Agenda item - District Level Economic Recovery Framework

Agenda item

District Level Economic Recovery Framework

Minutes:

The Head of North Worcestershire Economic Development presented the District Level Economic Recovery Framework.  The framework was a live strategic document and would be updated on an ongoing basis to reflect changing circumstances.

 

Members were advised that the framework focused on 3 key priority areas:

 

·                Supporting people – The main objective in relation to this priority was to support residents who had been made unemployed as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Support was also provided to residents considered to be at potential risk of redundancy as a result of the pandemic.  In the short-term the framework focused on actions that could be taken by the Council and partner agencies to enable people in this position to secure employment.  In the medium-term and long-term there would be a need to ensure that residents developed the skills needed by local employers.  Increasingly the workforce needed to be able to adapt quickly to using new forms of technology in order to secure employment.

 

The framework took into account the need to plan for the future entry of children and young people into the workforce.  These young people also needed to be provided with the skills needed by local businesses if they were to secure employment in the district.

 

·                Supporting businesses – There were 4 workstreams underpinning the priority of supporting businesses.  This included business information, guidance and support in relation to securing grant funding.  Another workstream focused on start-up businesses and enterprises as there was evidence to suggest from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) hubs that there had been a surge in demand for support with establishing start-up companies.  The Covid-19 pandemic had provided many companies with an opportunity to innovate.  The Council had recently acquired access to an online business directory which tracked businesses with high growth potential and approximately 50 Bromsgrove based businesses had been identified and listed on this platform.  There was also a workstream focusing on larger and digital employers.

 

·                Improving places – The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the November Spending Review, had announced that funding would be made available for place shaping purposes.  The funding criteria remained to be confirmed but, should Bromsgrove be eligible, an application would be submitted to the Government.  At present, work streams were focusing on repurposing the town centres in the district where needed.

 

New staff were being employed in the North Worcestershire Economic Development Unit who would provide targeted support to businesses based in Bromsgrove district.  The support provided by these Officers also helped to enhance the offer that could be made to businesses considering operating in the district.  Members were advised that there was a lot of support available to businesses and people considering establishing a business but it could be difficult sometimes to identify and therefore the support provided by these officers was invaluable.

 

During consideration of the report Members noted that the District Economic Recovery Framework had been debated at a recent meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.  The Board had had a very detailed debate and a number of useful points had been raised.  At this meeting the potential for ward Councillors to be involved in work designed to enhance town centres and high streets had been discussed.  The Board had been keen to ensure that ward Councillors could assist with this work if possible and had noted that Councillors would appreciate being kept informed of what was happening in their wards.  At Cabinet it was noted that the Council would engage with ward Councillors as part of the process.

 

Reference was made to a typographical error in the report which should have referred to 45,000 eligible employments in the claims received up to 31st August 2020 for Bromsgrove.

 

Cabinet also discussed the number of residents in the district who were claiming out of work benefits and questioned the impact that the extension of the furlough scheme had had on unemployment levels in Bromsgrove.  Data from the Office for National Statistics indicated that the number of people claiming out of work benefits had declined slightly in September and October after having peaked in August 2020. 

 

The impact of Covid-19 on businesses in the district was debated.  Members noted that, should pubs, restaurants and hotels have to remain closed after the end of the second national lockdown, this could have a negative impact on businesses in the hospitality industry in particular.  Cabinet was informed that there was some uncertainty on the date of the meeting about which tier Bromsgrove district would be placed in after the end of lockdown and therefore it was difficult at the meeting to determine what restrictions would be placed on the hospitality industry over the festive period.  Further clarity would be provided by the Government in an announcement due to be issued on Thursday, 26th November 2020.

 

RESOLVED that the report and the Bromsgrove Local Economic Recovery Framework (2020-2023) be approved.

 

 

Supporting documents: