Agenda item

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment submits a report on the Leicester Economic Recovery First Steps plan, commenting on what is and is not included, plus how that plan relates and responds to the Commission’s Task Group review report that was published earlier this year.  The Commission is recommended to note the contents and comment on this report and the published plan.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment submitted a report on the Leicester Economic Recovery First Steps plan, setting out what was and was not included, and how that plan related and responded to this Commission’s Task Group review report that was published earlier this year.

Councillor Myers, Assistant City Mayor Policy Delivery and Communications, introduced the report.  He noted that claims for Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance had doubled since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and it was expected that young people and women would be disproportionality affected.  In addition, changes in shopping habits had been accelerated by the pandemic lockdown.  The economic Recovery Plan therefore set out the first steps being taken in response to the situation in Leicester and how this reshaping of the economy also would help the city become a better and fairer place to work.

Government support had been requested, but it was considered that the Council would have to lead the response, for example by providing workspaces and as an employer supporting good apprenticeships.  As a purchaser, the Council added over £250million per annum to the local economy and through its capital programme could provide opportunities to develop green skills.  However, it was very important that the city worked together to drive the economic recovery forward.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment explained that the Plan was part of a series of plans and documents being produced to guide the city’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.  He stressed that the Plan focussed on things that could be done with a high degree of confidence and outlined some of the things that could be done on a longer-term basis.  Work on Smart Cities was an important part of this, as was the complementary Economic Recovery Plan being prepared by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.

The following points were then made in discussion:

·           Had any indication been received that any multi-national companies were interested in moving to the city?

Response from the Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment:

Although it had reduced a little, the Inward Investment team still had a very healthy pipeline of enquiries from a range of companies across different sectors.

·           How was the stated intention to support and prioritise employment for vulnerable groups to be implemented, particularly in relation to women, young people and those from Black and Minority Ethnic communities, who were all disproportionately affected by Covid-19?

Response from the Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment:

Support of this nature had been provided by the Council for a long time.  For example, investment had been made through the Employment Hub and programmes targeting particular communities were in place.  There was, therefore, confidence that the necessary skills and abilities were available to ensure that the stated aims in the Recovery Plan were achievable.  This included work in partnership with others, such as that on start-up businesses being done with the Prince’s Trust.

Response from the Head of Economic Regeneration:

The review previously undertaken by this Commission on inclusive economic growth underpinned the work of the Economic Recovery Plan and was specifically referenced within the Plan.

·           What work was being undertaken with the city’s universities to target young people, including school leavers, graduates and interns?

Response from the Head of Economic Regeneration:

The Council had programmes with both of the city’s universities regarding graduate retention.  In addition, funding from the European Social Fund had just been received for the creation of local internships.

·           How would apprenticeships be sustained?

Response from the Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment:

A broad range of apprenticeship opportunities were available across the Council, but a particular focus for new ones would be on jobs for the green economy.

Response from the Head of Economic Regeneration:

The Employment Hub provided links with agencies and organisations and provided information on apprenticeships for those who needed it, as this was a set of organisations that supported people into employment.  A lot of work also was undertaken with other agencies to make sure information was circulated as widely as possible and good use was made of routes such as social media.

·           Reputational damage, nationally and internationally, caused by the city’s extended lockdown and reports of “slave labour” in local businesses could make the recovery difficult to achieve.  A clear message about the city and its economic recovery therefore needed to be given, to redress the balance and encourage people, including graduates, to work in the city.

Response from the City Mayor:

All work to address exploitation of workers was welcomed.  Unfortunately, only limited success had been possible in addressing the causes, as central government was not using the powers available to it regarding this issue.  The Council therefore was pressing the government to change its approach.

The characterisation of the city in this way was not backed up by evidence, as investment was still being made in the city, for example in developments such as that at Waterside.  This was an example of where the Council had provided the infrastructure, with the rest of the investment being made by companies confident that the city was continuing to thrive despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

·           The Council should retain a stake in developments.  Selling land to private developers would remove any power the Council had to intervene if a development was inappropriate, as planning controls were unlikely to be sufficient in such situations.

Response from the City Mayor:

This was the way in which high quality developments, with the required mix and quality of development types, could be ensured.

·           The focus on the textiles sector suggested for sector-specific support packages should be expanded to include the care sector, “green” jobs and, due to the increase in building work, all areas of work in the building sector.  An important factor to consider in this was that the country’s departure from the European Union meant that it would no longer be possible to rely on importing skills.

·           The report and Plan presented were a good starting point for the City’s economic recovery, but currently lacked detail and evidence of the current problems.  A clearer idea of which sectors would be more adversely affected was needed, so it was hoped that, to help tailor the response in the city, detail and evidence could be included in the near future.  In addition, an Action Plan should be included in the Recovery Plan, to identify the steps it was intended to take, by whom, when and what the targets were.

Response from the Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment:

It was recognised that the Recovery Plan needed to contain more detail.  A delivery programme was being developed, but a decision had been made to not include statistics at present, in order to make it a similar style and length as other recovery plans being produced in response to the Vocid-19 pandemic.  It therefore currently just identified what needed to be done, but data was available that would help the recovery be tracked, which would be used as the Plan evolved.

Response from Councillor Myers, Assistant City Mayor Policy Delivery and Communications:

It was recognised that imaginative solutions to the issues facing the city needed to be found, so as the strategy for the Plan evolved, a wider analysis would be included in it, which needed to be data led.

AGREED:

1)    That the Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment be asked to consider the comments recorded above as the Economic Recovery Plan is developed;

2)    That it is recognised that the city’s economic recovery requires support from strategic partners and central government, so the Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment is asked to seek this support, in the most appropriate form, whenever possible; and

3)    That the Director of Tourism, Culture and Investment be asked to provide updates on the progress with the city’s Economic Recovery, including the development of the Economic Recovery Plan and issues identified, at appropriate times.