Strategic Contexts. Our MAA will sit at the centre of a number of interrelated strategy documents either existing or currently in development; the Lancashire Economic Strategy and the proposed Lancashire Integrated Strategy to name but two. An unprecedented amount of partnership work is taking place across the four MAA themes to understand the complex challenges we face, to enhance previous work and draw together plans at a Pennine Lancashire level. Importantly these documents aren’t being developed in isolation; moreover, neither are these being seen as hierarchical – we acknowledge that the alignment and integration of the component strategies is fundamental to inform the MAA and allow for a robust Investment Plan. We accept there are a number of issues to overcome to effectively align strategies, for example, currently two strategic authorities consider transport and spatial planning issues and work is ongoing to enhance collaboration both at a Pennine Lancashire and wider sub-regional level. However the MAA will provide us the opportunity to examine current processes and show how we are trying to address this, and as appropriate, ask government for enabling measures. The Pennine Lancashire Integrated Economic Strategy (IES) is building upon, and updating, the East Lancashire Transformational Agenda (2005). The IES, will set out the key investment priorities for the area, backed by a strong evidence base detailing the economic impact each intervention would bring. This strategy document will go some way to inform and justify our ‘key asks’ and already early drafts point towards the importance of: a flexible funding pot to deliver major projects, improved transport links and higher level skills in the workforce. Allied to the IES is the development of a Pennine Lancashire Further Education and Skills Strategy, which is benefiting from private sector input to help us gauge skill levels business require to remain competitive, both now and in the future. The development and implementation of an IES was identified as a Transformational Action in the Regional Economic Strategy (RES). The IES is informed by, and complements, both the Lancashire Economic Strategy and Central Lancashire City Regional Development Programme and will inform the Lancashire Integrated Strategy. As alluded to above the MAA gives us the opportunity to draw together economic, housing and transport strategies in a coherent framework. Recognising the importance of the planning system in this process Pennine ...
Strategic Contexts. 9. The Government has put legislation in place allowing local governments and their vodokanals flexibility to improve their service levels through various reforms; such as through the use of lease contracts and management contracts and semi privatization of vodokanals to joint stock companies. However, to date most utilities remain under state ownership. Out of 122 entities of natural monopolies, registered with State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on De- monopolization and Support for Competition and Entrepreneurship only 13 are registered under private status (JSC, Ltd Company, association). The main constraints to implementation of such reforms are: limited financial resources, unfamiliarity with reform ideas and practices, and lack of experience in defining and implementing such reforms. Further international assistance is needed to make these reforms effective, including advice, know how, technology and capital investment. Some forms of PPPs have been tried in the WSS sector but with limited success. Institutional support and development is required to help the Government and the vodokanals reach the point where cost recovery and levels of service are sustainable, in order to enable PPPs of various forms.
Strategic Contexts
