Rutland Growth Summit

Wednesday 8th January 2014

Rutland Growth Summit 2014

WELCOME AND OBJECTIVES

Cllr. Terry King (Chair)Deputy Leader

Rutland County Council

Innovative and Growing Companies

M M T Digital Ltd

• Relatively high skill base, level of professional and managerial above national average Measure of untapped entrepreneurial capacity High business start-up rates

• High overall employment, self-employment rates 3 times EM

• Accessible to urban centres Peterborough, Leicester by A47 Main N-S communication links (A1, rail-link & Birmingham to Stansted)

Growth: Our Strengths

• Opportunities for higher skilled employment locally are limited• High level of commuting to nearby urban centres • In-commuting to lower level occupations• Low wage equilibrium for those who live and work in the County• Transport and connectivity issues within the County• Loss of public sector employment, armed forces, prison closure• Access to finance for SMEs• An ageing population• Low unemployment

Growth: Our Challenges

THE ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP APPROACH TO GROWTH

Mark ReeveChairman

Greater Cambridge Greater PeterboroughEnterprise Partnership

Growing the economy8th January 2014

Mark ReeveChairman

The LEP Team

… And you!

Our goal

“Our goal is to develop our internationally competitive, nationally significant economy bringing together the diverse strengths of our area.”

Our Priorities

• Enterprise Zone• Infrastructure• Skills• Enterprise• International Profile

Skills

• Comprehensive skills survey underway• https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LEPSkills • Local Skills Team to be launched in 2014

– Rutland covered by the first wave– Providing future workers with the skills you need– Linking businesses to education

• Skills Strategy in place

Agri-Tech

• Successful £3.2m Regional Growing Funded project

• Eastern England Agri-Tech Growth Initiative • Grants programme launches this month• Innovation Centre to be created

LEP Prize Challenge

• £1m fund for Voluntary and Social Enterprise led projects

• Getting people job ready (1,000) and into work (250)

Growing Places Fund

• £16.1m of funding• Projects include:

– Oakham Enterprise Park– Haverhill Research Park– Fenland Horticulture & Land

Based Skills Centre– Future Business Centre– Transport improvements

GPF Round 2

• Circa £5 million• Unlocking jobs• Accelerating economic

growth• Call for projects from

24th January

Grants4Growth

• Grants available for:– Investing in technology or

processes to facilitate growth, improve resilience or create/ safeguard jobs

– Put in place efficiency initiatives to reduce waste, water or energy use

– Reduce the environmental impact of operations

– kurt@grants4growth.org.uk

Looking ahead…

• European Funding Strategy• Local Growth Strategy• Year of Exporting• Growing our economy

Thank you for listening

info@yourlocalenterprisepartnership.co.uk @YourLEPwww.yourlocalenterprisepartnership.co.uk

OVERVIEW OF CURRENT GROWTH PROJECTS AND CONCEPTS IN RUTLAND

Cllr. Terry KingDeputy Leader

Rutland County Council

• Former HMP Ashwell, 24 acre site• Four large former cell blocks demolished to create 3 acre space for commercial building plots• Prison fence being dismantled • Over 60% of available business units either let or under negotiation with tenants• Sports centre now being used by local clubs, e.g. Vale Judo• £0.5m Sport England bid for refurbishment of sports centre – decision

expected early January

1. Employment Land

2. Broadband

Superfast Fibre Broadband

• First Superfast Broadband enabled County

• BT, Rutland Telecom and Gigaclear already providing services to

parts of the County commercially

• Digital Rutland project to focus on areas that are not

covered by a commercial deployment

• All 10 exchanges in Rutland have been upgraded

• Download speeds of up to 80 Mbps

• 1st live cabinet in the East Midlands using BDUK/public funding (July

2013)

3. Supporting Business

• Labour Supply – Access to Transport Worklink employment shuttle bus Oakham Bus Station

•Business Finance Support RCC Business Loan Scheme Rutland Business Volunteer Mentor Scheme

•Skills Development Need to improve skills of workforce –

big split in skills between those who live and those who work in county

4. Capital/Revenue Investment

• Supporting businesses to access GCGP Growing Places Funding

• Working collaboratively with Northern GCGP EP authorities on funding bids Joint £475K p.a Ready for Work Growth

Deal Funding Bid submitted to GCGP EP for consideration – 2015 onwards to support apprenticeships network and work placements

Joint Interim Skills Pilot bid to GCGP EP – 2014 helping young people understand the breadth of roles available in different business sectors and developing their employability skills.

Rutland Growth Summit 2014

Discussion Session

• What else can the Council do to help, not hinder,

your business growth?

• What do you want us to do ?

• What do we do that gets in your way?

QUESTIONS TO THE PANEL Cllr Terry King (Chair)

Rutland Growth Summit 2014

Saverio Della RoccaCllr. Terry King

BUDGET CONSULTATION

OUR MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLAN AND BUDGET

Saverio Della Rocca

BUDGET CONSULTATION

Key Points

• Council’s budget for 2014-15 is £30.5m (net of depreciation).  The budget is lower than it has been in last 4 years. (11-12 £31.4m, 12-13 £31.2m, 13-14 £32.1m)

• Council is making new savings of £925k but no reductions in key services

• Council’s funding has reduced in 2014-15 and will do so again in 2015-16. Funding from Government (if we include business rates) has reduced from £12.2m to £11.78m from 2013/14 to 2014/15

• No Council Tax rises planned for 4th successive year• No major capital projects other than those ongoing e.g. Oakham

Enterprise Park• Beyond 2015-16 is very uncertain and there are other threats on

the horizon, e.g. New Homes Bonus review

BUDGET CONSULTATION

Key Points• Council’s strategy is to use balances in a controlled way whilst it

‘right sizes’ expenditure• Government has announced 2% increase in Business Rates and

other changes, including extending small business rate relief to April 2015; introducing a discount of up to £1,000 for retail premises with a rateable value of up to £50,000; and granting of a temporary reoccupation relief to business that occupy premises previously unoccupied

• Council retains 49% of Business Rates income but pays a tariff of c£790k to the Government

• Growth above baseline (the amount the Government believes we need in addition to RSG) is retained subject to a 16% levy. Any losses below baseline up to 7.5% are not refunded by Government

• No real growth achieved in 2013/14 

BUDGET CONSULTATION

YOUR VIEWS ?Cllr. Terry King

BUDGET CONSULTATION

RUTLAND GROWTH SUMMIT

NETWORKING AND CLOSECllr. Terry King (Chair)