The South East region covers the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex and the unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Medway, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham. SEEDA’s Chief Executive and Chair are Pam Alexander and James E Brathwaite respectively.

The South East is regarded as one of the most successful of England’s regions, regularly achieving high growth rates in GVA, high economic activity rates and low unemployment. The region is large and diverse, with a population of 8.2m, 74 local authorities and over 390,000 VAT registered businesses. It makes the largest net contribution to the Exchequer (residence-based) of £12.8 billion and is the 22nd largest economy in the world.

The South East economy is advanced, high income, broadly based and service oriented. However, it is also a region of contrasts, with gaps in performance within the region as great as those between the North and South of England. There is a wealthy core west and south of London, a rural land mass (80%) of the region with dispersed patterns of deprivation and a coastal region of major environmental assets, but with an ageing population and substantial untapped potential.

The region lags behind the best performing European and global regions on a wide set of competitiveness indicators.

SEEDA uses the concept of the South East as a world class region to help define the region and its goals. It aims to invest in success across the region and to lift underperforming sub-regions, while protecting the high quality of life that is one of the region’s key competitive strengths. This requires a pattern of ‘smart growth’ relying on efficient use of scarce resources and productivity gains to deliver sustainable prosperity.

Its aims are encapsulated in three key challenges:

• Global competitiveness – ensuring the South East maintains its competitiveness in the face intensifying international competition
• Smart growth – focusing on the principles of raising levels of enterprise, productivity and economic activity throughout the region
• Sustainable prosperity – investing in the quality of life that is a key source of the South East’s competitive advantage.

Further Information

• South East of England Economic Strategy
• SEEDA Annual Review
• SEEDA Annual Review Summary
• SEEDA Independent Performance Assessment
• SEEDA Corporate Plan Refresh June 2009
• SEEDA Corporate Plan 2008-11
• Case Studies
• SEEDA Board Composition