Issue - meetings

(Lead Member: Sir Roger Marsh, Director: Liz Hunter)

Resolved: That the Combined Authority endorses publication of the priorities and indicative actions of the Business Productivity and Resilience Plan as part of the region’s Strategic Economic Framework.

The Combined Authority received an update on the work being done to develop a Business Productivity and Resilience Plan.

The importance of the Business Productivity and Resilience Plan for the region was highlighted. For the economic recovery from the pandemic to be lasting, the widening gap of inequality would need to be addressed through the creation of skilled jobs with investment and supporting infrastructure. Building on the development of the Economic Recovery Plan as well as work done in 2018-19 as part of the development of a regional industrial strategy, the Plan noted that businesses would be put at the heart of any recovery.

Increasing the region’s productivity would be a top priority, as a strong link existed between productivity and better homes and living standards, as well as more innovation and technological integration. The potential benefits of this were emphasised, with a potential 15% uplift to the regional economy.

Members welcomed the intention of the Plan to increase levels of jobs in the region meeting the ‘Good Work’ standard as defined by the Office for National Statistics in response to the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices; these would be jobs that were not low-paid and left the employee working satisfactory hours and with their desired contractual status.However, they questioned how it would be ensured that the Plan increased the number of people in employment and avoided treating productivity as an end within itself with only a small number of people benefitting. The importance of skilled management in relation to this was discussed, as it had the potential to grow businesses not only for owners but also for employees, and supporting this was a vital aim of the Plan.

The potential to become more innovation-driven was also raised; the region was well-placed for this, having the highest concentration of universities nationally outside of London and the Southeast, and the Combined Authority and LEP had been working with MIT to deliver programmes encouraging and supporting people in innovating existing businesses and scaling up ideas with the potential to become globally significant.

It was hoped that increasing productivity would increase the attractiveness of the region, thereby supporting the creation of high-value jobs and the broadening of the employment base, as this would allow more opportunities for workers to increase their skills and to improve their quality of life.

Members noted the mention within the report of a prioritisation plan to outline implementation of the Plan, and requested that milestones for success be included in this, particularly in regards to funding. It was also cautioned that although the region’s economy included a wide variety of productive businesses with many opportunities for expansion and training, it also contained a large number of low-productivity businesses, and it would be important to ensure both these groups benefitted from the Plan rather than one at the expense of the other.

The increasing opportunities for growth and investment in areas such as Central and South America were also discussed, particularly in light of national considerations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40