Agenda item

A report by the Executive Director for Place Services detailing the Council’s Economic Recovery Plan post COVID-19 and reset of plans and priorities.

The Committee is asked to review the Economic Recovery Plan post COVID-19 in relation to the Council’s reset of plans and priorities, and make any relevant recommendations to the Cabinet Member and Executive Director.  The Committee should have a particular focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the West Sussex economy, the longer-term framework and the priorities identified for the year ahead, the resources required to achieve the plan, how the Council is working with partners, and how achievements will be measured and monitored.

85.1  The Committee considered the Economy Reset Plan report by the Executive Director for Place Services (copy appended to the signed minutes).

85.2  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources introduced the report, offering thanks to the small Economy Team for their good work.  West Sussex in normal times has a strong economy overall although with some area disparities in economic performance. The Economy Reset Plan will provide an update of the Economic Growth Plan 2018-2023 to reflect the impact of COVID-19.  The focus is now on re-building the economy by working in partnership to influence others, especially addressing the impact across the different economic areas as well as sectors hardest hit including aviation, hospitality and tourism, and adult social care, with selective intervention where needed and appropriate.  Additional emphasis will be given to the adoption of digital technology and wider employment and skills, and commitment will be maintained to the Growth Deals with districts and borough councils. The Council supports the aim to  ‘build back better’ with a strong green theme.  The Economy Reset Plan was reported to Cabinet in July and has since had input from partners; the feedback was positive and is now being collated.

85.3  The Committee made comments in relation to the Economy Reset Plan including those that follow. It:

·       Queried what encouragement the Council will give to small companies who wish to expand and embrace the apprenticeship schemes, what support is being given to young people to take up apprenticeships, and whether work experience schemes can be promoted with businesses and the Council.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources confirmed the Council continue to promote apprenticeships to schools and colleges in addition to the Government Kick Start programme, and the Council  also continue to recruit their own apprentices.  £150,000 from the National Apprenticeship Levy was awarded to STEM businesses in the county last year.

·       Queried the impact seen on those employed in the supply chain to Gatwick Airport.  Queried what is being done to improve the diversification of the economy to avoid over-reliance on the airport in the future, particularly around the new Green Deal and green economy.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources confirmed the impact has been substantial and that the Crawley area had the highest proportion of job losses or furloughed staff in West Sussex.  The Council are working with organisations including Coast 2 Capital and the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to encourage innovation and diversification across sectors.  The Council are also lobbying the Government to support Gatwick’s ‘five asks’ of Government – it is estimated that recovery for Gatwick will take five years.

·       Queried how coastal resorts and tourism can be improved, whether the Council could work with the younger generation on this e.g. the Youth Cabinet and University students, and to what extent the Council support holiday providers in the County.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources highlighted that water sport opportunities were successfully marketed in 2019 via the Experience West Sussex project, in addition to the ‘Rediscover West Sussex’ campaign more recently in partnership with district and borough councils to encourage domestic tourism.

·       Queried how the Council is engaging with the rural economy and whether the Experience West Sussex campaign could be given a higher profile to promote West Sussex as a ‘foodie’ destination.  Noted that West Sussex has a number of vineyards and Michelin starred restaurants, and promoting these would lead to a higher spend from visitors.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources noted the comments and encourages promoting the county as a ‘foodie’ destination.

·       Commented that the Council needs to take advantage of the progress being made in terms of digital technology as a result of COVID-19 but must also ensure that groups, specifically the older generation, are not isolated or alienated by this.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources is aware of this as many face a major disadvantage if not digitally-able.  The Gigabit funding granted by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has been valuable for boosting online access in West Sussex, however exclusion from internet access can also be due to geographic restrictions and the Council are working hard toward fuller coverage for superfast broadband.

·       Expressed concern that the job retention scheme due to end shortly may lead to more redundancies, particularly in the Gatwick Diamond area.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources confirmed engagement with central Government on quarantine arrangements and the aviation sector have been responsive, and lobbying continues via the All-Party Parliamentary Group.

·       Noted the increase in residents working from home is an opportunity to promote supporting and shopping with local businesses, and also brings environmental benefits from reduced commuting. 

·       Queried how investment in our region is being promoted to attract incoming investment.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources noted business and visitor attractions plus leisure opportunities helps to promote West Sussex as a good place to live and work, as well as improved digital infrastructure and hard connectivity such as the improvements to the Brighton mainline and Croydon bottleneck.

·       Queried in relation to partner briefing and engagement (Appendix B), how key partners and stakeholders have responded.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources confirmed positive feedback from the LEP and district and borough councils.  Feedback is being collated with responses including support for additional focus is required in coastal areas and around Gatwick, and for high streets.  The Council could consider lobbying on sensible digital taxation to create a levelling of the difference between digital platforms and the high street.

·       Expressed concern that better skills and learning are needed to drive up earnings in West Sussex and attract foreign investment.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources confirmed the education sector is represented on the LEP and agreed that many ways to diversify are beneficial.

·       Commented that many local businesses are just about surviving, with limited capacity for attending seminars, and queried whether the Council would consider funding signposting information and qualified business experts to help produce business plans so businesses can apply for funding.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources noted the suggestion and highlighted that business support links are available on the Council’s COVID webpages.  The Economic Growth Manager explained the Council do not play a direct role in business support but the Government funds Growth Champions via Coast 2 Capital and the LEP which businesses can access.

·       Commented that strategic transport improvements were essential to support the economy in the south of the county, particularly in relation to the A27 in order to improve through routes, congestion, and air quality.  The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources agreed these Highways Agency improvements were a key priority, but cautioned that a pragmatic local consensus is required in order for the schemes to progress and secure funding.

85.4  The Chairman commented that the Economy Reset Plan is an extremely important strand of the reboot programme, as the local economy has to be rebuilt.  Whilst the Plan is a significant amount of work for officers, the delivery of success from the Plan is not something the Council can control and the outcomes will rely heavily on working with partners.  The Committee would like more information on timescales for the desired outcomes and how performance is going to be measured.

85.5  Resolved:-

1)      That the Committee support the promotion of tourism in the county particularly around the coastal towns, high-spend activities such as vineyards and restaurants, and the encouragement of staycations;

2)      That the Committee support the encouragement of incoming investment to the county through the promotion of West Sussex as an attractive and positive area to live and work;

3)      That the Committee support and encourage the promotion of high skills and education in the area; and

4)      That the Committee support the diversification of the economy.

85.6  Following this item the Chairman summarised the substantive items heard by the Committee today, as they support each other as well as the current reset/reboot focus of the Council, and asked for any additional over-arching comments from Members which were made as follows:

·       Agreement that both Improvement Plan reports were too high-level and did not provide the detail necessary to be able to comment upon them. 

·       Agreement that all reports would benefit from a ‘programme approach’ with milestones for progress, with performance and accountability measures, so that Members can gauge progress and achievements.