Local Enterprise Partnerships: Aarhus Convention

(asked on 8th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how their obligations under Article 7 of the Aarhus Convention 1998 are discharged regarding Local Enterprise Partnership (1) plans, and (2) programs.


Answered by
Lord Callanan Portrait
Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This question was answered on 22nd November 2021

The Government requires each LEP to set out in their local assurance framework their arrangements for governance and transparent decision making in regard to LEP plans and programs. In relation to Article 7 of the Aarhus Convention 1998, these assurance requirements include:

1. Board membership, including an identified board member to represent and engage with the SME business community.

2. Collective engagement with local authority leaders in decision-making on growth priorities.

3. A dedicated website through which local partners and the public can check progress on the delivery of Growth Deals and access key documents such as the Strategic Economic Plan, ensuring that this information can be found easily and is accessible to all


4. Through their accountable body, ensure that Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulation requests are dealt with in line with relevant legislation


5. Ensure that there is ongoing local engagement with public and private sector stakeholders to inform key decisions and set out how they will evidence effective engagement


6. Ensure that there is local engagement with and feedback to the general public about future Local Enterprise Partnership strategy development and progress against delivery of the SEP, including key projects and spend against those projects and that this can be evidenced

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