Agenda item

Context:

Members received a report from the Head of Economy and Enterprise in order to provide the Committee with a performance update on the activities of Monmouthshire Business and Enterprise (MBE).

Key Issues:

In line with one of the Council’s four priorities of ‘Supporting Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Job Creation’, Cabinet approved the Monmouthshire Business Growth and Enterprise Strategy in November 2014 and endorsed the associated Action Plan. The Strategy hinges on three pillars namely ‘Supporting Business Growth’, ‘Enabling Inward Investment’ and ‘Growing

Entrepreneurs’ and addresses customer needs through the provision of a programme of business support, networking and facilitation to help unlock the potential for growth in the County. In 2015/16 activities are targeted towards achieving these key priorities and maximising funding opportunities to reduce the financial burden on the Council.

Further to this the Vale of Usk Local Development Strategy approved by Cabinet in June 2015, is a key tool in drawing down £2.79M from the new 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme (RDP), expanded to include the rural wards of Newport. This Council is the Administrative Body for the programme holding overall responsibility and activities are directed through the Vale of Usk Local Action Group (LAG) – a local partnership based on the three thirds principle of representatives from the community, private and public sector.

In addition MBE also delivers the external strand of the Council’s iCounty Strategy which includes the coordination of broadband infrastructure and ICT exploitation activities.

Members Scrutiny:

The Chair advised the Committee that issues surrounding iCounty and Rural Development Plan would be addressed at a special meeting in early April 2016.

A Member queried if the targets for employment were achievable, as the jobs created were currently at 110 rather than the annual target of 200 set in the LDP.  It was noted that many suggested areas of employment were not near completion, or even started.  The Head of Economy and Enterprise responded that the target was based on information received from businesses the authority works with.  Unfortunately it was out of the officers hands, as the Council do not create the jobs.  It was acknowledged that where there were delays, this would be forwarded to next year’s plan.  The Chief Officer for Enterprise added that ideally it would be preferable to scrap annual targets as there was no direct control.  It was suggested that with the new economy emerging, there would need to be more robust frameworks in place.

In response to a question from the Chair we heard there would be a wider regional framework particularly in terms of the City Deal, where an audit of the South East Wales economy is being undertaken.

A Member commented that with new technology and new types of businesses being established we must remain focused on the sustainability of existing businesses, particularly agricultural.  Clarification was requested on the types of RDP projects in the pipeline.  The Head of Economy and Enterprise explained the RDP was not a job creation programme but provided funding for innovation to ensure sustainability going forward. The Programme’s Officers would also work with applicants to find additional funding post RDP intervention.  A brief overview of approved projects included a BEES project “Breeding, Education, Environment & Skills” cooperation project between Vale of Usk, Caerphilly (& Blaenau Gwent) and Merthyr (and RCT); a baseline study to identify non-statutory services in Monmouthshire and Newport with a view to identifying any gaps and future demand; a full community consultation on the Magor Three Fields Site identify the need and use of a community building on the site which will be in addition to the proposed and already funded Energy Centre.  Future submissions include projects relating to off-road cycling, digital coding clubs, a community toolkit for community planning and Wi-Fi i for village halls.

The Chair noted that the village hall projects were fantastic and the aim was to create employment opportunities and expressed thanks to the Business Development teams.

A Member raised ongoing concerns surrounding the roll out of Superfast broadband in the South of the County given the close proximity to Bristol.  It was hoped that Monmouthshire would be part of the development of technological businesses and considered it important to try harder to develop the workforce in Chepstow.  It was frustrating for people who wished to work from home but could not due to lack of broadband.  It was thought that as good as iCounty sounded, it was frustrating that it was not moving forward.

The Cabinet Member responded that we do need all the things in iCounty. The AB internet project would bring the most difficult areas of Monmouthshire up to superfast speeds but there were still concerns about how to reach the last few areas.  It was important to keep pressure on BT to ensure they adhere to projected timescales but we had been encouraged by the AB internet pilot which is due to come on line in March 2016.

The Chief Officer agreed that there were big ambitions and there was a need to mobilise resources to match those ambitions.  As the lead for innovation in the City Deal, the Chief Officer understood the importance for Monmouthshire as well as the wider region and was keen to note that the reason Aston Martin had been attracted to the region was due to an enterprise zone, and this should be developed in other areas.  As part of the City Deal, a set of asks were being put forward around flooding the region and attracting different high calibre businesses.

The Cabinet Member expressed congratulations to Vale of Glamorgan on hooking Aston Martin and noted it had been due to the great work between Welsh Governemnt and the Vale of Glamorgan Council.  In Monmouthshire, from the Chief Executive down, we were working on projects.  It was noted that in terms of the City Deal there was a potential £1.2 billion coming into the area, due to working together as a region.

The Chair requested that BT be invited to the next meeting to address the issues with Superfast Cymru.

Clarification was requested regarding ERASMUS funding.  The Business and Enterprise Manager explained that ERASMUS was an EU funding stream for entrepreneurship.  Officers were starting to work with South East Wales colleges on the project but were still in the initial stages.  Further information would be brought to Committee in due course.  In terms of the situation with the EU referendum, we were informed that the EU budget was set until 2020 so any projects we were involved with during this funding round would not be affected.  It was also noted that should the UK pull out of Europe in the future we would still be able to access EU funds as part of the European Economic Area.

A Member wished to highlight the importance of promoting the benefit of Monmouthshire and its strategic position to businesses in Bristol.  It was thought that it would not take a huge budget to promote and publish and would be important to make the effort within the South West Gloucestershire area.  It was expressed that we should take note of the appropriateness of what is being offered in schools.

The Head of Economy and Enterprise agreed that we need to attract business and have regular meetings with the Chambers, as well as currently having meetings with a Bristol based company regarding moving to the area.  There was work being carried through within schools with an IT focus and in terms of a social level there were coding clubs.

Recommendations:

Members were recommended to receive the report in evidence of activities detailed in the Monmouthshire Business Growth and Enterprise Strategy Action Plan, as reflected in the Chief Officer’s Annual report for Enterprise. Also, to receive a more comprehensive assessment of progress against the

Monmouthshire Business Growth and Enterprise Strategy and the Vale of Usk Local Development Strategy in June 2016 following outturn.