As I write this, my team is immersed in scrutinising the 39 Strategic Economic Plans in respect of the proposals from Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to attract funding from the Local Growth Fund.  It really is a big deal: £2bn will be allocated in this current round, for projects that can be implemented in 2015/16.

As we have always made clear, with the first year's funding beginning next year, Local Enterprise Partnerships need to show that their plans are deliverable against that timetable.  The best Strategic Economic Plans are clearly showing how LEPs can do this by working with the grain of the market.