Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership

The LEP is a strategic body, business-driven with a Board including ten representatives from the private sector, three Cornwall Council nominated representatives and one nominated representative from the Council of the Isles of Scilly. 

The small executive team is hosted by Cornwall Council, with commissioned local authority support and procured delivery agents from the private and public sector, to deliver its Strategy.

The LEP’s role includes convening partners, leading on projects and strategies in consultation with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s broader business community, investing funds into strategic projects across the region as well as an ongoing dialogue with government.

What is the LEP?

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was launched in May 2011. Private sector-led, it is a partnership between the private and public sectors and is driving the economic strategy for the area, determining local priorities and undertaking activities to drive growth and the creation of local jobs.

The LEP is business-driven and our board currently includes 10 appointed representatives of the private sector, 3 nominated Cornwall Council representatives and 1 nominated representative from the Council of the Isles of Scilly.

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP is one of 38 LEPs across England set up following the Government’s approach to economic development. This approach puts businesses in the driving seat and empowers the private sector to determine their own priorities.  Our objectives and vision are set out in Vision 2030, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Strategic Economic Plan and the 2020 Local Industrial Strategy, with further articulation in our Annual Delivery Plan.

Our vision

In 2030 the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly creative and carbon-neutral economy will be realising opportunities for its people, communities and businesses to thrive, benefiting the environment and providing an outstanding quality of life for all.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are rich in natural capital and alive with opportunity. We must now move beyond the economy of the past, where a narrow definition of growth led to an imbalance between our natural and material resources, and between the income levels of our resident population. By mobilising our considerable cultural assets and social capital, our aim is to realise our region’s full potential and deliver inclusive growth. Our Industrial Strategy sets a course for a decarbonised and sustainable future for business, for people and for our environment. Our pioneering spirit, strength of community, and culture of innovation and creativity will take us there.

We will look to the horizon in terms of ideas, global markets and even the potential of space to fully embrace the principles of a regenerative economy that can deliver for all. People are at the heart of our strategy; improvements to our economy must be inclusive and will have a net-positive impact on the environment, and the health and wellbeing of all our community.

Through the delivery of the Local Industrial Strategy, we aim to secure Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s position as an internationally renowned rural creative region.

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Our Governance 

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP was launched in May 2011. In February 2012, the CIoS LEP Board established the LEP as a not for profit company limited by guarantee. The LEP have formally adopted Articles of Association.

The members of the LEP Board are appointed via a transparent and open recruitment process and must sign up to the CIoS LEP Code of Conduct for Board Members.  All Board members are expected to meet an agreed standard of behaviour known as the 7 Principles of Public Life (Nolan Principles).

Cornwall Council acts as accountable body for the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP and in this capacity receives and administers all grants on behalf of the LEP.  There is an MOU in place between the LEP/Cornwall Council/Council of the Isles of Scilly which outlines how the LEP will work in partnership with both the public and private sectors and also details the role of Cornwall Council as accountable body.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP are committed to embedding the highest standards of governance, transparency and accountability.  The LEP follows an Assurance Framework which guides local decision making to support accountability, transparency and value for money.  This framework follows the National Assurance Framework which sets out national guidelines, practices and standards.