Regional Governance

Yorkshire and the Humber is a major European region with a 5 million population and £52 billion economy.

Regional government was put in place by the previous Conservative and Labour Governments. However, the new coalition government has decided to abolish  Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber (GOYH) and the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward.

The government is creating Local Enterprise Partnerships to focus on economic renewal in local communities.  They will be partnerships between civic authorities and business, and will look at areas like planning and housing, transport and infrastructure, employment and enterprise, and tourism. In our region there will probably be four – Sheffield City Region, Leeds City Region, York and North Yorkshire, and one (or two) in the Humber.

Eric Pickles’ office at the Department for Communities and Local Government has said that

“the Government fully accepts that churches, faith communities, voluntary groups and charities all potentially have important roles to play in local enterprise partnerships. They are important drivers of economic growth and enterprise, as well as being significant employers in their own right. As you rightly say, they undertake a broad range of economic activities including the provision and management of community assets; fostering skills and enterprise; delivering public sector services and empowering local communities through skills and enterprise. And they have a wealth of local knowledge, which allied to successful track records of fruitful engagement and innovative action, can make a real difference to local communities. I hope this reassures you that the Government is not overlooking the role of the voluntary sector in the future economic growth of local communities, and I do encourage you and your colleagues to engage with partnerships across Yorkshire and Humber.”