The government is to publish a white paper on regional development later in the summer, including proposals on replacing regional development agencies with local enterprise partnerships.

Today, as part of chancellor George Osborne’s Emergency Budget, the government said it would set out plans for regional development in greater detail with a white paper, focusing on development in major cities and other “natural economic areas”.

This will mean more detailed plans about scrapping RDAs and more simplified planning consents.

It said it wanted locally-elected leaders to work alongside businesses to stimulate local economic development. As part of this change, the Budget says regional development agencies would be abolished through the Public Bodies Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech.

• Emergency Budget: Planning to be simplified in growth areas
• Emergency Budget: Growth fund to guarantee Brum’s New Street
• Budget 2010: HCA and RDAs cosy up to £255m
• Government tells councils to set up local enterprise partnerships
• Pickles to call time on RDAs this week