Big productive society: Making


deprived areas strong again Te Big Society is about connecting up society in new, different ways; this offers an opportunity to question the current structure of local economies and the future development of place. To make some of the more deprived areas productive again, we need to connect up the various components of these places in new ways. For us a big, new, productive society for our de- prived places is dependent upon a range of approaches, policies and ways of working, which we outline in this paper.


Te economy is currently unbalanced both geographically and between sectors, with an over reliance on financial and professional services based in the South East. Clearly, this needs to be addressed and this paper states the case for locally tailored, Assisted Area policy being an important tool in achieving this.


As localism has moved up the agenda, enterprise policy has moved in the opposite direction. Approaches that offer individual, tailored interven- tions, such as Grants for Business Investment (GBI), are to be cancelled as the Government considers a new slim lined business support portfolio.


Te evidence presented in this paper shows that Assisted Area policy deliv- ers the objectives of the new government, as well as making economic and social sense. Highly focused and targeted assistance can help create new jobs and ‘quick wins’ for both government and local communities, and help build the Big Society through increasing social capital.


Continuing Assisted Area funding, together with other targeted interven- tions will also tackle entrenched problems and ongoing market failures in struggling places, developing their ability to be self-sustaining.


Sustainable economic growth in Assisted Areas, and the social benefits this brings, is unlikely to occur if unassisted by public resource. If specific support is not available, it is unreasonable to expect anything but decline, particularly in areas impacted by public sector cuts. Such resource must be more than that provided by the Regional Growth Fund, which on its own will not solve the issues of areas with weak local economies.


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