudly inside Whitehall and Westminster for funding to be shared more fairly!
🏗️ Our economy in Leicestershire is the biggest in the region with great opportunities and so many exciting things happening. At the same time we have deep structural problems around pay, poverty and skills.
📣 The Chancellors statement yesterday highlighted the need for a period of stability and for economic growth to be translated into changes for people lives. At the same time the world has yet again been plunged into uncertainty because of the Trump bombing of Iran.
🏥 We can only control what we can control in the Sub-region and we will continue to do that despite everyhting going on around us!
👊 Thanks to the Board members and the business voices feeding though the issues and what the local authorities need to do to create a healthy business environment locally.
