Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member for Economic Growth

Members were informed that Staffordshire County Council’s ambitious Economic Growth Programme was continuing to play a crucial role in Staffordshire’s ongoing economic improvement.  Claimant unemployment rates continued to be persistently below the averages for the West Midlands and Great Britain.  This success story was likely to continue as the County Council worked in partnership to deliver priority projects with the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and other key local stakeholders.  Work was being done to identify further opportunities to increase the growth of housing and prosperity in Staffordshire and discussions were progressing well with Homes England to identify potential areas of mutually beneficial working.  The Committee were informed that a key priority for the future would be to encourage further growth in higher value-added sectors, meeting the County Council’s ambitions for creating “better jobs” while ensuring that there was a mixed and balanced economy in Staffordshire.  All of this needed to be combined with a competitive and broad skills profile among local communities, able to support this growth, giving everyone the best opportunities to fulfil their economic potential.

The Committee considered a summary of the live and completed projects.  The current total financial value of the Economic Growth Programme was £477.6m, of which £81.9m related to direct capital investment by the County Council.  Members were provided with a brief update on the progress which was being made with a number of priority sites.  A member queried what was happening at the Rugeley Power Station site.  The Cabinet Member responded that several discussions had taken place with ENGIE, who were working closely with the County Council and Cannock Chase District Council on developing their part of the site.  In response to a question on timescales officers confirmed that the developers were hoping to have the first houses completed in 2021 and that a planning application had been submitted.  A member sought assurances around European Funding and was informed that the government had confirmed that the funding programmes would continue for the full term, up to and including December 2023. 

A member commented that the report contained a lot of positive details around investment in Staffordshire, companies expanding and the County Council investing in schemes which were making a real difference.  He questioned what the County Council was doing to promote more inclusive growth and address the issue of inequality and increasing living standards across the board, as there were pockets of poverty, and asked if there was evidence of lifestyles and life chances improving.  He also commented that it was important to ensure that employment land was not swallowed up for the sake of residential development.  Officers responded that the work around the European Social Fund programme which was designed to help people back into the labour market.  Through the programme over 18,200 residents had improved their skills and job prospects.  Over 7,770 beneficiaries had either progressed into work, education, training, apprenticeships, or been upskilled to improve skill levels and productivity. Whilst a lot of the focus of the report was on big capital projects, part of the package was working with colleagues in the Skills and Employability Team to ensure that the people of Staffordshire had the right skills to take on the job opportunities that were being delivered through the economic growth programme.  In some of the major projects the intention was to develop an Employment and Skills Plan identifying the key skills requirements and the opportunities to ensure that there were local opportunities for local people on these key developments.  In response to the point about sites land, a Strategic Employment Sites Study was currently being undertaken, to identify which sites would be taken forward, to ensure sensible figures for both housing and employment.

Matthew Lowe informed members that the Chamber of Commerce worked with the County Council and the LEP to deliver the Growth Hub and had also established the Skills Hub, both of which acted as a signposting organisation.  They undertook a skills diagnostic on businesses to point them in the right direction to address their skills needs.

The Cabinet Member thanked the Committee for their questions and comments.  He informed them that it was important that the County Council did not stand still and that it was important to work with Stoke-on-Trent wherever possible to improve the prosperity of the whole area.  He recorded his thanks to officers for their commitment and effort.  The Chairman also thanked officers and the invited speakers for their help.

RESOLVED – Thar the Select Committee notes the work and progress of the Staffordshire County Council Economic Growth Programme.