Floud to sit on new London board

Roderick Floud, provost of London Guildhall University, is to represent further and higher education on the new London Development Partnership.

The LDP has been set up to handle regeneration issues in the hiatus before the new London government structure, with an elected mayor and London-wide authority, comes into operation. Its role is equivalent to the regional development agencies being set up for other parts of the country.

Professor Floud, 56, an economic historian who has headed LGU since 1988, will sit on a 15-man board chaired by Sir Colin Marshall. The post of chief executive was advertised this week, following the launch by Nick Raynsford, minister for London at the Department of the Environment.

John Skitt, principal of Barnet College and chair of the London region of the Association for Colleges, represents further education and will attend LDP meetings as an observer. "The intention is that half-way through the life of the body we should switch roles and he should become the board member," said Professor Floud, who added that he expected to serve at least a year on the board.

He will be representing nearly 100 institutions. Professor Floud said: "It is a very exciting development, bringing together in partnership the sort of people who have not worked together before.

"Further and higher education represents at least 3 per cent of London's gross domestic product, and it is very important that it should be heavily involved in economic regeneration as providers of training and skills development and technology transfer."

The partnership with further education also reflects LGU intake: "The majority of our students come from local FE colleges."