Agenda item

(Led by: Patrick Bowes, Author: Seamus McDonnell)

The Board considered a report of the Director of Strategy, Communications and Policing which provided the Board with information on the findings of the Growth Deal Impact Evaluation (non-transport projects) and to share the One Page Summary and the Summary Report for the evaluation.

The Head of Research and Intelligence introduced the paper that set out the headline results from the Growth Deal Impact Evaluation. The Board were presented with a summary report setting out the high-level economic benefits and return on investment across the three rounds of Growth Deal funding and the assessment presented at the programme level and at Growth Deal and SEP priority level. The summary reports are complemented by a larger report which presents more information learned through project and programme delivery, the results of a detailed stakeholder survey and key learning insights and recommendations which are designed to support future programme development.

The report is the first part of a more detailed program of evaluation of the Growth Deal and was designed to articulate the headline economic benefits of the three rounds of funding and is akin to a mid-term evaluation using the project output and performance information. The next stages of the evaluation will focus on examining and quantifying the wider benefits to both communities and businesses in terms of their lived experiences, diversity impacts and business development in the Leeds City Region and West Yorkshire.

The core message of this independent report is that the Growth Deal has delivered strong economic returns and clearly shows the success of the LEP and Combined Authority in delivering this deal and the short and long term benefits it will deliver. The report also highlights the success of the LEP, Combined Authority and its partnership structures in delivering economic returns and benefits consistent with the ambitions set out in the Strategic Economic Plan. The report estimated the return on public investment is likely to be £12 of economic benefit for every £1 spent on the programme, generating over 16,000 net new jobs, and nearly £10bn of long term additional economic growth.

The Board were taken through each of the four ‘priority areas’ by members of the LEP. Members commented on the findings within the report including the reduction in fuel poverty achieved by the funding, the benefits of strong partnership working in the further education sector and how knowledge could be shared throughout Leeds City Region and further afield. Members asked if it would be possible to provide an economic counterfactual outlining what would have happened if the Growth Deal programmes had not been delivered. The Board were informed that this was to be explored in the future to make sure qualitative results as well as quantitative results were recorded.

On behalf of the LEP Board, the Chair thanked all those who have worked on the Growth Deal, past and present, for helping to bring significant economic growth to West Yorkshire that could have significant social benefits for the people of West Yorkshire and beyond. The Chair also thanked Professor Simon Pringle for his contributions as the former Chair of the Green Economy Panel on behalf of the Board.

Resolved: The LEP Board note the findings of the Growth Deal Impact Evaluation and provided feedback to help shape the next stages of the evaluation.