CEDOS May 2021 Newsletter
Message from the CEDOS Chair
It has been another busy few months and I am sure between a few long overdue visits to beer gardens and shops, members are busy scoping activity for the Levelling Up and Community Renewal Funds – the feature of our last Lunch and Learn session. 2021 is clearly going to be another year of significant change, not least due to the ongoing review of Local Enterprise Partnerships and an approach to local economic development focussed on productivity led growth and Local Industrial Strategies.
Whist economic recovery during 2021 is almost universally predicted, any lag in employment growth could have significant consequences for those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. CEDOS continue to monitor where new short and long term opportunities may arise. International trade and exports are also in a state of flux with International travel presently off the cards and UK exports to the EU plunging by over 40% since BREXIT. Uncertainty at a national level means local economies more than ever need to develop resilient and broad based growth plans.
At the last Executive Meeting, we discussed what we feel are priorities for CEDOS to concentrate on over the next financial year. Clear priorities have emerged around skills and employment – especially as job support activity winds down over the summer, the future of High Streets, the outcome and fall out of the LEP Review and preparing for the Shared Prosperity Fund. These themes will likely form the core of our activities over the next 12 months. Finally I would like to thank Carney Green, especially Daniel Murray, for all their support and input over recent years as our consultants and advisors. Their input has been critical to the success of CEDOS and have ensured we remain relevant and at the forefront of our profession. The mantle has been passed to S4W Ltd and I would like to welcome Rob Wadsworth and S4W to the CEDOS fold.
If there are any CEDOS colleagues who know of other local Economic Development leaders who would like to join us, please signpost them to info@cedos.org. New members are always warmly welcomed.
CEDOS Appoints New Consultancy Support
We are delighted to have appointed Derbyshire based economic development and project management practice S4W Ltd to provide ongoing consultancy support to CEDOS and our membership. S4W Ltd have worked on a number of projects across the UK in areas such as economic policy, programme and project management, bid writing and business cases and research and evaluation.
Director Rob Wadsworth will lead the work for CEDOS and brings over 20 years of experience in Local Government and private economic practice to CEDOS. Rob stated “On behalf of S4W Ltd, we are really looking forward to working with CEDOS and members over the next three years, many of whom we have provided services to previously. The economic development profession will be at the forefront of recovery from COVID-19 and we relish the challenge of developing new thinking and approaches with CEDOS members.”
Rob will undoubtedly become familiar face to the CEDOS family going forwards and on behalf of members we would like to welcome Rob and his team to the CEDOS fold.
Lunch & Learn Network Event Recap – 26th March 2021
Our March 2021 Lunch & Learn session was amongst our best attended recent events, covering the Community Renewal Fund and the Levelling Up Fund. We are grateful to Laura Parker-Tongue, Head of Investment, Cities and Local Growth Unit at BEIS and Ned Blackburn, Senior Policy Advisor – Cities and Local Growth at MHCLG for providing an update of the latest thinking and processes around the two funds.
The Levelling Up Fund Prospectus highlights the priorities for the Department for Transport, MHCLG and the Treasury for investing £4.8 billion in high value local infrastructure. The first round of the fund will prioritise bids that can deliver on the ground in the coming financial year and cover the priority themes of transport investments, regeneration and town centre investment and cultural investment.
The fund is competitive, but targeted at areas with the highest needs. The fund features an index for priority places, covering three categories – with 1 representing areas of highest need. Whilst categories do not represent eligibility criteria, preference will be given to bids from priority areas.
The application process is covered in detail in the prospectus. with a deadline for submissions of noon on the 18th June 2021.
The Community Renewal Fund will provide an additional £220m of investment for the 2021/22 financial year only. The fund is designed to support local areas to pilot new approaches that unleash their potential and prepare them to take full advantage of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund when it launches in 2022. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund should be worth around £1.5bn per annum on average.
The Community Renewal Fund has twin aims of improving productivity led growth and tackling disadvantage and can invest in a broad range of revenue schemes to achieve this. The Community Renewal Fund is based on competitive bidding, although with an emphasis on 100 priority places based on an index of economic resilience. Bids for the Community Renewal Fund must come forward from the Lead Local Authority covering each area (generally an Upper Tier or Mayoral/Combined Authority) and proposals need to be submitted by noon on the 18th June 2021. More information on the the fund and eligibility is available through the prospectus.
Lunch and Learn Network: 21st May at 12pm – Focus on Future Skills
We look forward to engaging with members at our next virtual Lunch and Learn session at 12pm on the 21st May, with a focus on future skills needs and what the implications will be for local labour markets. The economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic will be felt well into the future and one of the key challenges for CEDOS members is supporting people in a rapidly changing labour market. The focus of this session is on both short and long term changes in skills needs and demand, with specialist input from Tony Wilson, Director of the Institute of Employment Studies.
Tony has particular expertise in labour market policy and analysis, working in employment policy and research for most of the last twenty years in a range of roles spanning central government and independent institutes.
If you are currently not a member of CEDOS and would like to know more about the event, please email info@cedos.org.
The return of the Freeport
The budget announced the locations of England’s eight new freeports as a major policy to drive regeneration through trade and investment. Freeports were originally set up during the 1980s, with the Government in 2012 effectively abolishing the policy having had only limited success. The current Freeport policy takes place in a post BREXIT environment, where there are more potential levers and incentives behind the policy. Many of the class of 2021 Freeports were also in the original 1980’s cohort.
A key advantage of freeports is that businesses within the zones can import components without tariffs, complete the manufacturing process and then either export finished products without paying tariffs or sell them on in the U.K. There is a package of tax reliefs on land purchase, buildings and construction, plant and machinery and Employer National Insurance Contributions, alongside some simplified planning processes.
In the context of the Levelling Up agenda, Freeports will cover a wide geography across England. The announced list of Freeports covers
- East Midlands Airport
- Felixstowe and Harwich
- Humber region
- Liverpool City Region
- Plymouth
- Solent
- Thames
- Teesside
Individual Freeports come with significant targets for job creation and investment, but there is a fear that Freeports will lead to significant displacement and lower regulations may result in increased tax avoidance. CEDOS look forward to watching the local economic development implications of Freeports and whether and how they can promote jobs growth and drive community renewal.
Developing high quality economic development programmes
With the launch of the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Renewal Fund for applications, we have included a precis on what makes a good business case for broad economic development and regeneration programmes prepared by Rob Wadsworth of S4W Ltd. Rob has worked on a number of successful programme business cases including City Deal, Enterprise Zone Capital Grant Fund, Growth Deals and across EU Structural and Investment Funds programmes.
A high quality programme should provide a balance between risk and impact, showing ambition and innovation, scale and focus and reflecting on local circumstances. It is important that programmes can articulate why an intervention is needed and where the market failure is – not just what the problem is. It is then important to very clearly make the link between this ‘need’ and how the intervention will deliver key outcomes and impacts such as new jobs, new businesses, growth or skills development – any why the chosen approach will achieve this. Demonstrating a previous track record or learning from established good practice can be vital in this area. Need can be different across geographies and is not always directly correlated to disadvantage.
In short term funds such as the Community Renewal Fund, it is important to understand what ‘quick wins’ can be deployed that will have an impact within a condensed timeframe. Working with established businesses can often achieve quicker results in a shorter time frame than support for new start businesses or entrepreneurs. Some economic sectors, by the nature of their more flexible employment structures, create jobs at a quicker pace than sectors where recruitment is seen more as a long term investment. An example would be the creative sector, which is partly based around freelance and short term opportunities and businesses are geared to flex their labour needs quickly and accordingly.
One of the key lessons from the EU Structural Funds programme that should be taken forward into future programmes is that significant complexity at some point becomes a drain on staff resources, delivery focus and ultimately the success of the programme. Many programmes and projects struggled to build up a head of steam early in the process, but were still faced with meeting increasingly exacting spend and output targets. Once a programme has fallen behind its profile, management capacity is frequently placed on ‘catching up’ and some of the more strategic and impactful aspects fall down the agenda (even though they are equally important).
In advance of securing any resources, it is important clear thought goes into preparing partnerships for delivery, governance models are well planned and robust and routes to market for any outsourced activity is organised – especially if the programme requires either quick wins or has a short term turnaround.
One area that is frequently underestimated is the resources required for successful programme management – not just the front of house staff that deal with day-to-day management, but the capacity to manage financial contracts, undertake procurement, oversee delivery and maintain effective working partnerships.
In conclusion, a successful economic development or regeneration programme is largely based on early and thorough planning, a clear understanding of risk and an awareness of what wider resources will actually be needed and be available to ensure its implementation.
CEDOS Now on LinkedIn
CEDOS are delighted to launch our new LinkedIn company page for members to share links, news and commentary. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and we look forward to engaging with current and prospective members on the platform. To follow and post please visit https://www.linkedin.com/company/cedos/
LGA Town and City Centre Regeneration Roundtable
The Local Government Association will be hosting a roundtable discussion on the opportunities and challenges of Town and City Centre Regeneration as part of their Economic Growth improvement offer. The meeting will be hosted virtually on Wednesday 12 May 2021, 10am-12pm and will be facilitated by David Fletcher, Director of City Development and Growth at Derby City Council. The meeting is aimed at council officers working on economic growth and development.
There are up to 30 spaces available for this roundtable so please email productivity@local.gov.uk if you are interested in attending by the close of business on 30 April 2021.
Member Updates
Derbyshire County Council are looking to drive economic recovery from the impacts of the pandemic through enterprise, developing a new team of Business Start Up Advisers to work with entrepreneurs and nascent businesses. Although the Advisers will be employed by Derbyshire County Council, they will work on behalf of Derby City and the eight district authorities in the county. This is part of an innovative partnership approach developed by the local authorities as part of the Vision Derbyshire Programme and aims to provide a joined up and seamless service to clients and businesses. Please click here for more information on the posts.