LSCC London. Stansted. Cambridge. Consortium Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is London Stansted Cambridge Consortium? The London Stansted Cambridge Consortium (LSCC) was formed in June 2013 as a strategic partnership of public and private organisations covering the area north from the Royal Docks, Tech City, the City Fringe, Kings Cross, and the Olympic Park, up through the Lee Valley, the M11, A1 and A10 road, the East Coast and West Anglia Mainline rail corridors to Stevenage, Harlow and Stansted, and through to Cambridge and Peterborough. The consortium brings together public and private sector organisations which have the common aim of seeking economic growth, higher employment rates, providing places for people and business while preserving the quality and character of the corridor. 2. Who are the members? There are three categories of participation in the Consortium these are as members, partners and supporters. Members: are the local authorities which make up the corridor plus non-governmental public bodies colleges of further education and universities. Partners: are key public and private sector partnerships and statutory bodies plus, by invitation, private sector supporting organisations, regardless of their HQ, whose geography includes at least part of the corridor and which have a long-term stake in the area. The consortium has set up a Business Leaders Group which comprises the top 10 20 largest companies which have a stake in the corridor. It is also creating an Investment and Development Network for landowners, developers and those working in this sector. Supporters: are approved by the board and comprise those organisations which support the aims and objectives of the LSCC and which are prepared to commit resources to help the LSCC to achieve its objectives. The full list of members, partners and supporters is attached as an appendix.
3. What is the Consortium for? The purpose of the Consortium is to develop and articulate a clear vision for the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor and to provide the strategic leadership to help the vision become reality. In essence, the LSCC seeks to join up the work of the four LEPs which cover the Corridor: Greater Cambridge/Greater Peterborough LEP; Hertfordshire LEP; South East LEP; and the London Enterprise Panel. Therefore the role of the LSCC is to act as the coordination mechanism for joint policies and initiatives and to develop cross-border and corridor-wide initiatives than can benefit neighbouring areas.
4. What are the consortium s objectives? raise the profile of the Corridor and its component parts within national and subnational government and promote the corridor with private sector investors, and institutions, as a place of opportunity to invest and secure a high return in social and economic terms. build a clear economic growth agenda for the Corridor and to articulate a clear case for investment in the priorities of the corridor. provide the forum for members, partners and supporters to work collaboratively and cohesively to secure sustainable economic growth and to ensure that residents and businesses secure the benefits of that growth. act as ambassadors for the corridor, influencing decision-makers, the development of policy for the corridor and co-ordinating good relationships between boroughs, districts, counties, LEPs, regional and central Government. In practical terms this means: Infrastructure Advocacy for example, the West Anglia Mainline, Crossrail 2, Junctions 7 a and 8 on the M11, the A10 and the A14 Investment Promotion working closely with councils, national and county agencies to market the Corridor to investors Sector strategies to support business growth and job creation focussing on life sciences, IT and digital and cleantech Cross-border initiatives to unlock growth helping to facilitate joint work between local authorities to bring forward growth opportunities.
5. Is the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor an economic reality? Is it more important than other corridors? There is good evidence that the Corridor is a functional economic area. In 2006 a study by PACEC, a consultancy, that was commissioned by the Local Government Association shows that the areas emerging from north London and south from Greater Cambridge have a high (up to 80%) degree of self containment in housing, labour and travel to study. This is one of five corridors which emerge from London. All are important from the perspective of understanding London s economic relations with the Greater South East. However, the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor has a particular importance because it links London and Cambridge, and has a mix of future oriented growth sectors that are important for the future of the economies of London, South East, and the UK as a whole. 6. What is the Consortium s position on Stansted Airport? London Stansted Airport is a key partner in the consortium because there is a clear mutual interest for both. The airport is important for improving the international connections for businesses in the corridor, and it is a driver of the local visitor economy, job creation, business growth, and infrastructure improvements. The LSCC wishes to see the airport fully utilised to maximise the economic benefits of this major strategic asset to the corridor. The Consortium supports the use of the airport up to its already permitted level of 35 million passengers per annum and works with Stansted to attract a broader range of carriers to connect the airport to inter-continental destinations which are needed by the growth businesses in the Corridor. The LSCC has not proposed the expansion of Stansted to the Airports Commission but recognises that any expansion of the airport will provide new opportunities for job creation and business development, undertaking economic modelling to evaluate this impact
7. Does LSCC promote housing growth? The consortium engages with the housing agenda, because there is a demonstrable need for housing within the Corridor and there is evidence that rising house prices and housing shortages are starting to become a barrier to economic growth due to labour shortages. However, the consortium recognises that it is the responsibility of its local planning authority members to set housing targets and does not seek to change these but will use them to build the case for investment in strategic infrastructure. The consortium does not propose or support individual housing developments other than those supported by the local planning authority members themselves. It plays no role in suggesting new housing schemes or seeking to persuade members to raise their housing ambitions. 8. Who owns and sponsors LSCC? The Consortium is a membership organisation which is owned by the members listed in the appendix. Its primary funding comes from subscriptions that are paid by members local government, FE and HE. The LSCC is attracting sponsorship from the private sector. To date this has come from London Stansted Airport, consultancies in the property industry and a social enterprise. The Consortium is seeking to increase contributions from the private sector where there are clear mutual benefits. A list of contributors will be publicly available. 9. How is the LSCC governed and managed? Governance of the consortium is exercised through the board which comprises the members with input from partners and working groups shown below. Decisions are reached by consensus. The board has a non executive, independent chairman who was recruited on a three year contract under Nolan conditions.
The board has a number of advisory and working groups. These are: All Party Parliamentary Group FE College Principals Network LSCC Higher Network Business Leaders Group Investment & Development Network Skills and Employment Working Group Strategic Infrastructure Group The board has agreed seven of deputy chairs to support the chairman. These are senior politicians and senior business leaders. The secretariat to the consortium comprises three staff: director, deputy director and business support. The LSCC office is at Wood Green in offices provided by the London Borough of Haringey. The secretariat is employed by LB Haringey. In legal terms the LSC Consortium is an informal partnership with LB Haringey as the accountable body which provides accommodation and staffing support. 10. Who can join LSCC? Membership of the Consortium is open to all local authorities and counties, plus relevant nongovernmental public bodies, further education colleges and universities (for these purposes the GLA is considered as a county) within the corridor providing they: Are contiguous and part of the broad economic and/or sectoral geography; Support LSCC objectives; and Agree to pay fees for the membership category (e.g. district, borough, city, county, university and college) and play an active role in the consortium 11. Is the LSCC a Central Government Initiative? No. The LSCC is an initiative of the local authorities which lie within the corridor who choose to join the consortium and fit the criteria above. However, the LSCC seeks the support of Central Government on behalf of its members. The consortium is supports its Parliamentarians who have formed a new All Party Group for the region: the London-Stansted-Cambridge Corridor All Party Parliamentary Group. The aim of the group is to bring together MPs and Peers to press for the investment needed to support the region. The co-chairs of the group are Rt Hon David Lammy, MP for Tottenham and Nick de Bois, MP for Enfield North with Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridge as secretary to the group. 12. Does LSCC work with the LEPs? Yes. The four LEPs (including the London Enterprise Panel) are partners of the LSCC. LSCC recognises and supports the leadership role of the 4 LEPs on economic development strategy for their areas and seek to support them. The Consortium helps enable some cross-border LEP initiative in order to support the objectives of the LEPs, for example on major transport infrastructure. It is in this the Consortium seeks to provide maximum added value to the LEPs.
The Consortium can have maximum value by maintaining its position as a bottom-up initiative of local authorities and counties within the corridor forming a voluntary partnership between themselves and with: the private sector, further education colleges, universities and other nongovernmental public bodies to work with LEPs and government to facilitate economic growth in the corridor from London to Cambridge and Peterborough. 13. How much money and how many staff does LSCC have? The budget of the LSCC for 2014/15 is 360,000 it has three staff and an independent non executive chairman. The LSCC is hosted by the London Borough of Haringey at no cost to the Consortium. Haringey Council is the accountable body for the Consortium; it employs the staff and provides the legal and financial framework for the Consortium. In order to work effectively the Consortium relies on its members taking the lead on some of the priorities which the board has identified. 14. How does the LSCC seek to involve business? The Consortium seeks to involve the private sector in a number of ways: Each local government member is invited to nominate a business partner (e.g. major employer within the local authority or a private sector lead on the strategic partnership of the local authority); who will have a seat on the Consortium board; Through having business support and lobby groups, principally chambers of commerce, as partners which are invited to attend and participate in board meetings and are asked to speak for SMEs; The three Local Enterprise Partnerships covering Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridge and Peterborough, which are private sector led, are partners that attend and participate in board meetings; Long-term stakeholders (e.g. London Stansted Airport) which have a long-term interest in the Corridor. Other examples might be land owners and other stakeholders such as major retail, football clubs; Businesses trading in the six priority sectors which have been identified a strong presence in the Corridor, for example life sciences, IT and digital. The Consortium will work closely with these to identify opportunities for their expansion, skills requirements and other initiatives which will support their growth within the Corridor. In July 2014 the consortium launched a Business Leaders Group which is chaired by Andrew Harrison, MD of London Stansted Airport. The group will provide a mechanism for key businesses to join with local government leaders to: Ensure a strong business voice within the consortium; Make the case for investment in strategic infrastructure, including road, rail and broadband; Provide a business focussed approach to skills provision in the corridor with particular emphasis on our key sectors of life sciences; IT, digital and media; and cleantech; Enable senior business leaders to have a clear and direct relationship with local government in the corridor;
Provide, with local government, FE and HE, a collective voice to speak to central government. The consortium is now setting up an Investment and Development Network which will bring together landowners, developers, investors, agents and advisors with a long term interest in the economic development of the London-Stansted-Cambridge corridor. In addition, the Consortium will seek to work with businesses as sponsors where there is a clear mutual interest. 15. How can I find out more about LSCC? The Website is at: www.lscc.co Email: info@lscc.co Or telephone: 020 8489 5279 Appendix: Full list of members, partners and supporters of the Consortium Members of the Consortium: Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils; Greater London Authority; London Boroughs of: Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest; Cambridge City Council, Peterborough City Council; The Borough of Broxbourne; and East Herts, Epping Forest, Harlow, Huntingdonshire, South Cambridgeshire and Uttlesford District Councils; The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority as a public authority set up by act of Parliament; London Legacy Development Corporation; Colleges of further education which are based within the corridor as a group have two seats at the board; - Barnet and Southgate College - Cambridge Regional College - Capel Manor College - College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London - Epping Forest College - Hackney Community College - Harlow College - Hertford Regional College - Redbridge College - Waltham Forest College
Higher education institutions which are mainly based within the corridor as a group will have two seats on the board. The following are confirmed members: - Anglia Ruskin University - Middlesex University - Loughborough University - University of Hertfordshire With membership invitations extended to UCL, Queen Mary College, University of the Arts, Durham and City University. The consortium enjoys extremely good working relations with Cambridge University. Consortium Partners: London Stansted Airport Greater Cambridge, Greater Peterborough LEP Hertfordshire LEP South East LEP London Enterprise Panel Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce Essex Chamber of Commerce North London Chamber of Commerce Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce Other business representative organisations. The consortium is actively recruiting business partners in the corridor regardless of the location of their head quarters. Supporters of the Consortium: The consortium is very grateful for the support of: Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP The officers of the LSCC All Party Parliamentary Group. Rt Hon David Lammy MP Nick De Bois MP Julian Huppert MP Neighbouring Authorities that wish to support the LSCC: The Corporation of London