OVERVIEW

During the recent economic downturn, the Office of National Statistics calculated that the total net worth of the British population had fallen by a staggering 12%. As the credit markets froze, repercussions were felt across a range of industries, and inequalities in Britain's economic prosperity became accentuated: small businesses are five times more likely to fail in the North East than London, as many as a quarter of shops lie vacant in areas of the North West, and the South East is home to nearly half of the UK's wealthiest people.

Clearly, this London-centric prosperity cannot continue: Britain needs economic growth, but this must be sustainable and realised throughout the nation. With this in mind, the government is implementing two distinct but complementary initiatives. The Plan for Growth aims to make our economy 'much more dynamic, less burdened by pointless barriers, and retooled for a high-tech future'. The Localism Act also seeks to reduce bureaucracy by shifting substantial power 'back where it belongs', from central government to local authorities and communities, 'breaking down the barriers that stop councils, social enterprises and voluntary groups getting things done for themselves'. This latter initiative is to be facilitated by a £2.4bn Regional Growth Fund, which aims to help areas and communities to achieve sustainable private-led growth and prosperity.

As localism and growth initiatives move from theory to implementation, many questions still remain: How do we ensure that growth is sustainable? How do we prevent localism from establishing lots of little Whitehalls around the country? How can collaboration, as opposed to competition, be encouraged amongst local authorities? How can funding be accessed? What exactly will be the central government's role in all this?

Going for Growth: Stimulating Sustainable Local Regeneration offers the most up-to-date information about the progress and future direction of the government's localised growth initiatives. Our programme of high-profile speakers will give experienced insight and examples of how these measures will influence the practical delivery of public services so that they are truly tailored to the needs of a local area. Delegates will be able to learn from case studies and examples of existing successful local initiatives to gain a better understanding of how to stimulate economic growth in their locality.