Agenda item

[A report on the Council’s approach to business support and investment]

Jim Cunningham commented on the Council’s approach to business support and the work being done to support existing business and also help set up new businesses.

Jim explained that it is not a statutory responsibility for the Council to provide business support. Jim gave an overview of the work to support business and attract investment. Jim briefed the panel about the findings of Wolverhampton Economic Review which predicted that Wolverhampton was set to outperform the rest of the UK in the next few years. A copy of the report would be shared with panel.

Cunningham commented on the aims of the Wolverhampton Business Week and the work being done to attract new businesses and investment.

Wolverhampton was given £3.1 million to establish the Black Country Growth Hub. Jim commented that the service will be based in the Business Solutions Centre to deliver a one-stop service. In addition, five staff will be relocated from the Civic Centre to the business solutions centre to support the initiative. Jim commented that it was important to help businesses innovate.

Jim commented about the potential for private sector businesses to bid for Council contracts valued at £200 million annually and the importance of giving them opportunities to bid for contracts. Jim commented that businesses prefer contracts rather than grants which will help enable it to grow.

Jim commented on the importance of Wolverhampton playing to its strengths such as connectivity and access to other markets. Jim outlined the benefits of ‘one door’ approach to business support and providing an initial point of contact. The focus will be firstly attracting businesses to Wolverhampton, but if this was not possible the focus would be to attract them to move to another part of the Black Country region to support efforts to bring jobs.

Jim explained that £57 million investment in infrastructure developments at i54 had attracted £500 million return on investment and the area is continuing to attract international businesses to the site such as Porsche.

Jim commented on the positive response to Wolverhampton business week events such as Wolverhampton: a City of Business Opportunities Breakfast and that there was an open invitation to attend.

The panel commented about whether the ‘one door’ information and advice policy approach would mean the Council was less able to provide a speedy response to an enquiry.  Jim acknowledged the need for a quick response and based on his experience businesses would welcome the Council saying no, rather than the alternative ‘slow no’  which prevents them looking at alternative options to resolve their issue.

The panel commented on the issue of low skills and the work being done to create an infrastructure that supports and develops the working population.

The panel commented on the issue of jobs density and the issue that a lot of high skilled jobs are filled by people living outside the City and there were fewer opportunities for local people. The panel commented on the long standing nature of the problem in building a skilled workforce and the challenge in creating local jobs for people.

Jim accepted that this was an issue and commented on the work done with UKTI to attract inward investment and to secure commitment to recruit and train local people. Jim explained that he is leading on the skills agenda, which is supported by budget of £250 million. The funding is split between skills and employability which will aim to improve the skills situation.

The panel commented on the opportunities to bring superfast broadband to Wolverhampton to improve connectivity and support businesses. Jim commented on the physical connectivity in terms of road and rail links offered by Wolverhampton. Jim agreed to look into the issue of increasing broadband speeds and report back findings to the panel.

The panel commented on the research which stated that 95% of businesses in Wolverhampton were small and queried the work of the Council to help them develop and the specific support available to entrepreneurs looking to expand their business.

Jim accepted that there was more that the Council can do to improve delivery to entrepreneurs and business start-ups generally.  Jim commented on experience in Glasgow of Nat West Bank who fund a scheme called the

Entrepreneurial Spark. The scheme provides a support programme aimed at making businesses more investable.

The panel commented about whether the Council was doing enough to encourage investors to take up opportunities for new build or to regenerate sites. Jim commented that the challenge for Wolverhampton is lack of Grade A office space. The development at the Interchange is part of efforts to improve business confidence. The developments at I54 are acting as a magnetic to businesses.

The panel welcomed the report, but queried the lack of reference in the report to the role of Wolverhampton College in the proposals detailed in the presentation. Jim explained that both Wolverhampton College and Wolverhampton University are represented on the City Board. Wolverhampton Council is the accountable body for the growth hub and is responsible for effective delivery of the programme

The panel commented on how well the Council is getting message out to businesses about the support available to them. Jim commented on discussions with Business Champions and the challenge to them to suggest ideas about what the Council can do to help shape the business offer.

The panel requested that they were not aware of the Business Week and would like to have knowledge of future events.

Resolved

The panel welcomed the report and supported the planned work

The panel agreed to receive a planner detailing future business events in Wolverhampton.

The panel agreed to receive a briefing on any planned work to develop super broadband service for Wolverhampton.

The panel to be included in future mailing distribution lists.