CLES in the press

How the public sector can stimulate growth by keeping it local

25th April 2012

The Guardian.co.uk, 25th April 2012

Local authorities shouldn’t let money spent with small businesses ebb out of the area.

Budget proves government is ‘bereft of ideas’

23rd March 2012

The Budget offers little meaningful hope for areas lagging behind economically, according to CLES chief executive Neil Mcinroy.

Sector reforms ‘jeopardise equality’ says study

23rd February 2012

The MJ, 23rd February 2012

The Government’s public sector reform agenda has resulted in a ‘demonstrable growth in inequality’, jeopardising local authorities; ability to comply with the Equalities Act 2010, a report has warned.

Transparent tendering needed to boost local economy

20th June 2011

Clear and accessible tendering is key to engaging with local suppliers, Manchester City Council’s procurement head has said, referencing CLES research with the Council.

Local buying can create savings and improve communities

24th May 2011

Supply Management.com, 20th May 2011

Buyers should focus more on local purchasing to improve communities, a policy researcher has said ahead of next month’s Public Procurement Show.

Government regeneration plans slammed

11th May 2011

The government’s regeneration strategy is ‘weak and disappointing’ and could lead to public money being wasted, MPs were told yesterday. The Commons communities and local government select committee was hearing evidence on the Regeneration to enable growth policy paper, published in January. Neil McInroy, chief executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, told the MPs that there was a lack of strategic direction in the policy, and poor explanation of how it would be put into practice.

UK gets its walking boots on and heads for the hills

9th May 2011

CLES research is quoted in the Independent on Sunday. CLES consulting has been commissioned to evaluate Get Walking Keep Walking (GWKW), a four year programme which aims to encourage independent walking among previously inactive and insufficiently active people in deprived communities across England.

Neil McInroy named ‘driver of change’ in this year’s LGC 50

18th April 2011

Local Government Chronicle, 11th April 2011

Neil McInroy, chief executive of CLES, has been names a ‘driver of change: economic development and place shaping’ in this year’s LGC 50 supplement.

This year the LGC 50 list of most influential people in local government provides the starkest illustration yet of the changing times. The 2011 list emphasises that, in this new era of localism, local government’s leaders are firmly in the driving seat.

Just what the doctor ordered, or a gamble that will change nothing?

21st March 2011

The Times, 11th March 2011

As Richard Desmond unveils plans for the nation’s health Mark Hunter asks whether the numbers add up.

Report stresses importance of public space in Big Society plan

4th March 2011

Horticulture Week, 25th February 2011