Agenda and minutes

[To receive any apologies for absence]. 

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Paul Birch and Cllr Jacqueline Sweetman.

There were no substitutions. 

[To receive any declarations of interest]. 

The Cabinet Member for Inclusive City Economy declared an interest on item 6 as a member of the West Midlands Trains Board.

[To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2022 as a correct record]. 

Resolved: The minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

[To receive a presentation on Performance, Budget Monitoring and MTFS]. 

The Director for Regeneration gave a presentation on Performance, Budget Monitoring and MTFS.  He stated that the Council had built up a strong track record for managing finances well despite reductions in funding.  The Council’s approach to strategic financial planning was to align resources to the “Our City, Our Plan” which was approved by Full Council on 2 March 2022.  The plan provided a strategic framework for delivering the ambition that “Wulfrunians will live longer, healthier lives.”  On a quarterly basis an integrated performance and budget monitoring report was presented to Cabinet.  The quarter 2 position had been presented to Cabinet on 16 November 2022.  Overall, a forecast overspend was reported across the Council of £1.5 million, this was mainly due to the 2022-2023 pay award. 

The Director for Regeneration stated that there 56 key performance indicators in the Our City: Our Plan Performance framework.  In quarter 2, 33 had shown improvement or similar performance, 17 were yet to be updated and 6 had seen a decrease in performance.  For the specific priority theme of “Thriving Economy in all Parts of the City” there were a total of 7 indicators.  In quarter 2, four of these had showed an improved or sustained performance in the year to date.  Two had shown a decrease in performance in the year to date and for one there was no update. The KPIs with increased or similar performance in the year to date were as follows: -

• Percentage of premises in the city with full fibre coverage – Increased
• New investment opportunities generated – Similar
• New businesses supported by commissioned service Access to Business – Increased
• Number of rapid charging electric car points in the City – Increased

The Council were still awaiting data on business survival rates, although the most recent published data showed Wolverhampton as having higher than average one year survival rates for businesses.  There had been an increase in new businesses supported through Access to Business.  Although there had been a decrease in overall businesses supported.  The current model was being reviewed with a new business support model to be in place by April 2023.  There had been a decrease in footfall and recreational settings in July to September 2022 compared to July to September 2021.  This was potentially linked to holidays, with restrictions still in place in 2021, which would have seen more people stay in Wolverhampton.  There had been a continued increase in the access to full fibre and electric car charging points in the City, as the roll out continued.

The Director of Regeneration stated that the KPIs with decreased performance in quarter 2 were as follows:-

• Percentage change in activity in city retail and recreational settings – Google Analytics

• Wolverhampton based businesses accessing business support.

The KPI where there was no update in the year to date was on businesses that survive one year in City – ONS Business Demography.  The published data was expected in December 2022.

The Director of Regeneration highlighted some of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

[To receive information on how the Council is helping to support businesses at local ward level and how this links with the wider work relating to the Wolverhampton Pound]. 

[Report is marked: To Follow].

The Head of Enterprise delivered a presentation on “Business Support”, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes. The Head of Enterprise explained that work within business support was in a transitional phase due to European Union (EU) funding support coming to an end. This funding will be replaced by the United Kingdom (UK) Shared Prosperity program, the Head of Enterprise stressed however that it is a lower level of funding than the previous EU funded program but has greater flexibility and freedom in its application. The mission of the Council was set out in reference to business support, which was “to enable (facilitate) a diverse and thriving local economy that delivers real benefits for the people of Wolverhampton” and the objectives within that mission.
 
The Head of Enterprise explained that the Council was currently at the Pre-Start stage within its work on this plan alongside its partners in the Voluntary Charity Sector (VCS) and IGNITE. Since April 2022, 32 new businesses have been supported to set up in the city. For Micro and Small Medium Enterprise (SME) businesses, support from the Council was delivered by the enterprise service, the Head of Enterprise explained that this was funded by the EU scheme which came with specific criteria requirements attached; through this scheme 216 SME businesses were supported. This supported business, created new jobs, secured existing employment, and brought increased salaries to the City of Wolverhampton’s economy. The business support program initiated by The City of Wolverhampton Council was part of a wider business support ecosystem and the Head of Enterprise expanded upon this within the presentation: business support provision was spread across a variety of public, private and third sectors as well as multiple local, regional, and central government departments and non-departmental bodies.

The Head of Enterprise then set out key considerations for the new business support model in line with the UK Shared Prosperity Program. Which were as follows:

·       Need to ensure the local and regional businesses support can respond to the economic and cost of living challenges

·       To ensure the local and regional programmes meets the needs of businesses in the city, that we build our intelligence quickly and effectively

·       Need to review structure of service and the posts in the council and those currently in Local Enterprise Partnership and Growth Hubs, to identify any Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) TUPE arrangements

·       That Wolverhampton has a clear engagement approach in place and we go further in our engagement with local businesses

·       That we ensure the model reflects the needs of the city’s diverse city business base

·       The city has a model in place, ready to deliver by 31 March 2023

The Chair thanked the Head of Enterprise for their presentation and sought to clarify that they had requested a report on supporting businesses at ward level, whereas the report delivered by the Head of Enterprise was city wide. The Chair requested further information in the future based upon ward level data. The Head of Enterprise  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[To consider the future plans for Heath Town Baths]. 

[Presentation is marked: To Follow]. 

The Chair invited Head of City Development and Senior Regeneration Manager to give their presentation on the Heath Town Baths Development.

The Head of City Development opened the presentation “Heath Town Baths from closure to renewal”, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes. They began by discussing the fire that had occurred on the site and explained that the fire that had occurred in July 2022 was limited to a small area on the Heath Town Baths site and the damage was limited. Anti-Social behaviour on the site had been addressed with the installation of CCTV and other security measures, including on site patrols which had all been funded by the site developer. The planning application had progressed with a series of community engagement initiatives.

The Senior Regeneration Manager explained the surroundings of the Heath Town Bath site, which included a variety of high value heritage sites. The Senior Regeneration Manager gave historical background information about the site which included when it was built and why. The baths were closed in 2003 by decision of Cabinet after a survey of the site carried out in 2000 identified a number of structural issues which required high-cost repairs to fix. The Council’s Swimming Strategy business case sought to deliver new build leisure facilities which saw investment for the leisure pool at Bentley Bridge and the Bert Williams Leisure Centre. Heath Town library was replaced by new Wednesfield library. 

The Senior Regeneration Manager stated that a number of schemes were considered by the Cabinet for use of the site but all of these foundered leading ultimately until a decision by the Cabinet Resources Panel on 20 January 2015 to put the site out to the open market. A procurement exercise was undertaken to select a commercial advisor and Avison Young (then called GVA) were appointed to undertake a strategic marketing review. After a various bids and reviews, Avison Young recommended in a report to the Cabinet that Gaddu Associates be the preferred bidder on the site. Cabinet approved this on 10 January 2017. The proposals for site development had been worked on in consultation with Historic England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the local community. Local community engagement has been achieved primarily through the Heathfield Park Community Action Network, as well as others, and the site uses were to be consistent with the Heathfield Park Neighbourhood Plan. The scheme proposes the building be restored to offer a range of uses which would include a banqueting hall, day nursery, training and conference rooms, business start-up space and multi-purpose community function rooms.

The Senior Regeneration Officer remarked that the Council had worked to agree a Skills and Employment Plan, as developed with the Wolves at Work team. The procurement strategy seeks to use local contractors and suppliers where possible. In August 2022 Gaddu Associates presented at the Heath Park Community Fair to engage with the community on the proposals. Much of the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Correspondence with Wolverhampton North-East member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

[To consider the developments at i54 relating to new businesses]. 

[Briefing Note is marked: To Follow]. 

The Head of City Investment gave a presentation on I54, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes.

The Head of City Investment began with background information on the I54 site, a joint partnership venture between the City of Wolverhampton Council, Staffordshire County Council and South Staffordshire Council. The site had continued to be successful and had attracted further investment. In the next 12 to 18 months all of its existing plots will be occupied by international manufacturing businesses. He explained that the Council’s role had been as a partner in multiple areas including as occupier assessment and selection, an accountable body in financial and project management, in further securing occupiers and deals, as land owner, as a strategic influencer and as a provider of skills and employment to the site. It had become the United Kingdom’s most successful enterprise zone with over £1 billion already invested. The Head of City Investment expanded on the statistics, which included job statistics; the site currently employers 2,588 people full time, with a forecasted increase to 3,488 once the Western extension development had been completed. He further reiterated the sites success.

The Chair thanked the Head of City Investment for the presentation and agreed it was an excellent success. He asked if the statistics could be sharpened so that the Panel could be informed of how many jobs the site provided to people specifically within the Wolverhampton City area.

A Panel Member enquired into how the employment statistics on the I54 site contributed to the reduction in unemployment in the Local Authority area.

The Head of Enterprise responded that the Council worked with the Department for Work and Pensions for targeted activities based around the businesses on I54. They had done targeted campaigns to encourage and aid with getting women into construction and logistics which had worked well. Adults with learning disabilities and the Armed Forces covenant have also had targeted campaigns to aid getting them into employment.

The Panel Member responded citing the high unemployment figures in the City of Wolverhampton and on how the site directly contributed to the reduction of unemployment in the Wolverhampton area.

The Cabinet Member for Inclusive City Economy explained that it was not possible for the Council to decide who an employer chose to employ. He stated that it was perhaps better to ask what the Council was doing in regards to skills for local people. By increasing opportunities for local people to get the education and skills needed, they were better able to compete in the jobs market.

A Panel Member reminded Members that in the early 2010s scrutiny did a report which found Wolverhampton schools were not being considered by businesses from the I54 site as highly as other neighbouring local authorities.  Wolverhampton schools themselves were not as keen to get involved in working with the I54 site. He asked if information on the contemporary period could be provided at a future scrutiny date to see if it had improved since  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.