Speaking at an Insider breakfast debate held the University of Exeter’s Reed Hall, Exeter City Council’s economic development director Karim Hassan pointed out that his council does not have a seat at the table of the Heart of the South West LEP. “I don’t see how Exeter and its growth point can therefore get the messages out there to government that can make a difference,” said Hassan.

He went on: “LEPs need to work effectively, but the prospects aren’t necessarily good. The Heart of the South West LEP already looks like it holds tensions in it, because the needs of cities like Exeter are different from the needs of the rural market towns of Devon and Somerset. It is hard to tell one story to central government because there are so many different localised agendas built into an LEP like this.”

Hassan also said the South West had to work at getting better at arguing its case for a slice of the national cake. “We have lost out many times to others elsewhere, who have been better organised. But the region has not always worked well together, with too much internal competition and rivalry, so this new LEP structure is a real challenge. We have already seen the competitive element surface, with Cornwall’s decision to go it alone with its LEP.”

Others on the panel also saw gaps in the proposed LEP arrangements. Ben de Cruz, senior partner at accountancy firm Haines Watts, said: “It certainly looks like the Heart of the South West LEP proposal will be accepted by the government, but the biggest problem with LEPs is that the funding they will have is still unclear.”

And de Cruz said it would be harder to make strategic decisions in the basis of more local interests. “The South West RDA, for all its shortcomings, was able to look at the bigger picture when assessing projects or funding proposals. Once things are divided up – into Cornwall, Devon and Somerset combined, the West of England, and so on – the question is how wider issues will be tackled. It feels like co-operation will be required, but no-one knows quite how that will work.”

Hassan added that he wanted LEPs to work well but was unsure whether this would happen in practice. “Whitehall needs intelligence, and the LEPs could be that vehicle,” he said. “But equally I’m fearful that the LEP won’t deliver the information it needs to.