Agenda item

Report of the Deputy Leader, Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills.

The Select Committee had requested regular updates from the Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills on the economic health of the county and progress against the Staffordshire Economic Recovery, Renewal and Transformation Strategy. The unprecedented nature of the Covid-19 crisis had meant that the County Council had had to react quickly to support businesses and residents. The Strategy was flexible enough to respond appropriately to a range of scenarios. The successful delivery of the Strategy in achieving the vision and aims that it set out would be dependant on many factors. A range of interventions had already been made by the County Council, Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire LEP (SSLEP), the Government and other partners to respond to the immediate crisis whilst the development of the supporting delivery plans for the Strategy was ongoing. Existing activities would continue to be refreshed and reviewed against Strategy priorities and new programmes developed where there are gaps.

The Select Committee had identified an important role in scrutinising delivery and performance of the Strategy.

By way of introduction, the Chairman suggested that the August performance figures showed Staffordshire to have one of the highest level of furloughed staff – 25% of working age people compared to neighbouring authorities.

The Cabinet Member believed that the next quarter monitoring report would be defining in terms of the impact of Covid-19 on the Staffordshire economy. He acknowledged that the county had a high level of furloughed staff due to the economic profile of the county and many remained furloughed also the unemployment rate (5.1%) which had crept up, remained lower than the regional and national average.  It was too early to identify whether the rise was due to seasonal variations or the start of a trend. It was inevitable that there would be an increase in unemployment as the furlough scheme wound down. The Cabinet Member said that what mattered was the County Councils response – what action was taken to minimise the impact and ensure the county builds back stronger.

The Cabinet Member drew to members attention various interventions which were ongoing or completed as part of the response. The county wide Redundancy Task Group established to support businesses and individuals facing redundancy was now active around the county and had significant capacity. £0.500m emergency grants scheme had been made available and had helped over 200 micro-businesses to survive the crisis by providing a grant to help pay outstanding supplier bills in the short term. Funds had been identified to support new business start ups in priority sectors – currently there were 300 participants on the scheme and 200 new businesses established in a year. The Cabinet Member believed that times of economic hardship – post recession - often prove to be a good time to set up a new business.

In addition to local interventions, an enhanced communications campaign ‘Staffordshire Means Back to Business’ and further measures had been put in place by partner organisations and Government. The SSLEP were allocated £23.7m from the Government’s £900m Getting Building Fund for projects across Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent for projects expected directly to create 2,440 jobs. The funding is expected to unlock commercial and learning floor space. I54 Western Extension and the Shire Hall regeneration were benefiting from this funding.

The Cabinet Member was confident that the County Council was well placed and prepared to mitigate negative impact to the local economy in the short term at least.

A Member suggested that well documented shortfalls in the Government’s Covid-19 testing arrangements (Track and Trace scheme) was impeding some of the schemes aimed at restoring the local economy and getting people back to work. He asked whether lobbying Government was having an effect and whether there were any plans to extend locally the furlough scheme into 2021 as some local authorities had elected to do. He said it would be important to monitor local unemployment levels.

The Cabinet Member acknowledged that the furlough scheme had saved many jobs but that it had always been necessary and the intention to wind down the scheme at some point and businesses needed to become self-funding again. Some would be able to attract additional resource in the short term if they needed a little longer to transition. He had spoken to the Treasury on how best to support the local economy and understood that it was reasonable to support those schemes which were tailored to the Staffordshire economy. The LEP would be best placed to analyse the impact of the end of the furlough scheme.

Regarding testing, he accepted that testing capacity was very important and must be prioritised for key workers. This was a cross cutting issue and a matter for national Government.

The Member shared his concern about the local economy in Burton upon Trent; specifically access to support when the furlough scheme ends and encouraging face coverings in shops in his locality. On behalf of these retailers he appreciated the PPE support which the Council had delivered. The Cabinet Member acknowledged that Burton on Trent had been particularly challenged by persistent outbreaks of Covid-19 and he paid tribute to the reliance of that community in taking steps necessary to control it. He referred the member to various funding streams both local and national and hoped all businesses were aware and able to access. The Cabinet Member agreed to liaise with the member over specific issues.

A Member thought that the many grants and funding opportunities were confusing and it was important that communications were clear. He felt that schools needed guidance around who can attend. He described the impact on local economies when parents take time off to supervise children required to be away from school. He believed it was incumbent upon all sectors of local government to work collaboratively with community groups to improve the delivery of services for local people and try and restore the local economy.

The Cabinet Member supported the points made and reminded members that although the furlough scheme was coming to an end the important point was the totality of support that was available.  Cabinet had spoken with Government regarding the specifics of the Staffordshire economy and what targeted supported was necessary. He agreed the value in local government relationships and alluded to the success of various ‘town deals’. The Cabinet Member agreed to speak outside of the meeting to try and resolve specific issues around local community involvement.

A Member acknowledged that there had been a renaissance of village shops and he suggested there should be a new focus in conjunction with District and Borough Councils and local members on revitalising the high street. Flexibility was key to adapting to the changing crisis. The Cabinet Member agreed that a united approach with all parties engaged to plan to revitalise the county.

The Chairman said that some sectors were clearly more vulnerable than others and he believed there to have been some recovery in the hospitality sector following the Government Eat out to Help out scheme.   Other sectors, eg aerospace – both direct and supply – had been harder hit and there was likely to be a patchwork of need. He confirmed the need for ongoing vigilance, horizon scanning and a response which is flexible and agile. The Cabinet Member agreed with the Chairman’s points and suggested the impact on sectors would vary and that his approach would be flexible to respond to those hardest hit.

RESOLVED: That the Select Committee notes

(a) the quarterly update provided on progress made against the Staffordshire Economic Recovery, Renewal & Transformation Strategy and the interventions already made by the County Council and partner organisations,

(b) recommends the Cabinet Member to continue to explore further interventions to enable the successful delivery of the Strategy, and,

(c) request relevant Cabinet Members bring updates on delivery of the strategy to this Select Committee for scrutiny every 3 months.