The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership was set up in October 2010 to help strengthen local economies, encourage economic development and enterprise, and improve skills across the region.

The Partnership was initially formed of Birmingham and Solihull, with East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth, and was subsequently joined by Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, and more recently Redditch and Wyre Forest. The Partnership is now one of the largest in the country, encompassing a population of over two million people, and 840,000 jobs.

The LEP's successful bid, jointly proposed by business leaders and local authorities, set out ambitious plans to:

• Increase economic output (GVA) in the area by £8.25 billion by 2020;

• Create 100,000 private sector jobs by 2020;

• Stimulate growth in the business stock and business profitability;

• Boost indigenous and inward investment;

• Become global leaders in key sectors, including: automotive assembly; low carbon R&D, business and professional services; financial services; clinical trials; creative and digital sectors;

• Increase the proportion of adults with appropriate qualifications to meet employment needs.

A new wave of Enterprise Zones, offering a range of benefits to stimulate development, create new jobs and boost the economy were announced by Government in March 2011. The Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP chose Birmingham City Centre as the location for their Enterprise Zone.

Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council said:

"The Government laid down the gauntlet to businesses and local authorities, and asked them to work together in a new way to tackle the challenges of growth and prosperity, and we have responded with a bold vision for the future. Together we have all the ingredients to be a powerful driver of not only our local economy, but the UK growth agenda as well - in fact, we are now one of the country's largest and most significant Local Enterprise Partnerships."

Bridget Blow, Chair of LEP Development Board, said: "We have made good progress since we were given the green light by government and we are committed to working together to making our LEP area the easiest place in which to set up and do business.The partners involved in the LEP have come together with a common voice - we all recognised the great opportunity our LEP has to impact on the lives and futures of the people and institutions of our area and agreed that our work should remain outcome focused. The regular eUpdate, below, will be a great way of keeping everyone in touch."

For more information go to: www.gbslep.com or www.birminghamchambergroup.com The LEP has recently issued the first in a new series of regular eUpdates, highlighting the good progress made since October 2010.