Local Economic and Community Plans LECP | Guidelines 2021
Economic Action Area 3: Operation of the LEOs:
The last three actions in this area also form part of the community element of the LECP and relate directly to programmes and priorities that will be overseen and managed by LCDCs. It will be necessary, accordingly, to ensure integration across both elements of the Plan for these aspects. It should be noted that most of the actions relating to these areas will lie outside the remit of the Local Authority and a range of other actors will need to contribute to the achievement of goal and objectives in these areas. Engagement with local actors such as Chambers of Commerce/Town Teams/Regeneration Committees when identifying potential applications for Government funded schemes such as Town and Village Renewal, RRDF, ORIS, will ensure local buy-in. Economic Action Area 5: Jobs & Labour Market Activation: Local authorities need to take account of Pathways to Work 2021-2025, the Government’s national employment services strategy, which focuses on helping people back into employment, training and education, thereby minimising the long-term effects of the pandemic on the labour force for those whose jobs are permanently lost. The plan sets out a pathway for an inclusive and regionally balanced recovery, to help people get back to work, be that a return to their old jobs or to avail of new job opportunities that will emerge as the economy transitions. It is critical that the potential for enterprise growth and job creation is facilitated. Nine Regional Enterprise Plan Steering Committees have been established that offer a bottom-up perspective on regional needs and opportunities and they will continue to drive collaborative responses through nine refreshed Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs) to 2024. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s Regional Enterprise Plans are focused on strengthening the ecosystem for job creation in the regions and in so doing will support the realisation of annual enterprise agency and LEO jobs and investment targets. It is important to note that actions in these areas also are likely to lie primarily outside the functions of the Local Authority and other agencies need to be actively involved in this area.
Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are a core instrument of local enterprise support and development for SMEs and micro-enterprises with a focus on providing financial supports, mentoring, networking support, business and entrepreneurial advice, business training and information, and advice on Local Authority supports or activities that affect enterprise including, rates, procurement or planning. The LEOs really came to the fore during COVID in terms of providing non-financial supports to a range of sectors, including the retail sector, particularly in terms of getting businesses trading online. LECPs can encourage greater engagement between various sectors and the LEOs. Economic Action Area 4: Economic components of the local/ community development role: In addition to the LEOs, which are working closely with other national and local players to provide a customer driven service to develop entrepreneurial and job creation ideas without displacing existing business or jobs, action in this area should include:- the 164 Community Enterprise Centres which provide essential incubator space for new businesses, facilitate and provide business development programmes and training courses, as well as collaborating with other community enterprise initiatives; workforce development through improved educational opportunities and other local community activation measures, in particular for disadvantaged groups within the community; place-making activities and local improvement measures such as support for tidy towns efforts, protection and enhancement of the physical fabric of places and heritage/ historical resources, and other measures to improve the local environment, particularly with a view to realising economic potential, for example in relation to tourism; and enhanced coordination between community development and economic development arising from a closer alignment of local and community development programmes with Local Authority functions.
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