Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a briefing note and presentation of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) that provided a review of the work of the LEP and the impact of Covid-19 and plans for recovery.

Over the previous decade Coventry and Warwickshire economy had grown at a rate unsurpassed by any other LEP area in the country. Economic growth, measured by total GVA and productivity, both grew by 45% with manufacturing showing an outstanding performance as the fastest growing sector in the country, growing over 110% over the decade. The Coventry and Warwickshire employment rate stood at 75.9%, and grew by 5.4% since 2014, faster than growth seen in the West Midlands Combined Authority area (4.2%) and England (3.8%). An unemployment rate of 3.8%, was lower than the regional (5.1%) and national rates (4.1%). Average workplace earnings in 2018 were £30,2713, having grown 12.6% since 2014. This growth was higher than any of the other LEP areas. Coventry and Warwickshire had held a top 10 growth position since 2014 (15.5%) amongst all LEP areas on proportion of people aged 16-64 with an NVQ Level 4 or above, at 38.2%.

Currently 19,600 jobs were furloughed in Coventry, 12.5% of all jobs. A cumulative 56,600 Coventry jobs had been furloughed since the start of the pandemic, 36.3% of all jobs. 6,750 CBILS and BBLS, Government loans had been given to support business in Coventry worth £262.7m. 7,416 Government grants to support businesses, worth £57.9m, had also been issued in Coventry. Centre for Cities estimate current footfall in Coventry city centre to be a quarter of its pre-pandemic level, whilst spending was currently around one fifth of pre-Covid times. Claimant Count in Coventry jumped from c7,000 in March 2020 to c17,000 by July. The CW Employment Solutions site, since launching in Nov 2020, had had over 27,500 visits, with 6,300 users and there were currently nearly 3,500 vacancies on the site. 

The presentation outlined the CWLEP reset strategic framework which had been established through an approach that needed to be responsive and agile to adapt to the rapidly changing nature of the economic recovery. CW Economic Reset Taskforce and Business Groups would feed into the CWLEP Board. The LEP’s Objectives and reset principles, and pillars had been set around Coventry and Warwickshire being a safe and highly attractive place to live, study, work and invest. The presentation provided details of the implementation plan priorities and progress 2021 for Transport and Infrastructure, Planning and Housing, Culture and Tourism, Digital and Creative, Productivity and Skills, SME, International, and CW Place Board and Champions. It also highlighted case studies on Completing the Cultural Capital in Coventry, the Coventry Station Masterplan, Coventry Very Light Rail, and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre. It further highlighted the Electrification Taskforce that CWLEP had set-up to ensure greater connection between sectors as well as recognising the need for upskilling for the future of the economy.

The next steps were:

•  Reset of the economy whilst living with Covid-19 and its impacts – implementation of One Coventry & Warwickshire Strategic Reset Framework across jobs, skills, innovation, and net zero agendas

•  Continued impact and implications of the end of EU Transition

•  Electrification - securing a Gigafactory in Coventry & Warwickshire

•  Budget – Levelling-up Fund, UK Shared Prosperity Fund; Review of LEPs

•  Maintaining Delivery in the final year of Local Growth Fund, and delivering the local Getting Building Fund projects

•  Increasing already strong role in strategic projects including City of Culture and Commonwealth Games

  The Board questioned officers, received responses and discussed the following issues:

·  Coventry and Warwickshire Champions – speaker’s messages were valuable and should be made widely available

·  Establish the required skills needed and ensure capacity to deliver them in the Sub-Region

·  Continue work to remove barriers to investment and attract businesses to the region

·  Continue work on promoting and keeping people connected, through challenging times

·  Establishing trade deals around the world following Brexit

·  The changing profile of businesses and new opportunities for manufacturing to expand the way they conduct business

·  The resilience of retail using on-line and virtual opportunities through lockdown

·  The Government review of Local Enterprise Partnerships to enable stronger Partnerships to evolve

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3):

1)  Notes the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership reset strategic framework as detailed in the presentation.

2)  Made no further recommendations for Coventry City Council’s representative on the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership.