Agenda item

Thisreport sets out the work covered by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP). Adam Bryan, Chief Executive Officer of SELEP, will attend this Overview and Scrutiny meeting to give a presentation on the SELEP with a focus on its impact on Medway, and achievements to date. The presentation will also cover the future operation of the LEP, in the context of the Levelling Up White Paper and discussions with local partners and will seek Member comment.

Discussion:

A presentation was given to the Committee by the Chief Executive Officer of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP). The key points of the presentation were as follows:

·       The area covered by SELEP was geographically the largest of the 38 LEPs across the country.

·       The LEP Board was supported in deciding what projects would be supported through LEP funding by the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership and three other federated boards.

·       Projects allocated LEP funding had to go through a rigorous business case development which was Independently assessed.

·       A number of working groups supported key sectors, such as housing, skills and Enterprise Zones.

·       The LEP had been responsible for looking after £589million of growth deal funding and approximately £200million of European funding. In total, the LEP had been responsible for stewarding around £850million of funding.

·       The strength of Medway coming together with Kent, Essex and East Sussex was considered to have helped communicate the needs of and opportunities available within the area.

·       The development of a strong intelligence base in relation to the local economy had underpinned the work of the LEP and enabled stronger decision making regarding which projects to support.

·       Lots of work had been undertaken in relation to skills and broadening digital skills, including working with education providers, such as Mid-Kent College.

·       Business Support had been important. Funding for Growth Hubs was delivered through the LEP with £2million provided through a Business Support Fund.

·       Support was provided through a number of funds, including the Local Growth Fund, Growing Places Fund, Sector Support Fund and the Getting Building Fund.

·       Headline figures for the area covered by the LEP included 106 Local Growth Fund Projects supported, 21 sector support fund projects, 41 Getting Building Fund projects and 29 Growing Place Fund projects. In total, the funding had supported the creation of nearly 25,000 jobs and just over 25,000 new homes. Total Local Growth Fund funding across the region had been £578.9 million.

·       The biggest SELEP investment in Medway had been Strood Town Centre which had received over £8 million. 15 projects in Medway had received funding totalling just over £43million.

·       The Levelling Up White Paper had been published at the start of February 2022. This set out that local authorities would have a growing role in the reshaping of the UK economy and that LEPs would continue to play a vital role in supporting local businesses and the local economy until local devolution arrangements were put in place. Going forward, LEPs would need to work with local authorities to add value although they would not have the same role as previously in stewarding capital funds. LEPs would continue to have a role around convening business and developing regional strategy.

Following the presentation, Committee Members asked questions. The following issues were discussed:

• Job creation, results monitoring and staffing – A Member expressed concern that the figure of 25,000 jobs created in 10 years was low and asked how the effectiveness of results was measured. It was also asked whether limited staff numbers would affect delivery going forward. In response, the Chief Executive Officer of the LEP said that the number of jobs created directly linked to the project business cases and acknowledged that the figure could be higher, although it was anticipated that more jobs would be created in the future as a result of projects already supported. The LEP would be undertaking audits of projects supported to demonstrate the impact of investments to the Government. This had previously not been possible due to the small size of the LEP team. Staff resources were a challenge and there was concern that there might be less investment in the South East than there had been in the past. The LEP was a small organisation and it would be important to work with partners effectively in order to best utilise the resources available.

• Public Feedback and business networks – In response to a question that asked how the public could provide input on proposals and how successful the creation of business networks had been, the Assistant Director, Regeneration, said that input on projects would take place at Medway Council level. This included undertaking public consultations and exhibitions. Any suggestions in relation to building and strengthening business networks would be welcome. The Chief Executive Officer added that the Covid-19 Fund and Sector Fund were considered to have had the most significant impact. The impact of these would be highlighted to make the case for future funding.

• Business engagement and support and Evaluation Phases – It was suggested that business engagement and securing support for projects had not always been as strong as it could have been. In relation to Innovation Park Medway, it was asked whether the removal of the Evaluation Phase meant that this work was now being undertaken in another way. The Chief Executive Officer said that the impact of Covid could not be overstated. Initiatives took time to generate significant interest. A range of project extensions had been agreed as projects were taking longer than anticipated for a number of reasons but there was still confidence of strong delivery being achieved across the full range of projects. The Assistant Director said that Medway was still emerging from Covid. With there now being more homeworking there was an opportunity as more businesses could be located within a particular area. The Council was going out to the market to look at how the opportunities relating to Innovation Park Medway could be developed. The aim would be to attract high density, high Gross Value Added (GVA) jobs such as research and development and advanced manufacturing.

• Achievement of objectives and funding arrangements – It was asked whether SELEP’s objectives had been achieved and what the delivery risks were. It was also asked what the impact of changes to funding arrangements would be on local authorities. The Chief Executive of SELEP said that the audit that would be undertaken would need to be as comprehensive as possible and that a robust system of governance was in place. It was expected that the Prosperity Fund would be allocated directly to local authorities and that the LEP would provide support.

• Strood Town Centre journey times – In response to a question about traffic congestion in Strood and how this was being addressed, the Assistant Director said that there was now a greater sense of place in Strood and that in relation to journey times, changes had been delivered over a long period. There had been significant growth. Information would be provided to the Committee in relation to journey times.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report and commented on the presentation at the meeting delivered by the Chief Executive Officer of SELEP.