Recommendation 27

The Local Industrial Strategy model faced key limitations, including: a lack of associated long-term funding that could help unlock local investments; variable local institutional capacity to develop, implement and evaluate local strategies; limited priority and capacity within central Government to support the development of 52 Post-pandemic economic growth: Industrial policy in the UK local strategies; and a lack of clarity on how far the national vision could be adapted to local circumstances, or by what criteria the local strategies’ success could be judged. Many of these limitations are related to the powers, funding and support available to local areas to effectively develop and implement strategic local economic policies, appropriately informed by national priorities.