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Business Secretary Vince Cable tells the Commons he was disappointed at the "fractured" North East bids for LEPs

Let the bidding begin then. .

It'll be targeted at regions like the North which are seen as overdependent on the public sector.

But it looks like some parts of our patch will be able to steal a march on others.

The Government gave the go-ahead for two Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in our region yesterday - and .

They are groupings of councils and businesses.

They'll effectively replace and the and will be able to work with businesses to table bids for the fund.

But the bulk of the region missed out. The chaos and conflict that's dogged the North East's bids for LEPs has lost the majority of the region an early opportunity to bid for funds.

And .

He said he was disappointed at the "fractured" approach of a region that originally bid for five LEPs.

Belatedly, the North East decided to go for two instead (Tees Valley and the rest).

However, it was too late to win approval for the second one, so for now the seven councils in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham have no partnership in place.

It's not completely hopeless, as the Government says the second partnership could be approved within weeks.

But the whole saga is scarcely an advert for the region's ability to provide clear and impressive leadership. You can only hope that isn't reflected in the work of the partnerships.

.

The Government isn't promising any funding for them; compared to Regional Development Agencies, their powers are very limited.

Nevertheless, they will now have to help generate the private sector jobs which will be needed to replace those lost in the public sector.

The North East may get another organisation to do that too.

The Government says it's happy to see a "forum" formed to act as a liaison between Tees Valley and the second LEP.

For many of the region's business and political leaders that extra body is seen as crucial in competing with the likes of Greater Manchester and Leeds.

But any hope that this forum would have any significant powers has been dashed for now.

. Instead they'll go to civil servants in London.

Critics have likened these LEPs to , given the lack of funding and powers. Labour say the Regional Growth Fund is a fig leaf. The Government would dispute that.

But it will now be up to those that have got the go-ahead to prove they can make a difference at a time of economic uncertainty.

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