Agenda item

Report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture

The Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change introduced the item and the purpose of an Economic Development Strategy, which built on the achievements of the previous Strategy. The Strategy acknowledged the changing economy and positioned Coventry and the sub-region as the place to locate their businesses and invest in the City.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture, which would be considered by Cabinet at their meeting on 11 October, 2022, together with a presentation on the Coventry Economic Development Strategy 2022-2027 which highlighted the following points:

·  Coventry’s new Economic Development Strategy 2022-2027 would build on the achievements of the Coventry Economic Growth and Prosperity Strategy 2018-2022.

·  It was one of the key strategies for delivering the objectives of the new One Coventry Plan 2022-2030, and it was also particularly strongly integrated with the new Coventry Skills Strategy.

·  As well as replacing the current Economic Growth and Prosperity Strategy, which expired at the end of 2022, a new Economic Development Strategy (“EDS”) was needed that provides a holistic framework for facilitating the sustainable growth of Coventry’s economy.

·  This was vital as Coventry and the wider West Midlands region continued to recover from the recession generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, growing challenges around adjusting to new UK-EU trading regulations after Brexit and wider global supply chain disruption, inflation, and the cost of living and cost of doing business.

·  The new Economic Development Strategy would be integral to delivering the objectives of the 2022- 2030 One Coventry Plan. It would be central to the objective of Increasing Economic Prosperity, by creating the conditions for local businesses to thrive, new investment to come into the city and the creation of new good quality job and training opportunities. Through providing the framework for sustainable economic development and enabling all residents to benefit from new employment and training opportunities created, the Strategy will also be key to tackling the causes of climate change and tackling inequalities. These actions would also cement the Council’s role as a partner, enabler and leader in shaping the local economy, and would help to improve the financial sustainability of the Council.

·  The vision of the Strategy was to “deliver a strong and resilient economy, where inclusive growth is promoted and delivered, businesses are enabled to innovate and grow, and new local jobs are created.” To achieve this vision, the following would take place, through eight interlinked pillars which were outlined to the Committee:

•  facilitating a sustainable economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and challenging economic climate driven by inflation and rising cost of living and cost of doing business, creating the platform for longer-term growth and prosperity

•  delivering a first-class support infrastructure that responds to our businesses’ needs and opportunities

•  securing maximum public and private investment to deliver infrastructure projects that create the conditions for economic growth and job creation

•  securing job creation, growth and prosperity through attracting and supporting business investment from both the UK and overseas

•  ensuring that social value and sustainability are incorporated into all economic development work

•  supporting the development of a skills ecosystem which provides the skills required by Coventry’s businesses, both current and future, and contributes to economic growth and the prosperity of the city

•  ensuring Coventry is a leader in the green industrial revolution by supporting our businesses, residents and partner stakeholders to tackle the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change

•  Building on existing strong partnerships in delivering all elements of this strategy

Due to the links between the two items, questions from the Committee were captured in Minute 16 below.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee:-

1)  Recommend that Cabinet approve the Coventry Economic Development Strategy 2022-2027

2)  Request that annual performance data on the Strategy is presented to the appropriate Scrutiny Board