Last year, Lord (Michael) Heseltine, at the invitation of the Government, came out of retirement to address the matter of how to increase UK economic growth rates. His report, No Stone Unturned, was published earlier this year (Heseltine, 2012). It focuses on regional Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs) as agencies to deliver the Single Local Growth Fund, otherwise known as the Single Pot of regional funding for infrastructure (housing and transport) and skills development.
The LEPs (along with City Deals) are borne out of campaigning mainly by certain