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In autumn 2022, employer representative bodies (ERBs) were designated to lead the development of local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) for all areas of the country.

The first cycle of LSIPs were approved by the Secretary of State for Education in summer 2023, in line with the approval criteria set out in the and in accordance with the LSIP statutory guidance.

In summer 2024 and 2025, each area produced an annual progress report setting out completed actions in the LSIP, the impact and benefits of those actions, and what still needs to be achieved in the area. The published LSIP and annual progress reports can be found on the designated ERB websites, with links to these provided below.

The next cycle of LSIPs will be developed from 1 October 2025. Ahead of this, the LSIP specified areas (geographies) have been reviewed to ensure alignment with Strategic Authority^{[footnote 1]} boundaries, where possible. This will help to facilitate the policy intent in the English Devolution White Paper of joint ownership of the LSIP model between ERBs and Strategic Authorities, in areas with devolution.  This has resulted in changes to 9 LSIP areas, with a net gain of one LSIP area, bringing the total to 39 areas from 1 October 2025.

The existing LSIPs will remain valid until replacement LSIPs are published (expected in summer 2026). From October 2025 to summer 2026, the designated ERBs will therefore be developing new LSIPs whilst continuing to implement and review the existing LSIPs.

Further information on these LSIP transitional areas is provided below.

The designation terms and conditions, which all designated ERBs have consented to, are available.

North-east

LSIP specified area	Designated ERB	Locations covered
North East (comprises the existing North of Tyne and North East LSIPs)		County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland Strategic Authority: North East Combined Authority
Tees Valley		Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton on Tees Strategic Authority: Tees Valley Combined Authority

North-west

LSIP specified area	Designated employer representative body	Locations covered
Cheshire and Warrington		Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington
Cumbria		Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness
Greater Manchester		Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan Strategic Authority: Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Lancashire		Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool Strategic Authority: Lancashire Combined County Authority
Liverpool City Region		Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral Strategic Authority: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

Yorkshire and the Humber

LSIP specified area	Designated employer representative body	Locations covered
Hull and East Yorkshire		East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull Strategic Authority: Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority
South Yorkshire		Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield Strategic Authority: South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
West Yorkshire		Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield Strategic Authority: West Yorkshire Combined Authority
York and North Yorkshire		North Yorkshire, York Strategic Authority: York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

East Midlands

LSIP specified area	Designated employer representative body	Locations covered
East Midlands		Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Strategic Authority: East Midlands Combined County Authority
Greater Lincolnshire (comprised of part of the existing Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland LSIP)		Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire Strategic Authority: Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (comprised of parts of the existing Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland LSIP and Leicester and Leicestershire LSIP)		Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland
South-East Midlands		Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire

West Midlands

LSIP specified area	Designated employer representative body	Locations covered
Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire		Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
The Marches		Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin
Warwickshire (comprised of part of the existing West Midlands and Warwickshire LSIP)		Warwickshire Strategic Authority: Warwickshire County Council
West Midlands (comprised of part of the existing West Midlands and Warwickshire LSIP)		Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton Strategic Authority: West Midlands Combined Authority
Worcestershire		Worcestershire

East

LSIP specified area	Designated employer representative body	Locations covered
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		Cambridgeshire, Peterborough Strategic Authority: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
Greater Essex		Essex, Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock
Hertfordshire		Hertfordshire
Norfolk and Suffolk		Norfolk, Suffolk

Greater London

LSIP specified area	Designated employer representative body	Locations covered
Greater London (a single LSIP covers the Greater London Authority area)		Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering,  Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston Upon Thames,  Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster Strategic Authority: Greater London Authority

South-east

LSIP specified area	Designated employer representative body	Locations covered
Buckinghamshire		Buckinghamshire Strategic Authority: Buckinghamshire Council
Hampshire and Solent (comprised of parts of the existing Solent and Enterprise M3 LEP LSIPs)		Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton
Kent and Medway		Kent, Medway
Oxfordshire		Oxfordshire
Surrey (comprised of part of the existing Enterprise M3 LEP LSIP)		Surrey Strategic Authority: Surrey County Council
Sussex and Brighton		Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, West Sussex
Thames Valley Berkshire		Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham

South-west

LSIP specified area	Designated employer representative body	Locations covered
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly		Cornwall, The Isles of Scilly Strategic Authority: Cornwall Council
Dorset		Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Dorset
Gloucestershire		Gloucestershire
Greater Devon (comprised of part of the existing Heart of the South West LSIP)		Devon, Plymouth, Torbay Strategic Authority: Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority
Somerset (comprised of part of the existing Heart of the South West LSIP)		Somerset
Swindon and Wiltshire		Swindon, Wiltshire
West of England and North Somerset		Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire Strategic Authority: West of England

LSIP transitional areas

Where an LSIP specified area has changed, the designated ERB will remain designated to lead the implementation and review of the existing LSIP, including in relation to the area no longer covered by the new LSIP being developed, until a new LSIP(s) covering the area is published. During this transition period, in some parts of the country there will be two designated ERBs covering parts of the same LSIP ²µ±ð´Ç²µ°ù²¹±è³ó²â.Ìý

LSIP specified area	¶Ù±ð²õ¾±²µ²Ô²¹³Ù±ð»åÌýERB	Locations covered
Enterprise M3 LEP (now covered by the Hampshire and Solent LSIP and Surrey LSIP)		Hampshire (excluding the districts of Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, New Forest), Surrey
Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland (now covered by the Greater Lincolnshire LSIP and Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland LSIP)		Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Rutland
Heart of the South West (now covered by the Greater Devon LSIP and Somerset LSIP)		Devon, Plymouth, Torbay, and Somerset
Leicester and Leicestershire (now covered by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland LSIP)		Leicester and Leicestershire
North East (now covered by the new North East LSIP)		County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland Strategic Authority: North-East Combined Authority
Solent (now covered by the Hampshire and Solent LSIP)		Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton, and the following districts in Hampshire: Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, New Forest
West Midlands and Warwickshire (now covered by the West Midlands LSIP and Warwickshire LSIP)		Warwickshire, West Midlands Combined Authority