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WORCESTERSHIRE LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETINGThursday 2nd April 2015 3.00 pm- 5.00 pm

Coomber Electronics, Brindley Road, Worcester WR4 9FB

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Apologies

2. Minutes of WLEP Board Meeting on 22 January 2015 (5 mins)

3. Matters Arising (5 mins)- Action List- Correspondence

4. Worcestershire Business Central – Mike Ashton (10 mins)

5. Growth Deal Update – Ian Edwards (10 mins)

6. Dashboard of Performance Metrics (presentation) – David Irish (15 mins)

7. WLEP Business Plan 2015-2018 – Gary Woodman (10 mins)

8. EU Structural Investment Fund Strategy Update – Claire Bridges (10 mins)

9. Finance, Audit & Risk Committee – Chris Walklett (5 mins)

10. Budget - Gary Woodman (5 mins)

11. Growing Places

12. Potential Impact of the General Election outcome on WLEP – Gary Woodman (verbal update) (10 mins)

13. Sub Group Reports – Gary Woodman (5 mins)

14. How does the Board want to work and be effective – Mark Stansfeld (verbal discussion) (15 mins)

15. Any Other Business

16. Dates of Meetings in 2015:

- 21st May 2015- 23rd July 2015- 24th September 2015- 19th November 2015

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1.0 WELCOME & APOLOGIES

PRESENT:Peter Pawsey (Chair) (PP) Retiring Executive Chair

Mark Stansfeld (MS) Non-Executive Chair

Carl Arntzen (KA) Managing Director, Worcester Bosch Group

Chris Walklett (CW) Partner, Bishop Fleming

Cllr Margaret Sherrey (MS) Leader, Bromsgrove DC (rep Northern DCs)

Cllr. David Hughes (DH) Leader, Malvern Hills DC (rep Southern DCs)

Cllr Simon Geraghty (SG) Deputy Leader, Worcestershire County Council

Dr Simon Murphy (SM) CEO, Worcester Community Trust

David Green (DG) Vice Chancellor, University of Worcester

Roy Irish (RI) Director, Financial Partnership and Support Ltd -Representing Francis Christie

IN ATTENDANCE:Gary Woodman (GW) Worcestershire LEP

Ian Edwards (IE) Worcestershire LEP

Claire Bridges (CB) Worcestershire LEP

Kirsten Dally (KD) Worcestershire LEP

David Irish (DI) Worcestershire LEP

Diane Dwyers (WS) Worcestershire LEP (Note Taker)

Mike Ashton (MA) CEO, H&W Chamber of Commerce

Jack Hegarty (JH) Managing Director, Wychavon District Council

Graham Pendlebury (GP) DFT, LEP Senior Sponsor

APOLOGIES:Francis Christie (FC) Managing Director, Francis Christie Ltd

Nick Baldwin (NB) Chairman, Office for Nuclear Regulation

Stuart Laverick (SL) Principal & Chief Executive, Worcester College of Technology

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2.0 MINUTES OF WLEP BOARD MEETING ON 22ND JANUARY 2015

Thursday, 22nd January 2015 3.00pm – 5.00pmCoomber Electronics, Worcester

PRESENT:Peter Pawsey (Chair) (PP) Chairman, Robert West and Director Midland HeartCarl Arntzen (CA) MD Worcester Bosch ThermotechnologyChris Walklett (CW) Partner, Bishop FlemingCllr Margaret Sherrey (MS) Leader, Bromsgrove District Council (rep Northern DCs)Cllr David Hughes (DH) Leader, Malvern Hills District Council (rep Southern DCs)Nick Baldwin (NB) Chairman, Office for Nuclear RegulationProf David Green (DG) Vice-Chancellor, University of WorcesterCllr Simon Geraghty (SG) Deputy Leader, Worcestershire County CouncilDr Simon Murphy (SM) CEO, Worcester Community TrustStuart Laverick (SL) Principal & Chief Executive, Worcester College of Technology

IN ATTENDANCE:Gary Woodman (GW) Worcestershire LEPIan Edwards (IE) Worcestershire LEPDiane Dwyers (DD) Worcestershire LEP (Note Taker)Roy Irish (RI) Director, FP Support (Substitute for Francis Christie)Graham Pendlebury (GP) Director, Department of TransportKevin Dicks (KD) Chief Executive, Bromsgrove District & Redditch BCDavid Crook (DC) Assistant Director, BIS West Midlands

APOLOGIES:Francis Christie (FC) MD Francis Christie Ltd

1 Welcome and Apologies

Peter Pawsey (Chair) welcomed the Board and he noted that there were apologies from Francis Christie, he thanked Roy Irish for attending as alternate and welcomed Graham Pendlebury as our new WLEP Whitehall Senior Sponsor.

PP welcomed Kevin Dicks, Chief Executive as observer.

PP told everyone that Francis Christie was now out of hospital and on the long road to recovery.

ACTION

2 Minutes from the Board Meeting 20 th November 2015

The Minutes were signed off as a true record by the Board.

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3 Matters Arising

The action points from the November Board Meeting were reviewed:

3.1 Funding guide will be issued electronically before the next Board Meeting.

3.4 PP confirmed the letter was issued to Lord Adonis and no response had been received to date.

3.5 GW confirmed Professional Indemnity Insurance was in place for the Board and the Sub-Groups of WLEP.

Correspondence:

GW outlined the following correspondence:

LEP Assurance Framework – this is incorporated in Item 5.

Food and Farming Local Development Order Pathfinders. It is confirmed that Wychavon District Council will lead an application with support of the WLEP.

Highways Agency letter was noted and consultation on Combined Authorities is related to Item 14.

ACTION

4 WLEP Business Plan

GW presented the top level frameworks following the structure approved at the last Board Meeting.

A discussion took place with Board Members providing comments and feedback which will be incorporated over the next 2 months.

Specific points of note were defining the benchmark measures and projecting to 2018.

The input from the Sub-Groups is still required and will be undertaken over the next 2 months.

In relation to Profiling, Tourism is to be included as a key priority sector and further work to ensure connectivity between the measure and the priority action.

The WLEP Board agreed recommendation with the next stage of the Business Plan to be brought to the next Board Meeting in April.

Gary Woodman

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5 Growth Deal Update

Growth Deal 1:

IE gave a presentation on Growth Deal 1 in relation to the projects, their risks and their current timeline for delivery (see table below):

Board Members asked questions relating to flexibility of delivery, other partners funding and process for monitoring delivery. IE confirmed that the Programme Delivery Group would be discussing all these factors at the meeting in March 2015.

Growth Deal 2:

IE outlined the approach, moving away from a shopping list of projects to a more a programmed based approach. This would allow the WLEP to build a pipeline of projects with flexibility and local prioritisation. SG highlighted to the Board the current profile of spend would mean that large infrastructure projects totalling individually £70-£80 million were not likely to be funded through this Growth Deal process. GW reported this had been raised with Worcestershire MP’s and key Civil Servants.

It was agreed that the WLEP Chair should seek clarification from the Chair GBS LEP on their proposals for investing in North Worcestershire.

WLEP Board also noted the requirements for the Assurance Framework and the progress made. This would need to be formally adopted by the Board and signed off the Section 151 Officer for our Accountable Body by the end of March 2015.

ACTION

Ian Edwards

Peter Pawsey

Ian Edwards

6 EU Structural Investment Fund Strategy Update ACTION

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WLEP are still waiting for the Operational Programme at EU/UK level to be signed off. This is expected end of February 2015. WLEP Executive are preparing early calls for projects and programmes that align to the delivery of the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and the EU Investment Strategy (ESIF).

The Board noted the first meeting of the ESIF Committee being held on the 27th January 2015 and the approach taken by WLEP to bring all members up to speed.

WLEP continues to work with AMION who provide specialist expertise, capacity, experience and knowledge to prepare programme bids and finalise Worcestershire’s EU Strategy by the end of February 2015.

The Executive continued to work with Big Lottery Fund (BLF), Department Work and Pension (DWP) and Skills Funding Agency (SFA) on opt-ins. The Executive will gain electronic approval of early first round project calls before proceeding to the ESIF Committee.

Gary Woodman

Gary Woodman

7 World Class Worcestershire

The Board noted the activity outlined in the report and were pleased with the progress made, a number of actions were discussed:

SM recommended involving the Worcestershire Council for Voluntary Youth Services in the involvement of young people.

Development of the elevator pitch for WLEP Members. Graham Pendlebury to contact Halfords to engage with WLEP. CW/DG to meet off line to discuss the Wheelchair Basketball

Championships in relation to the 50 days of sport.

The Board noted the World Class Worcestershire Inward Investment Event in Birmingham on 28th January 2015 at the Hotel Du Vin.

Gary Woodman

8 Business Board Report

RI gave a report on the last two Business Board Meetings which focussed on working sessions on the Growth Hub and World Class Worcestershire. Following the Sector Reports, Cyber Group have been asked to come back with a proposal for a National Conference.

With Francis currently out of action, the position of Chair is being rotated amongst its members. Considering Francis’ current circumstance the Board felt that a new Business Board Chair should be appointed. Gary Woodman

9 Sub-Group Reports ACTION

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Business Growth:

The progress of the Business Growth Group was noted with the particular focus on the good progress on the Fund of Funds and success of the Business Expansion Fund. It was recognised that the Growth Hub will become the prime objective in the next 3-6 months.

Employment & Skills:

CA reported on the Employment & Skills Sub-Group moving to a smaller lead group, current priorities remain the same.

Consolidate the delivery of projects that are already underway. Continue the progress made on apprenticeships. The feasibility on the University Technical College has started. Supporting Local Careers Advice. Continue to develop skill plans for the key sectors of Agri-Tech and

Cyber.

Profiling:

The Board noted the programme of events and the actions reflected under Item 7.

GW drew the Boards attention to the change in boundary signs. NB commented that a sign saying your “Tax Dollars are working for you” in the USA and it was important to profile the projects that WLEP was undertaking. Graham Pendlebury agreed this approach in raising the profile of the WLEP and Partners. The Board agreed this approach would be taken on Growth Deal 1 projects.

Planning, Development & Infrastructure

The workload and delivery was noted with the WLEP Executive to work with David Hughes as Lead Board Member.

Ian Edwards

Gary Woodman

10 UK Agri-Food/Agri-Tech Sector Regulation Exemplar Project

IE outlined the paper. SM praised the approach and working of the Executive volunteering to be the Lead Board Member for this topic.

The Board approved the recommendation for further development of the Regulatory Exemplar linked to the work on Agri-Tech/Agri-Food.

11 Finance, Audit & Risk Committee ACTION

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CW outlined the Board Paper and a positive meeting with the Accountable Body (Worcestershire County Council) relating to the audit of WLEP accounts within WCC processes.

Positive work had been undertaken on understanding the Budget figures and as Chair of the FAR Committee, CW reported that Board Members could take comfort from the processes in place.

DG asked if the WLEP accounts were audited separately or identified within the WCC structures and therefore what is the legal standing of the Chair of the Committee. CW said that he was meeting Grant Thornton to address these questions.

It was noted FAR Committee meeting would focus on the Risk Register. Chris Walklett

12 Budget

The Budget position and the presentation of the Dashboard were outlined by GW. It was agreed that the Board Members would review the figures and Dashboard with any comments back to GW by end of February 2015.

It was agreed that a report on the Growing Places Fund would be presented at the next Board Meeting.

ALL

Gary Woodman

13 Chair’s Report

The WLEP Board confirmed the contribution of £5K to the LEP Network.

The Board noted the 26th March as the Annual Date for the LEP Network Conference.

NB commented that the ‘Think Piece’ circulated to Board Members gave the best description of the LEP role and remit that he had read. It was agreed that Board Members could feed in comments to this Think Piece document returning these to the Executive by 5th February 2015. ALL

14 Combined Authorities Consultation

GW presented the paper on Combined Authorities which invited WLEP to respond to the consultation. SG outlined Local Government’s position following the Leaders Board on the 20th January 2015. It was agreed that WLEP would respond with the three points under 14.3.1. these are:

1. The LEP supports the principle of local authorities working in a collaborative way that supports the delivery of Strategic Economic Plans;

2. The LEP consider that where CAs/EPBs are established, they should not undermine or duplicate the role of LEPs;

3. The relationship between LEPs and CAs/EPBs need to be established with Government re-confirming the pre-eminent role of

Gary Woodman

ACTION

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LEPs in establishing economic development priorities within their area.

The Board did not agree to adopt the Policy position that the boundaries for a combined authority should be coterminous.

15. Any Other Business

None.

16. Dates of Meetings in 2015

LEP BOARD:

2nd April - Coomber Electronics21st May - Coomber Electronics23rd July - Worcester Bosch24th Sept - Worcester Bosch19th Nov - Worcester Bosch

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3.0 MATTERS ARISING (ACTION LIST & CORRESPONDENCE)

3.1 The WLEP Board agreed recommendation with the next stage of the Business Plan to be brought to the next Board Meeting in April. Action: GW

3.2 Growth Deal 1: Programme Delivery Group would be discussing flexibility of delivery, other partners funding and process for monitoring delivery at the next meeting in March 2015. Action: IE

3.3 Growth Deal 2:It was agreed that the WLEP Chair should seek clarification from the Chair GBS LEP on their proposals for investing in North Worcestershire. Action: PP

3.4 Growth Deal 2:WLEP Board also noted the requirements for the Assurance Framework and the progress made. This would need to be formally adopted by the Board and signed off the Section 151 Officer for our Accountable Body by the end of March 2015. Action: IE

3.5 WLEP continues to work with AMION who provide specialist expertise, capacity, experience and knowledge to prepare programme bids and finalise Worcestershire’s EU Strategy by the end of February 2015. Action: GW

3.6 The Executive continued to work with Big Lottery Fund (BLF), Department Work and Pension (DWP) and Skills Funding Agency (SFA) on opt-ins. The Executive will gain electronic approval of early first round project calls before proceeding to the ESIF Committee. Action: GW

3.7 World Class Worcestershire:The Board noted the activity outlined in the report and were pleased with the progress made, a number of actions were discussed:

SM recommended involving the Worcestershire Council for Voluntary Youth Services in the involvement of young people.

Development of the elevator pitch for WLEP Members. Graham Pendlebury to contact Halfords to engage with WLEP. CW/DG to meet off line to discuss the Wheelchair Basketball Championships in relation

to the 50 days of sport.

Action: GW

3.8 Considering Francis’ current circumstance the Board felt that a new Business Board Chair should be appointed. Action: GW

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3.9 Business Growth Sub-Group:

3.9.1 GW drew the Boards attention to the change in boundary signs. NB commented that a sign saying your “Tax Dollars are working for you” in the USA and it was important to profile the projects that WLEP was undertaking. Graham Pendlebury agreed this approach in raising the profile of the WLEP and Partners. The Board agreed this approach would be taken on Growth Deal 1 projects. Action: IE

3.9.2 The workload and delivery was noted with the WLEP Executive to work with David Hughes as Lead Board Member. Action: GW

3.10 It was noted FAR Committee meeting would focus on the Risk Register. Action: CW

3.11 The Budget position and the presentation of the Dashboard were outlined by GW. It was agreed that the Board Members would review the figures and Dashboard with any comments back to GW by end of February 2015. Action: ALL

3.12 It was agreed that a report on the Growing Places Fund would be presented at the next Board Meeting. Action: GW

3.13 NB commented that the ‘Think Piece’ circulated to Board Members gave the best description of the LEP role and remit that he had read. It was agreed that Board Members could feed in comments to this Think Piece document returning these to the Executive by 5th February 2015. Action: ALL

3.14 GW presented the paper on Combined Authorities which invited WLEP to respond to the consultation. SG outlined Local Government’s position following the Leaders Board on the 20th January 2015. It was agreed that WLEP would respond with the three points under 14.3.1. Action: GW

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4.0 WORCESTERSHIRE BUSINESS CENTRAL

WLEP BOARD RECOMMENDATION1. Endorse the proposal to transfer the management of the Growth Hub

(Worcestershire Business Central) to H&W Chamber of Commerce;

2. To comment on the draft Business Plan for Worcestershire Business Central prepared by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce following consultation with Worcestershire County Council and the Executive Team of Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership

4.1 WORCESTERSHIRE BUSINESS CENTRAL – CURRENT POSITION

4.1.1 Worcestershire Business Central (WBC) was established in March 2013 and was formally launched by Matthew Hancock MP, Minister for Skills and Enterprise on 12th June 2014.

4.1.2 WBC actively promotes a diagnostic and signposting service to businesses in the County to stimulate economic growth by ensuring businesses can access the support most relevant to their needs initially via a website and telephone contact.

4.1.3 The core service is currently funded by Worcestershire County Council.

4.1.4 WBC is the brand under which all business support is delivered and or promoted in the County. It provides:

A dedicated telephone line 0300 123 1440,

A dedicated website www.business-central.co.uk

Business Account Managers - supporting local companies to access the most appropriate business support national, regional or local.

4.1.5 WBC delivers several Business Support Services delivered through a network of approved suppliers funded from partner resources; public or private sector, EU Funding and linked to national government programmes. These Services currently include:

Business Start-up – 1-2-1, Workshops, events

Business Growth – via the Growth Accelerator initiative as well as a local growth programme including a voucher scheme.

Export through the delivery of the UKTI trade contract in the County

Access to Finance, business loans and grants

Innovation- Proof of Concept, Cyber Security

Skills – Currently delivering support for Apprenticeships, Graduate and Skills Support for the workforce

Connecting Schools and business delivered as part of the Worcestershire Skills Central (www.worcestershireskillscentral.co.uk) initiative

4.1.6 WBC provides a quarterly performance report for the LEP focusing on the geographical spread of business clients, by size and sector as well as the number of referrals made to all support services, website activity and key issues raised by client companies.

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http://www.worcestershireskillscentral.co.uk/

http://www.business-central.co.uk/

4.2 WORCESTERSHIRE BUSINESS CENTRAL – 2015/2016 AND BEYOND

4.2.1 Following a review of WBC by the LEP Business Board, it was agreed that as part of its development, WBC will need to enhance the account management and business advice role providing organisational needs analysis for companies across the County.

4.2.2 In parallel, Worcestershire County Council (WCC) has been reviewing its financial commitment to WBC and has decided to reduce its investment 2015/2016 and beyond. At the time of preparing this report, the financial commitment to WBC from WCC in 2015/2016 was unknown. However, WCC has taken the strategic decision not to continue as Lead Delivery Organisation for WBC, i.e. the employer of WBC core staff, and has invited the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce to develop a business case to take on this role. This is attached as Appendix 1 to this Report and follows a considerable period of consultation with WCC, the LEP Business Board, Business Growth Sub Group and the Executive Team.

4.2.3 The LEP has also secured a contribution of £250,000 from Government to support the delivery of WBC in 2015/2016. This funding can be used to pay for staff within WBC as well as marketing and promotion costs. However, there is a specific requirement on the LEP to undertake a review of business support activity during 2015/2016 to ensure that services are fit for purpose. No such funding commitment exists for 2016/2017 and beyond.

4.2.4 As part of the business support review, WBC will engage in the procurement exercise for business facing services being supported by the 2014 – 2020 EU programme and will provide a single point of access for the subsequent offer.

4.2.5 Finally, the LEP Business Board will undertake a review of the financial sustainability of WBC and evaluate models that rely less on public sector funds and can generate additional value from private sector engagement.

Gary WoodmanExecutive Director

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Worcestershire Business Central – Draft Business Case

INTRODUCTION

Worcestershire LEP was established in autumn 2010 with high level support from the Business Community and public sector. The partners (Worcestershire County Council, the District Councils, Worcestershire LEP and Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce) established Worcestershire Business Central (WBC) to provide a vehicle to meet the void created by the loss of Business Link and Advantage West Midlands.

WBC was supported by a team who generated funding to deliver key outputs such as start-up, resource efficiency and inward investment. The model also included Business Engagement with the top 100 strategic companies in Worcestershire delivered by the Chamber. WBC acted as a single point of access and sign posted enquiries to delivery partners/solutions. WBC in effect became a growth hub and was launched as such by RT hon. Matthew Hancock MP on 12th June 2014.

The proposal is to build on the excellent foundations established by WBC within Worcestershire County Council and relocate delivery to a partner organisation – Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce. The model will have several new processes.

GOVERNANCE

WBC will have KPI’s identified and monitored by the Worcestershire LEP Business Board – overseen by the Worcestershire LEP Board. Projects to support the County’s aims will be identified and funding secured. WBC will act as the vehicle for signposting and initial diagnostic.

STRUCTURE

It is intended to refine the structure of WBC to provide high level business advice and support building on and including the strategic business engagement model (see Appendix 1 for model). The target market is to engage with the circa 23, 000 VAT registered companies in Worcestershire. The service will be delivered with a two tiered intervention system.

Tier 1 Intervention will be telephoned based business advice, diagnostics and signposting which will be delivered by a team of 4 call centre advisors. The advisors will provide support, advice and signpost to solutions from the wide range of support available such as, Business Growth Service (UKTI, MAS, GA), funded projects and Advised in Worcestershire – where Businesses can access a number of ‘expert’ consultants who will be available to offer support on specialised issues. The advisors will be fully trained in the suite of local and national business support products with regular ongoing briefings on any new initiatives.

Currently WBC receives an average of 100 inbound calls per month, even if all these calls were from unique users it would only equate to approximately 5% penetration into the marketplace. With the new proposed model we will look to significantly increase the penetration into the market place. This will be achieved by not only continuing to respond to inbound enquiries but by also, establishing an enhanced call centre with a brief to engage a large number of the total businesses in the county with a targeted outbound drive promoting current support available – Start-Up, Proof of Concept, Inward Investment, Growth Vouchers, Organisational Needs Analysis, Training, Apprenticeships etc.

Ensuring these calls are meaningful to the businesses is critical and this will be achieved by targeting particular sectors or sizes of businesses to promote specific products or services that are relevant to them.


An example of this might be a call to a business in the Defence & Security Sector based at Malvern Hills Science Park. The primary focus of the call might be to promote IT apprenticeships however during the call the advisor would also tell the business about 2 other relevant services such as Worcestershire Innovation Wednesday and the Growth Vouchers Scheme. By ensuring the products and services have a natural fit with the business, the engagement is seen as meaningful and not like a cold call.

Tier 2 intervention will be face to face business advice, diagnostic and signposting delivered by a team of 4 high level business advisors and the Project Manager. These business advisors will have high level business skills in addition to in-depth sector specific skills. Three of these four advisors will each take the lead on one of the LEP priority sectors (as identified in the Worcestershire LEP business plan) which are Defence & Security, Agri Tech and Advanced Engineering. The Project Manager will take responsibility for delivering the business advice to the top 100 strategic business engagement companies in addition to managing the overall project. The final business advisor will be responsible for any businesses undergoing significant or rapid growth.

There will be a number of factors that will act as a catalyst for businesses to move from tier 1 to tier 2 intervention and these will be diagnosed via the call centre. These catalysts include but not exclusively; businesses in any of the LEP priority sectors, businesses experiencing sustained growth or rapid growth, medium sized businesses considered to be a cause for concern, businesses trading internationally etc.

Consultant GroupTo support the 4 high level business advisors there will be a group of co-opted specialists who will provide ad hoc specialists advice when the business advisors require high level support for complex issues. These specialist consultants could be selected on an annual basis through an interview process or alternatively there maybe other proposals that the LEP board would prefer to consider.

FUNDING

A first draft estimate of the delivery of the service as outlined above could be in the region of £667k. If we assume that the LEP will contribute £250k, then this would leave a first year contribution of £417K from WCC.

Whilst funding is available to support year 1 of the project from both the LEP and WCC, it is anticipated that some funding, albeit possibly reduced, will continue into year 2 from WCC and the LEP. In subsequent years it is anticipated that the level of WCC funding will reduce by £50k per year, on the assumption that the level of funding from the LEP continues at the same rate. Any increased turnover of the Chamber which is directly related to the delivery of this programme could then perhaps be one of the scenarios that will meet the funding gap.

Recognising the need to build a sustainable model there are a number of other possible funding avenues that will be pursued post July 2015. These avenues include but not exclusively,

EU Funds – Given there is some match funding available (possibly the WCC contribution) then there is the possibility that this could be matched with European money. Whilst this could in effect double the pot, consideration would need to be given to the relevant outputs associated with the funding and whether or not the delivery of these outputs would have an adverse effect on delivery of WBC.

Other Contributions – Currently the district councils do not contribute to the overall running costs of WBC and yet they are able to benefit from the service. It maybe possible to negotiate some contribution from the districts on behalf of the project in alignment with delivery of key outputs locally.


Marketing of Current EU Bids – In discussion with the LEP it is possible that stipulations could be placed into future projects to top slice a proportion of the overall project budget and divert this funding to WBC to fund the marketing of the project.

Charging Mechanisms – As part of a long term sustainability plan one of the solutions would be to develop a bid writing service for business and to charge a percentage of the bid for any successful applications.

MARKETING & RESEARCH

Whist the new model will provide a proactive, rather than reactive approach to marketing with the outbound call centre, it is essential to continue to invest in some marketing activities thought the year. Dependant on budget this may include advertising, sponsorship or delivery of events, with the main focus on maintaining the strength and positioning of the existing brand with the county.

An essential part of the marketing costs of the project will be the ongoing maintenance of the website. This is a vital tool to drive traffic to the call centre and to provide relevant information on current funded projects. Developing a sound platform from which to share relevant data with partners is essential and this will be a critical activity in the first 6 months of the project.

Another essential piece of marketing work will be to map the delivery of local business support. This will not only provide intelligence to the team of business advisors and call centre staff, but also to the wider business community.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITES

Find it in WorcestershireWhilst the initial discussions have not include the delivery of Find It in Worcestershire, as it is still under contract, the Chamber would be keen to encompass this in the proposal. The Chamber delivers over 200 events each year, ranging from small business breakfast to 1000 delegate exhibitions. Whilst this would be an additional cost to the proposal, the existing infrastructure that the Chamber has to deliver events of this calibre could be maximised and therefore the cost of delivery would be significantly reduced.

Connecting Business and schoolsAs part of the British Chambers of Commerce national campaign, ‘Business is good for Young People’, the Chamber are currently engaging in a UK wide pilot scheme to increase schools membership across the two counties. Engaging education providers with businesses is a central part of this and the Chamber are currently looking to establish a membership offer to deliver part of this service. This offer would include activities such as; support with engaging the business community, finding business governors, support with skills such as interview techniques, careers advice and work experience and much more.

Recognising that there is a need to look to commission out other services from within WCC, the Chamber feel this could be an ideal opportunity to combine both the WBC delivery with the Connecting Business and Schools project. As the main aim would be to build a sustainable membership model, where schools pay circa £3k per annum for delivery of a range of services, this activity would obviously need some pump prime funding to maintain the existing infrastructure (website, portal and current activities) however in the long term it would require little if any investment from WCC.


Appendix 1

5.0 GROWTH DEAL UPDATE

WLEP BOARD RECOMMENDATION3. That the Board notes progress made in implementing projects supported in Growth

Deal Rounds 1 and 2.

4. That the Board instruct the Executive Team to develop Full business Cases for those schemes already approved at outline by Government as listed in 5.3.7.

5. That an over programming margin of 10% be added to the approved budget of £13.4m in 2015/2016

5.1 GROWTH DEAL - CURRENT POSITION

5.1.1 The Growth Deal itself comprises a suite of documents that both define the activity being funded and prescribe the way in which that activity is to be developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated.

5.1.2 Prior to drawing down Growth Deal Round 1 funds i.e. 1st April 2015, we are required to develop an Assurance Framework and a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework in the context of national guidance.

5.1.3 The National Assurance Framework was issued on 9th December 2014 and addresses five aspects:

LEP Governance and Decision Making

Local Authority partnership working across the LEP

Transparent decision making

Accountable decision making

Ensuring value for money; prioritisation, appraisal, business case development and risk management

5.1.4 The LEP Executive has been working with the Accountable Body to develop a Local Assurance Framework which deals with all these issues and builds on established practices here and elsewhere.

5.1.5 The Worcestershire Assurance Framework was approved by the Programme Delivery Group on 17th March 2015. This has subsequently been endorsed by the S151 Officer for our Accountable Body which was a pre-requisite to the Government issuing the full £13.4m grant to the LEP.

5.1.6 The purpose of the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework is to describe the process for maintaining a regular record of project delivery and for providing constructive evaluations of the project process, impacts and outcomes.

5.1.7 It also outlines the metrics that will inform delivery via monitoring, as well as evaluations that take place subsequent to project completion and needs to be read in conjunction with the WLEP Assurance Framework.

5.1.8 The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework was also approved, Programme Delivery Group and both Frameworks are available on request.

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5.2 GROWTH DEAL PROJECTS - UPDATE

5.2.1 A total of £39.3 Round 1 Growth Deal funds were made available to Worcestershire Local Enterprise to invest in the following projects:

Starting in 2015/2016 Starting in 2016/2017

Worcester Technology Park

Malvern Hills Science Park

Centre of Vocational Excellence

Broadband

Flood Alleviation

Hoobrook Link Road

Southern Link Road

Worcestershire Parkway Station

Kidderminster Railway Station

5.2.2 In addition to the Growth Deal funds, the LEP is also in receipt of £7.7m of Local Transport Body funds to apply to the Hoobrook Link Road, Southern Link Road and Worcestershire Parkway Station.

5.2.3 Therefore, the total investment available to the LEP to invest in these schemes is £47m on the following profile:

Funding Stream 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 Total

Growth Deal 1 £9.5m £20m £9.8m £39.3m

Local Transport Body £3.9m £3m £0.8m £7.7m

Total £13.4m £23m £10.6m £47m

5.2.4 Table 1 provides an update on the current position in respect of the delivery of each of these projects. The ‘LGF Base Budget’ shown in Table 1 is as originally agreed with Government in September 2014.

5.2.5 The Autumn Statement for 2014 announced a second round of Growth Deal of £1 billion to be made available to all 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships. Taking into account the £6 billion already committed for Growth Deal Round 1, this represents of total commitment of £7 billion of the £12 billion announced by Government. The profiles of funds being:

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

£164m £150m £150m £268m £268m

5.2.6 Based on a per capital allocation, Worcestershire could have expected total funding in the order of £10m although Government were keen to point out that any allocation would be based on the quality of Strategic Economic Plans and project proposals as well as the credibility of the individual LEPs.

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5.2.7 It is important to note at this stage that not all of the notional £10m would be made available directly to Worcestershire LEP as 50% of the North Worcestershire allocation would be given to Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. In the event, on 5th January 2015, a direct allocation of £7.2m was made available to Worcestershire LEP based on the following profile:

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

£1.2m £1.1m £1.1m £1.9m £1.9m

5.2.8 Assuming that 50% of our allocation for North Worcestershire has gone to GBSLEP, this means that GBSLEP has received c £2.4m for investment in North Worcestershire resulting in a total allocation for the County of £9.6m (£7.2m + £2.4m).

5.2.9 In addition to receiving an expenditure profile, a proposal was made based on the development of three discrete but related programmes as outlined in Table 2. The benefit of this approach being that, if accepted by Greg Clark, it provides us with an investment programme for business, skills and infrastructure against which we can fund individual projects.

5.2.10 The next stage in developing these programmes is to work up a business case for each area and secure Government sign off to each. At this point, the WLEP is able to develop and approve individual projects within the context of the approved business cases.

5.2.11 Whilst the funding made available to us is to be welcomed, it clearly isn’t sufficient to fund the large scale road infrastructure projects that were identified in the SEP as being key to the economic growth of the County. These being:

M5 Junction 6

Southern Link Road – dualling the Carrington Bridge

A38 Bromsgrove Corridor

5.2.12 Our current thinking in respect of future Growth Deal rounds is to incrementally increase the budgets available to the programmes identified above and promote projects from within those programmes. However, we should also consider including a discrete number of schemes that whilst they may not directly align with these programmes, contribute significantly to the delivery of our Strategic Economic Plan.

5.3 PROGRAMME SCENARIOS

5.3.1 Given the additional flexibility secured by the LEP, we are now able to manage our Growth Deal programme as a single entity i.e. not treat Rounds 1 and 2 as individual programmes with their own budgets.

5.3.2 As a result, we currently have a 6 year programme totalling £46.5m as shown below as well as a Local Transport Body programme over 3 years totalling £7.7m.

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Funding Stream

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Total

Growth Deal

£9.5m £22.2m £10.9 £1.1m £1.9m £1.9m £46.5m

Local Transport Body

£3.9m £3m £0.8m £7.7m

Total £13.4m £24.2m £11.7m £1.1m £1.9m £1.9m £54.2m

5.3.3 Managing the programme in this way allows the LEP to vire budgets between projects and introduce new schemes to reduce the risk of underspending at year end.

5.3.4 This is particularly significant for the LEP as the ‘LGF Base Budget’, agreed in September 2015, is no longer relevant for all projects identified in Table 1. For example, Phase 2 of the Broadband project, i.e. the extension from 90% to 95% coverage will not start on site until Phase 1 is complete in June 16 and therefore is not in a position to defray £2.4m capital in 2015/2016

5.3.5 In addition, LEP funding was secured for Phase 4 of the Malvern Hills Science Park. However, the project started on site in January 2015 using investment from Worcestershire County Council and therefore, the LEP investment for this particular phase is no longer required. The Board will wish to reflect on whether to retain the notional £4m investment for a future phase of Malvern Hills Science Park or another yet to be detained priority.

5.3.6 Clearly there are any number of scenarios that reflect the potential outturn for any given project. However, what is clear is that to achieve a programme outturn of £13.4m, an over programming margin of at least 10% i.e. £1.3m - £1.5m is required. Therefore, the LEP should be aiming for a 2015/2016 outturn of £15m. To achieve this figure, the Board are recommended to instruct the Executive Team to develop to Full Business Case approval all projects signed off at Strategic Business Case by Government i.e.:

a. Worcester Technology Park

b. Centre of Vocational Excellence

c. Broadband

d. Flood Alleviation

e. Hoobrook Link Road

f. Southern Link Road

g. Parkway Station

h. Kidderminster Station

i. Vale Park, Evesham

j. META Project, South Worcestershire College

k. Cathedral Square, Worcester

5.3.7 In addition, the Executive Team will be working with the relevant Sub Groups to develop a pipeline of projects within the context of the three approved funds i.e. Business Growth, Skills Capital and Housing and Employment Infrastructure.

Ian EdwardsGrowth Deal Project Manager

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Project Project Phase

2015/2016 LGF Base

Budget

2016/2017 LGF Base

Budget

2017/2018 LGF Base

Budget

TotalKey Milestones Significant Risks

Worcester Technology Park

Business Case

£1,000,000 £4,000,000 £0 £5,000,000 Planning permission granted 5th March 2015 Future Reserved Matters

planning applications refused

Capacity of WCC contractor to deliver alongside other priorities

Development Agreement signed 31st March 2015

Off-Site Detailed Design complete 17th April 2015

Target Price Agreed 30th May 2015

Off-Site Highways construction commences

30th June 2015

Off-Site Highways construction completes 30th June 2016

Malvern Hills Science Park

On site £1,000,000 £3,000,000 £0 £4,000,000 Started on site 5th January 2015 Cost overruns due to site conditions (e.g. asbestos etc)

Occupancy by UTC November 2015

Centre of Vocational Excellence

Business Case

£800,000 £0 £0 £800,000 Preferred site identified 31st March 2015 Failure to identify suitable site

Not State Aid compliant @ proposed 50% intervention rate

Business Case submitted 13th March 2015

Independent Appraisal by SFA 27th March 2015

Funding Approval Decision by LEP Board 2nd April 2015

Construction works start July 2015

New facility open September 2015

Table 1 – Growth Deal 1- Current Position

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2015/2016 LGF Base

Budget

2016/2017 LGF Base

Budget

2017/2018 LGF Base

Budget


Broadband Business Case

£2,400,000 £0 £0 £2,400,000 Let Phase 2 contract 31 March 2015 Phase 2 will not start on site until Phase 1 complete

Delays in letting contract due to issues identified during procurement process - e.g. response times to clarification queries etc.

Commence programme roll-out

June 2016

Programme complete December 2017

Flood Alleviation

Business Case

£1,200,000 £2,000,000 £800,000 £4,000,000 Scheme agreed with WCC (New Road) August 2015 Delayed start due to design

issues

Failure to obtain Environment Agency approval

Ability to work on site if it floods during proposed construction window

Business Case approved (New Road) September 2015

Start on site (New Road) October 2015

Scheme complete (New Road) February 2016

Hoobrook Link Road

Business Case

£3,600,000 £0 £0 £3,600,000 Approval/Release of DfT Pinchpoint funding January 2015 Ability to agree acceptable

target price

Capacity of WCC contractor to deliver alongside other priorities

Release of funding from GBSLEP

Contract award 31st March 2015

Commence scheme April 2015

Diversion of overhead Power lines by Western Power

April 2015

Complete scheme March 2016

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2015/2016 LGF Base

Budget

2016/2017 LGF Base

Budget

2017/2018 LGF Base

Budget


Southern Link Road

Approved £3,400,000 £4,000,000 £9,000,000 £16,400,000 Public Engagement December 2014 Risk if public inquiry required addressing any sustained objections to CPO.

Closure of rail bridge dates on Phase 3 are missed due to adverse weather or programme slippage

Conflicts with any proposed HA planned works

Securing third party developer contributions

Commence Phase 3A August 2015

Complete Phase 3A November 2016

Commence Phase 3B January 2017

Railway Bridge Possession December 2017

Complete Phase 3B August 2018

Parkway Station

Business Case

£0 £7,500,000 £800,000 £8,300,000 Planning submission - completed Feb 2015 February 2015 Acquisition of land

Project cost exceeds business case assumptions

Failure to achieve timetable sign-off

Network Rail does not approve GRIP3/4 submissions

Environmental issues - need to clear site of reptiles on main development triangle

Network Rail approval of GRIP3/4 in principle March 2015

Timetable Industry Sign-Off April 2015

Planning Decision by WCC June 2015

Commence construction of station May 2016

Station completion date May 2017

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2015/2016 LGF Base

Budget

2016/2017 LGF Base

Budget

2017/2018 LGF Base

Budget


Kidd. Railway Station

Business Case

£0 £2,500,000 £0 £2,500,000 Seek agreement from GBSLEP to run project through WLEP Assurance Framework

March 2015

Securing match funding from GBSLEP

Estimated costs of service diversions escalate scheme costs, forcing redesign.

Feasibility Work complete June 2015

Detailed Design October 2015

Procurement June 2016

Construction commence June 2016

Complete July 2017

£13,400,000 £23,000,000 £10,600,000 £47,000,000

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Table 2 – Growth Deal 2 Proposals

Programme Indicative Budget

Focus Commentary Outputs and Outcomes

Business Growth Fund

£2,000,000 Capital grants to SMEs, largely in our key sectors, to remove barriers to business growth to include refurbishment of premises, new premises, new equipment, etc.

The programme will be informed by, and build on the best practice of, the Worcestershire Expansion Fund the Redundant Building Grant.

£10 million Private Sector Investment by 2020

200 New Jobs by 2020

Skills Capital Fund

£2,200,000 The programme will be run along similar lines to the SFA Skills Capital programme and will include investment in colleges and training providers to enable the delivery of skills programmes addressing LEP’s strategic objectives.

The META project (South Worcestershire College) already proposed and well received by Government will be funded under this programme.

The LEP executive will work with FE college principals to develop a programme of investment.

600 new Apprenticeships relating to Key Sectors by 2020

3000 Higher Level skills qualifications relating to Key Sectors by 2020

Employment and Housing Infrastructure Fund

£3,000,000 The programme will be used to unlock the development potential of sites across the County though the provision of infrastructure. This relates to sites beyond the 4 Game Changers.

The Vale Park project already proposed and well received by Government will be funded under this programme.

Other sites supported by the programme will be consistent with the aforementioned SEP Transport Infrastructure Programme and the SEP City and Town Centre Investment Programme.

24ha of serviced development land by 2020

£90 million of private sector investment by 2025

6000 jobs on serviced sites by 2025.

Total £7,200,000

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6.0 DASHBOARD OF PERFORMANCE METRICS

David Irish will do presentation to the Board.

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7.0 WLEP BUSINESS PLAN 2015-2018

WLEP BOARD RECOMMENDATION1. To endorse the final draft of the 3-5 year business plan framework with key

measures connected to the delivery of the 10 year Strategic Economic Plan.2. To agree the development of a prioritised 15-16 WLEP Business Plan with further

input from partners to reflect the 15/16 budget resources and the creation of a risk register to be presented at the May WLEP Board.

7.1 CONTEXT

7.1.1 The development of the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) provided the strategic direction for the County to create economic growth and jobs for a 10 year period. All partners signed up to the SEP and the Growth Deal has now part funded a number of priority projects. Other revenue based projects such as business finance have been developed in readiness for the new EU programme.

7.1.2 At the November 2014 Board meeting the Board agreed that WLEP needed a Delivery Framework (‘the Framework’) to capture all the targets and measures which led to the priorities stated in the SEP and that the OGSM (Objectives, Goals, Strategic Priorities and Measures) approach would be adopted. This would then allow resources to be focussed on those priorities and monitoring of performance against the 2025 targets could be maintained.

7.1.3 The Framework is intended to form the basis for strategic planning for the next 3-5 years and as presented comprises five discrete areas as follows. A ‘Top Level’ Delivery Framework providing a programme overview across all sub group themes; Business Growth, Employment and Skills, Profiling and Promotion and Planning, Development and Infrastructure.

7.2 PROPOSAL

7.2.1 In the January Board meeting the draft business plan was presented and feedback was gathered from the Board. The Framework has since been presented to each of the main sub groups to develop the priorities for each of the thematic sub groups ie Employment and Skills, Business Growth, Planning Infrastructure and Development and Profile and Promotion. WLEP has undertaken a business consultation event to gain input and sharpen the measures and activity of the second tier of the OGSM framework.

7.2.2 On the 11 March, WLEP held a business focused consultation event on the WLEP business and gained feedback from the business community regarding the framework.

7.2.3 The outcome of this feedback has now created a more focused Framework which allows for the development of a project pipeline to be created while measuring the effect of WLEP interventions.

7.2.4 The measures are designed to be from national or readily available data sources and therefore avoiding regular data collection or commissioning trend analysis year on year.

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7.3 DELIVERY/ACTIONS

7.3.1 The WLEP Executive will now draw up a one year WLEP business plan focusing on key deliverables over the 12 month period. This document will bring together the resources of the WLEP, its financial budget and create key outcomes for the financial year.

7.3.2 The one year business plan will bring together the financial resources from the European programme, Growth Deal and the LEP Core Funding to create a programme of deliverable projects and this will create a framework of reporting progress back to the Board through the Sub Group reports.

7.3.2 WLEP have the risks assessed for the delivery of the EU programme and Growth Deal projects, however, the WLEP does not have a risk register for the organisation. It is proposed that a Risk Register is created to complement the one year business plan.

7.3.3 It proposed that the WLEP Business Plan is then launched at the end of May/start of June, in order to create the management framework to respond to the next Central Government administration early initiatives.

Gary WoodmanExecutive Director

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Delivery Framework for Employment and SkillsOverall objective: To build an internationally recognised, highly competitive, innovative business location with better productivity and sustainable economic growth Overall goals: 25k extra jobs, 2.9bn increase in GVA, 21.5k extra homes, by 2025, from 2013 baseline

Objectives Goals Strategic priorities

1 Improve skill levels with focus on STEM, Cyber and Agri-tech skills

Increase average salary levels by 3% by 2018

No. of residents with NVQ4+ increased by 4.5% by 2018

Monitor employment and skills programmes to identify and address gaps

Initial plan in place by May 2015

Increase the levels of competence in STEM skills

Feasibility study for UTC by May 2015HWGTA open Sept’ 2015Prospectus for what STEM training is available for schools by Sept’ 2015Have 800 Engineering Apprenticeships filled from training providers by 2014/15

Increase the levels of competence in Agri-tech skills

Develop a skills strategy for the Agritech Sector by June 2015

2. Provide businesses with the skills they need through better connections with education

750 businesses offering work placements by 2016/17

Provide young people with careers guidance for getting a job within Worcs.

Careers progression guide – IT & engineering and horticulture rolled out by Spring 2015Portal roll-out – 150 businesses on portal by Autumn 2016Skills competency tool – registration levels 2500 by September 2015Next steps for Careers Advice Trailblazer project Spring

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Objectives Goals Strategic Priorities Measures

To build an internationally recognised,

competitive, innovative business

location with

productivity

sustainable economic

25k extra jobs by 2025

£2.9 bn increase in

GVA by 2025

21.5k extra homes by

2025

People: Employment & skills

1.Improve skill levels with focus on STEM, Cyber and Agri-tech skills

Increase average salary levels by 3% by 2018No. of residents with NVQ4+ increased by 4.5% by 2018

2. Provide businesses with the skills they need through better connections with education

750 businesses offering work placements by 2016/17To ensure that the number of individuals participating in an apprenticeship remains at, or as close to, 10,000 each year.

3.Increase the number of opportunities with focus on disadvantaged groups

Increase the proportion of economically active individuals by 2% by 2018

Business growth

1.Help businesses to grow through providing the right support, access to finance and reducing regulatory burden

Proportion of surviving start-ups that reach £1m (metric growth TBC)Proportion of “high growth” businesses (metric growth TBC)Levels of exports increased from 17%, to 25% by 2025

2.Develop an environment where innovation can flourish with a focus on agri-tech, cyber and STEM

% employees in knowledge-driven industries (metric growth TBC)

Place: Planning, infrastructure & development

1. Increase the quantity and quality of commercial floorspace across the County

£750m private sector investment secured in commercial development by 2017550,000 sqft of new or improved commercial floorspace (over 2013)

2.Develop transport infrastructure to allow business to grow and accelerate housing development

Reduce congestion and travel time on key routes over 2014 baseline.

3. Improve non-transport infrastructure to allow businesses to grow

Increase take up and use of superfast broadband by 20% of SMEs by 2017/18Increase the options for renewable heat and energy supply for x % businesses by 2020 (metric growth TBC)

4. Increase the housing stock to support business growth

Profiling and promotionPromote Worcestershire to encourage inward investment, retain businesses & raise the profile as a business location & tourist destination

To create 1500 FDI jobs by 2018

Increase the economic impact of tourism expenditure (figure TBC)

To ensure that the number of individuals participating in an apprenticeship remains at, or as close to, 10,000 each year.

2015.Ensure teachers have right levels of training & understanding of local employers needs

CPD careers training – Annual CPD opportunities to be launched September 2015

Increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities and the uptake level from young people

Apprenticeship clearing house in place by Sept 2015

Increase the number of graduate opportunities

Support for graduate recruitment in place by March 2016

3. Increase the number of opportunities with focus on disadvantaged groups

Increase the proportion of economically active individuals

by 2% by 2018

To support the most disadvantaged individuals and those furthest from the labour market to overcome barriers to participation

To provide support for 10,200 inactive individuals through the European Social Fund by 2021.

To promote inclusive labour markets by providing jobseekers, inactive people and NEETs with intensive tailored support, skills and training.

Reduce the number of NEET individuals in Worcestershire by 10% by 2018.

To ensure the claimant count, and youth (18-24) claimant count proportions continue to decrease or maintain the current low level.

Note: initial Social Economic Inclusion model developed by July 2015 which will impact all three objectives

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Delivery Framework for Business Growth

Overall objective: To build an internationally recognised, highly competitive, innovative business location with better productivity and sustainable economic growth Overall goals: 25k extra jobs, 2.9bn increase in GVA, 21.5k extra homes, by 2025, from 2013 baseline

Objectives Goals Strategic priorities Measures

1.Help businesses to grow through providing the right support, access to finance and reducing regulatory burden

Proportion of surviving start-ups that reach £1m (metric growth TBC)

Proportion of “high growth” businesses (metric growth TBC)

Levels of exports increased from 17%, to 25% by 2025

Providing businesses access to finance to help them grow

1605 businesses supported by 2022

Reducing regulatory burdens for businesses, focusing on priority growth sectors

Agri-tech framework commences in April 2015 and completed by March 2017

Create a 1-stop shop for public and private sector advice and support

5,000 businesses engaged on growth hub by March 2016

Engage and support businesses that are in the priority growth sectors and / or experiencing significant growth

550 business engaged by 2022

2.Develop an environment where innovation can flourish with a focus on agri-tech, cyber and STEM

% employees in knowledge-driven industries (metric growth TBC)

Linking up businesses to share ideas and encourage innovation

Innovation network established by end 2015

Helping businesses to get a new ideas off the ground

Innovation incubator completed by April 2015Proof of concept fund – 80 businesses supported and 52 jobs created by 2018 (from 2015 base)

Connecting universities & businesses to access the innovation happening within academia

# businesses supported (metric growth TBC)

Notes:

Access to finance – includes monitor progress of West Midlands fund of funds and overseeing Worcestershire Expansion Programme grant scheme, acting as a broker and creator of funds

Reducing regulatory burden – pioneering a UK pilot for simplified regulatory compliance to help SMEs expand (unique across all LEPs). Starting with agri-tech and then developing similar frameworks for other priority growth sectors

1 stop shop – includes input and lobby for an enhanced Growth Hub (building on Business Central model), agree what it should compromise and how it’s managed going forwards

Supporting growth businesses – additional tailored support for growing companies and those in growth sectors, assumes the use of brokers; includes supporting development of “Advised in Worcestershire” and golden envelope concept (from away day) and localised advice clinics

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Delivery framework for Place: Planning, Development & Infrastructure



1. Increase the quantity and quality of commercial floorspace across the County

£750m private sector investment secured in commercial development by 2017550,000 sqft of new or improved commercial floorspace (over 2013 baseline)

Implement Game Changer site development programme

Commence construction of the Worcester Technology Park by Summer 2015Commence construction of Phase 4 of the Malvern Hills Science Park by April 2015

Develop prioritised locations for future Growth Deal investments Potential sites identified by July 2015

Establish a consistent and focused planning and development management process across Worcestershire that supports development

Option for Local Development Order analysed by August 2015

Review the Planning and development Charter and Action Plan by July 2015

4. Develop transport infrastructure to allow business to grow and accelerate housing development

Reduce congestion and travel time on key routes over 2014 baseline.

Key roads:-Southern Link Road-M5- A38- A46Key rail:-Worcestershire Parkway-Kidderminster Station

Commence construction of Hoobrook Link Road in June 2015Commence construction of Phase 3 of Southern Link Road in September 2015Commence construction of Pershore Lane improvement scheme by June 2015Secure property agreements in advance of construction of Worcestershire Parkway by December 2015Secure match funding for Kidderminster Station improvement scheme by June 2015

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5. Improve non-transport infrastructure to allow businesses to grow

Increase take up and use of broadband by SMEs

Increase the options for renewable heat and energy supply

Increasing broadband availabilityPublicising benefits of broadband to SMEs

Make broadband available to 95% of businesses and homes by 2017

Energy Security

Complete Heat Mapping for potential Heat Networks by end of October 2015Complete desktop assessment of geothermal potential for renewable heat by September 2015

Flood Resilience

Develop economic model to assess impact of flooding on County economy by August 2015Commence construction on New Road scheme by December 2015

8. Increase the housing stock to support business growth

Facilitate the construction of 21.5k homes as a direct result of WLEP investment in site assembly and infrastructure

Remove infrastructure barriers to private sector investment in the development of new homes

Develop County wide Housing Implementation Plan by April 2015

NotesObjective 1: Increase the quantity and quality of commercial floorspace across the County- JPV – should it be included as a strategic priority, - The Local Development Order (listed as a measure) supports the food and drink supply chain in

Wychavon, and is a DEFRA sponsored initiative- Should the planning & development process be a separate objective or kept as a strategic

priority under this first objective?- The Planning & development charter prioritises the delivery of the SEP Spatial plan, Game

changer programme and Growth deal.

Need to ensure that Environmental sustainability is incorporated across the measures; includes joint working with WLNP (Worcester Local Nature Partnership)

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Delivery framework for Profile & Promotion



Promote Worcestershire to encourage inward investment, retain businesses & raise the profile as a business location & tourist destination

To create 1500 FDI jobs by 2018

Increase the economic impact of tourism expenditure (figure TBC)

Further develop and maximise the use of the “World Class Worcestershire” brand

Profile Worcestershire and it’s key achievements through a communications campaign covering media, events, publications, web & social media

An agreed marketing and communications plan to be in place at the beginning of every financial year.

Develop partnerships with key stakeholders

Notes:

Brand development activities will include:

- identity guidelines for World Class Worcestershire collateral

- key messages to profile the county as a place to live, work, visit and invest

- tier two World Class Worcestershire document profiling key Game changer investment sites

Communications campaign: Measures within the comms plan will include: Media coverage; number & attendance at events; distribution of publications; web hits; # enquiries from investors e.g. to [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

8.0 EU STRUCTURAL INVESTMENT FUND STRATEGY UPDATE

WLEP BOARD RECOMMENDATIONThe WLEP Board is recommended to:

a) note the EU Structural Investment Fund update nationally

b) note the continuing respective Government, Worcestershire LEP, Worcestershire EUSIF Committee responsibilities

c) note WLEP progress with Opt Ins, particularly proposed further development work relating to the DWP Opt In

8.1 EUSIF National Position

8.1.1 Government negotiations with the European Commission (EC) are continuing on the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Operational Programmes which will set out the local-to-national business process and requirements for all EU programmes and projects in the UK. In this context, the WLEP received a letter from Lord Ahmad on 17 February 2015 (see Item 3 Correspondence) which effectively confirmed:

Managing Authorities must make decisions on individual projects as the European Commission does not regard the LEPs and partners to be compliant if involved in direct decision-making.

UK Government is now proceeding with a revised model for LEPs and partners in an advisory capacity in order to avoid a further substantial delay and allow programmes to commence as soon as possible to fund jobs and growth initiatives.

UK Government is continuing its discussions with the European Commission on the draft Operational Programmes as a key priority; in principle agreement was reached in February 2015 to allow the launch of early calls for projects in March 2015.

Formal adoption of the Operational Programmes by the European Commission is expected in June 2015 and will be accompanied by Government Guidance.

8.1.2 The WLEP received a further letter from Lord Ahmad on 20 March 2015 (see Item 3 Correspondence) which confirmed the commencement of early calls under EUSIF 2014-20 following agreement with the European Commission on detailed principles in key areas. This step allows programmes to progress local development priorities expressed in the draft Operational Programmes and based around the Priority Axes and investment priorities namely:

research and innovation supporting small and medium enterprises creating a low carbon economy increasing labour market participation promoting social inclusion developing people’s skills supporting micro and small rural business investing in small scale renewable and broadband investments supporting tourism activities

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8.1.3 The UK Government began issuing calls on 20 March 2015 which reflected prior discussions with each LEP and ESIF Committee on local economic growth conditions. Further calls for programmes and projects will occur in either June 2015 or October 2015 and then on a quarterly basis thereon. All calls are set out on GOV.UK with supporting advice including latest Draft Operational programmes, outline application forms, guidance and criteria.

8.1.4 One notable feature is the EAFRD (Rural Development) Operational Programme which was approved fully by the European Commission in February 2015. Defra, as the Managing Authority, announced first calls under this programme in five LEP areas including Worcestershire LEP area. The early focus is on support for small business development and food processing in the horticulture sector.

8.2 Worcestershire ESIF Committee

8.2.1 The first meeting of the Shadow Worcestershire ESIF Committee was held on 27 January 2015. The ESIF Committee representatives received a full briefing on the WLEP’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and European Structural Investment Fund Strategy (ESIF) Strategy to understand the context and ambitions which EU programmes and projects are expected to fulfil. The ESIF Committee was also briefed on its interim roles and responsibilities, collectively and individually, until the Operational Programmes and Guidance are approved.

8.2.2 The Shadow ESIF Committee met again on 25 February to receive an update from DCLG and Defra, Managing Authorities, on European Commission negotiations. Chris Hallam, Santander was nominated and agreed as the Chair. The most urgent task was for the Committee to agree, in principle, the Priorities and Thematic Objectives which would be the subject of March Calls which are as follows:

Priority Axis Indicative Budget -Whole Programme

Focus of First Call Indicative Allocation/Budgets

PA1 Innovation £5m Proof of Concept Fund (Catalyst to drive innovation of products and SMEs)

£1.3m

PA3 SME Competitiveness

£15.2m UKTI (Food/Defence and Security International Trade Advisors for Business Growth Service);Growth Accelerator (Leadership and Management)

£1.25m (3 Years)

£0.5m (2 Years)

PA4 Low Carbon £6.1m Resource Efficiency Programme (Promoting Energy Efficiency in SMEs)

£1.3m

Technical Assistance (National Call)

Up to 2% of ERDF & ESF Technical Assistance

Project Development, Capacity-building, fund promotion, Sustainable Urban Development (ERDF only)

EAFRD £2.3m Horticulture Expansion Fund

£300k

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8.2.3 The ESIF Committee selected specific March Calls which reflected successful delivery and achievement during the existing EU Programmes period. This pragmatic focus will enable key priorities to continue, transform and target greater ambition into the 2014-2020 period. The ESIF Committee delegated completion of the details to the WLEP Executive and ESIF Committee Chair through discussions with respective Government Leads.

8.2.4 In alignment with Government publishing the March Calls, DCLG advised the ESIF Committee immediately and the WLEP updated its partners and networks through an announcement on the WLEP website with a link to GOV.UK as well as issuing a Special Edition of the e-zine and corresponding Press Releases.

8.2.5 Once the Government has secured Operational Programme Approvals, the Shadow Worcestershire LEP ESIF Committee will be given its formal status and remit alongside the national Programme Monitoring Committee/Growth Programme Board (PMC/GPB) and other national Sub-Committees focusing on EU programme themes, audit and performance management. Subject to the Government’s timescale, the next ESIF Committee is intended for May/June 2015.

8.3 Opt In Progress

8.3.1 The WLEP ESIF Strategy 2014 sets out the strategic ESF funding intention as follows:

TO8 Employment £ 8,690,510TO9 Social Economic Inclusion £ 5,865,921TO10 Skills £14,597,179Total £29,153,610

WLEP estimates that with match funding, there will be an overall combined ERDF/ESF total of £58,307,220. In terms of ESF sources of match this breaks down into £10,905,162 (Public), £3,250,000 (Private/Civil Society) and £14,998,448 (Opt-Ins). WLEP will Opt In with DWP, Big Lottery Fund and Skills Funding Agency across the above three ESIF themes.

In terms of driving the Social Economic Inclusion cross cutting theme forwards and embedding commitments across TO8, TO9 and TO10, the involvement of DWP, BLF, SFA, third and public sectors, the latter including local authorities, will also be required. The estimated breakdown of £5.9m co-finance is DWP (£1m) SFA (£1.2m) BLF (£1.7m) and £2m to be matched

8.3.2 Positive and constructive negotiations with the Big Lottery Fund (BLF) and the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) have now concluded in agreement. ESIF BLF Calls in Worcestershire will occur in June and October 2015. SFA will apply to the Managing Authority for its funding in Mid-April. The WLEP Executive is liaising with respective Government leads to shape the Call details.

8.3.3 The WLEP and DWP negotiations have proceeded constructively during the last year. Discussions have focused on Worcestershire’s requirements for a localised tailored package approach for beneficiaries as defined in the WLEP’s SEP and ESIF and the expected “fit” of any national programmes proposed by DWP, SFA, BLF, UKTI, MAS etc. to the local landscape and WLEP objectives and priorities. By February 2015, the text had been mutually agreed to suit local and national perspectives. The WLEP requires DWP national programmes to fit into a tailored package approach for any individual moving on their specific journey from workless-ness into employment or entrepreneurship. This will ensure that no duplications or gaps arise between any providers as well as ensuring that delivery does not continue in silos but joins up more effectively to provide various permutations of suitable support for any individual.

38

However, during February 2015, DWP indicated that its match funding would be in-kind only. The WLEP has challenged the DWP with reference to its original prospectus (DWP LEP Prospectus V.02 September 2013) and calculations which have been made since submitting the original WLEP ESIF Strategy. The WLEP believes strongly that the original guidance makes it clear that “match funding” means that DWP will co-finance the Worcestershire allocation as set out. It does not state that match will be “in-kind” only and ultimately involve financing DWP/Provider staff time. At no point since this guidance was published has the WLEP been advised that there is a different definition for “match funding”.

8.3.5 In March 2015, DWP responded and confirmed further that DWP match fund will be in-kind only and, in effect, will be the DWP Work Programme and that there is no other option available. Essentially, DWP will identify how much of the Work Programme is needed as match, which is based on how much funding/participants the WLEP has identified for the DWP Opt In. As the WLEP Service Delivery Plan has asked DWP to deliver ESF provision between 2015-17 to a total of 1440 participants at a cost of £2,603,904, DWP will need to identify Work Programme funding and participants to those values which will act as the” match”. This can apply to anyone in the country and does not necessarily relate to Worcestershire.

8.3.6 The WLEP queries the fundamental Opt In benefit to Worcestershire as match “in-kind” would result in a prohibitively expensive cost per output and no actual match funding would effectively double the costs to Worcestershire. Furthermore, the DWP national work programmes still have to deliver in Worcestershire and the implications of DWP only matching “in-kind” means that Worcestershire would receive limited material benefit. As DWP negotiations have progressed in parallel with the UK Government negotiations with the European Commission, it is becoming very clear that localities have limited influence in steering any national programmes to local delivery. However, if there is a local solution to match the ESIF allocation, Worcestershire may get additional benefit from a locally targeted programmes as well as the DWP delivery of its national programmes.

8.3.7 The WLEP Board therefore needs to consider other options before it finally decides whether it would Opt In or Out of the DWP offer. Discussions by the WLEP and key partners (County Council, District Councils, Worcestershire housing providers etc.) are underway to explore and define a potential alternative option which will be presented to the WLEP Board meeting in May for a final decision. A final decision would still be sufficiently in advance of the next round of Calls planned by Government for June 2015.

8.4 Partners and Engagement

8.4.1 The WLEP has conducted comprehensive consultations and engaged partners representing public, private and third sectors across Worcestershire throughout its SEP and ESIF process. The WLEP has been able to draw representation from the segmented interests described in Government Guidance to establish the Shadow Worcestershire LEP ESIF Committee. A wide range of partners and interested parties are involved in the process to scope and develop the EUSIF Implementation Plan and EAFRD (Rural Development) Programme Implementation Plan.

Claire BridgesStrategy and Partnership Executive

39

9.0 FINANCE, AUDIT & RISK COMMITTEE

WLEP BOARD RECOMMENDATION

To note and agree the actions from the meeting on Tuesday 17 March 2015.

9.1 Context

9.1.1 The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (FAR) meet 3 times a year or more regularly, if required. The membership of the FAR Committee is Chris Walklett (LEP Board), Tony King (LEP Sub Group), Stuart Laverick (LEP Board – Education) and Cllr. Margaret Sherry (LEP Board – Local Government). The Committee is supported by the LEP Executive and the Accountable body in line with the agreed Memorandum of Understanding.

9.1.2 The timing of the FAR meetings reflects a review of the budget cycle. In February/March to consider the year ahead budget, June/July to consider the end of year accounts and October/November to consider the half year budget position.

9.2 Key Decisions/Actions from the 17 March 2015

9.2.1 The Committee reported the positive meeting with the Accountable Body (Worcestershire County Council) regarding the WLEP audit requirement with the processes and thresholds of the County Council’s External Auditor. It was agreed that the Chair of the FAR Committee would meet with Grant Thornton to provide comfort to the LEP Board on financial probity. The Committee were confident that this would be satisfactory.

9.2.2 A review of the 15/16 proposed budget led to a small increase in the staffing budget to cover any staff pay increases. The LEP Conference was discussed and the budget agreed at £35,000. Also, printed materials for the conference would be budgeted within marketing activity. The income from non-public sector sources was kept the same as 14/15 but the FAR Committee felt the LEP Executive should be set a higher target within the appraisal process to raise external income.

9.2.3 The Committee discussed the handling of reserves which were estimated on 31.3.15 as a budget of £300k (£130k Core, £70k transport and £100k Growth) although recognising these cannot be finalised until end of year. The project activity expenditure budgets will be set with the amounts needed to balance against recorded reserves and therefore it was suggested WLEP use these funds to build the project pipeline of projects for external funding or accelerate delivery of existing ideas and initiatives.

. 9.2.4 The next meeting is to focus on the Risk register for the partnership and review of the 14/15

end of year.

9.2.5 A copy of the minutes of the meeting is enclosed in appendix A.

40

Appendix A

MINUTES OF FINANCE & AUDIT COMMITTEE

Tuesday, 17 March 2015 10.30 am – 12.00 pmBromsgrove District Council Offices

PRESENT:Chris Walklett (Chair) (CW) Business Tax Partner – Bishop Fleming LLPTony King (TK) Group Treasurer - Sanctuary Housing AssociationStuart Laverick (SL) Principal – Heart of Worcestershire CollegeCllr Margaret Sherrey (MS) Councillor Bromsgrove Council

IN ATTENDANCE:Gary Woodman (GW) Worcestershire LEP (WLEP)Sonia Matthews (SM) Worcestershire County Council (WCC)

APOLOGIES:Wendy Pickering (WP) Worcestershire County Council (WCC)

1. Welcome and Agenda

CW welcomed the members of the Committee.

2. Declarations of Interest

No declarations of interest were made.

3. Minutes of the previous meeting – 17 November 2014 and Matter arising

CW/TK outlined the outcome of the meeting with the Senior Audit Manager and Chief Executive of the Accountable Body (Worcestershire County Council) regarding the WLEP audit requirement with the processes and thresholds of the County Council’s External Auditor. Many of the questions that were raised at the meeting of the 17 November 2014 were answered. Following this meeting one of the actions was that CW would meet with Grant Thornton to provide comfort to the LEP Board on financial probity.

ACTION CW to meet with Grant Thornton to discuss the WLEP External Audit needs

The development of the dashboard had been completed by SM and agreed at the Board meeting of the WLEP in Jan 2015.

CW

4. Setting the 2015-16 Budget.

The Committee went through the proposed budget for 15/16. This included deleting the following budget codes:

Core Funding ExpenditureOffice Equipment furniture, External printing, misc services, other fees, computer software licences, computer development, hospitality and promotional expenses.

41

Core Funding IncomeAdministration fees, Other fees

Growth Deal budget IncomeOther fees

to simplify the budget and therefore providing a more focused categories.

The staffing budget was increased by £5,000 to cover any pay rise increase that was approved by the Board. Action to the Appointment and Remuneration Committee.

A discussion took place to consider how the WLEP and Accountable body should handle reserves it was agreed that this would be recorded in the accounts and the balance would be identified in project activities. This project activities fund should be used to support the development of the project pipeline and ensure delivery of the key projects.

Other budget areas were discussed were in relation to level of external consultancy budget and the concern of a level of budget that was perceived as too high to an external person or organisation reviewing the budget.

It was agreed that the conference budget should have a contribution of £35,000, with any printed materials being allocated out of the marketing budget.

It was agreed that SM would make changes and the proposed 15/16 budget would go forward to the Board for approval.

GW

SM

5. Risk Register

The Committee acknowledge that the WLEP had focused on risks of the growth deal projects, risk of delivery of the EU strategy and Strategic Economic Plan. However, the risk register for the organisation needed to be completed. It was agreed that as part of the business plan process the risk register would be developed and brought to the June 2015 meeting.

GW

6. A O B / Next Meeting

Next meeting date – 9th June 2015

42

10.0 BUDGET

WLEP BOARD RECOMMENDATION:a) Note the position of spend on the LEP Budget to February 2015 within the

financial year 2014/15.b) Note the key highlights in the budget dashboardc) Approve the 15/16 budget

10.1 Context

10.1.1 The LEP, with the support of the accountable body, Worcestershire County Council, meet bi-monthly as part of budget monitoring process.

10.1.2 The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee have recommended the budget for 15/16 following a meeting on 17th March 2015.

10.2 Review

10.2.1 Budget overview to the 28.02.15 as follows:

• Income and expenditure budgets both of £1,035.070;• Net budget (or expected end of year outcome) £0.• Actual total expenditure to 28.02.15 - £650, £466k • Total expenditure and committed at 28.02.15 – £804k • Total expenditure budget remaining - £310k

10.3 15/16 Budget

10.3.1 The WLEP proposed 15/16 budget has been reviewed by the FAR Committee and now recommend this budget is set for 15/16

10.4 Key Elements of the 15/16 Budget

10.4.1 Income – WLEP has a confirmed contribution of £250,000 core funding which has to be matched locally and £250,000 Growth Plan funding. We have an agreed contribution of £150,000 from the Worcestershire Local Government family for 15/16.

10.4.2 Expenditure – WLEP has projected initial budget figures based on 14/15 actual budget

10.4.1 The total executive team staffing budget is split between Core Funding budget – staff pay £260k plus £130k allocated from the Growth Plan budget

10.4.2 Project activity funding is the balance that can be carried forward from the previous financial year. It is proposed that this money is used to support delivery of projects and development of the project pipeline for future Growth Deal programmes. (These are highlighted in green).

10.4.3 It is estimated that the LEP will have £300,000 left in reserves at the end of the financial year. This is broken down as follows in Core Funding £130,000, Transport budget £70,000 is estimated and £100,000 in Growth Plan budget.

43

LEP DASHBOARD 28th February 2015

Original Budget

Current Budget

Exp and Commitments

at 28.2.15 Projection to year end

Variance Under/(over)

spend Reason:£ £ £ £ £

Overall:Core Funding:

Income 625,913 613,913 619,713 (5,800)Income re China and additional events income

Expenditure 625,913 613,913 476,714 137,199 See below for key variancesNet 0 0 142,999 0 (142,999)

Transport:Income 91,579 91,579 128,579 (37,000)Expenditure 91,579 91,579 78,766 12,813Net 0 0 49,813 0 (49,813)

Growth Plan:Income 314,578 329,578 329,578 0Expenditure 314,578 329,578 221,749 107,829 See below for key variancesNet 0 0 107,829 0 (107,829)

Apprenticeship Awards net 0 0 9,525 (9,525)Going to be used towards next years event

Total 0 0 310,166 0 (310,166)

Key Expenditure Variances:

Core Funding Expenditure:

Staff Salaries and HWCC 100,000 230,000 216,810 13,190

Increase in staff and salaries, budgets reprofiled to take into account, also 1/3rd staff costs now shown against growth

Rents 9,000 16,700 16,401 299

New premises moved into during the year, not within the original projection

Project Activity 329,813 139,513 76,953 62,561 UnderspendConference 11,200 42,200 32,323 9,877 UnderspendExhibition and Events 20,000 10,000 15,168 (5,168) OverspendPromotion Expenses 40,000 80,000 60,557 19,443 UnderspendMisc Other Expenses 22,000 42,000 27,686 14,314 Underspend

Transport:Exhibitions and Events 91,579 53,579 28,400 25,179 UnderspendOther Fees 0 15,000 35,444 (20,444) Overspend

Growth Plan Expenditure:

Staff Salaries and HWCC 0 108,000 108,404 (404)

reprofiled budgets to take into account increased staff costs, 1/3rd to be met from growth

Consultant Fees 239,578 146,578 66,295 80,283 UnderspendOther Fees 75,000 75,000 47,050 27,950 Underspend

Does not take into account projected expenditure for the period to the year end

£396,292

£51,139

£176,224

£80,422

£27,627

£45,525

£137,199

£12,813

£107,829

£-

£100,000

£200,000

£300,000

£400,000

£500,000

£600,000

£700,000

Core Funding Transport Growth Plan

WLEP - Expenditure = Core Funding, Transport and Growth Plan as at 31st

February 2015

Expenditure Commitments Budget left

Unallocated, £1,492,892

Committed, £1,800,000

Cricket Club, £1,212,500

Johnson Vellen, £91,815

Hoo Brook, £909,500

Growing Places - £5,518,972 Received

44

LEP Budget Monitoring 2014/15 28/02/2015

(Original Budget) Current Annual

Budget

Income and

Spend to Date

(Feb 15) Committed

(SAP)

Committed (per Gary

W.) Total

Committed

Total spent and

committed Remaining

Budget £ £ £ £ £ £ £

Core Funding:Income:

Balance B/fwd: 195,313 180,313 180,313 0 0 0 180,313 0

DCLG - Core and Capacity Funding 275,600 278,600 278,600 0 0 0 278,600 0Contributions (LA and access to finance) 155,000 155,000 160,800 0 0 0 160,800 -5,800

625,913 613,913 619,713 0 0 0 619,713 -5,800

Expenditure:

Support Costs:Staff and HWCC 100,000 230,000 191,758 0 25,052 25,052 216,810 13,190Other training exps 5,000 5,000 0 0 1,975 1,975 1,975 3,025Travel and Subsistence 10,000 5,000 1,771 0 0 0 1,771 3,229Stationery 5,000 5,000 0 0 0 0 0 5,000Furniture/equipment 2,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Printing 10,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Rent 9,000 16,700 11,822 4,579 0 4,579 16,401 299Computers and software 11,900 17,500 13,087 0 0 0 13,087 4,413Telephone Services 5,000 1,000 0 0 0 0 0 1,000Total Support Costs: 157,900 280,200 218,439 4,579 27,027 31,606 250,044 30,156

Activity Costs:Consultants Fees 45,000 20,000 10,906 13,403 -8,350 5,053 15,959 4,041Project Activity 329,813 139,513 53,700 0 23,253 23,253 76,953 62,561Conference 11,200 42,200 32,323 0 0 0 32,323 9,877Exhibition and Events - Other 20,000 10,000 7,356 7,812 -1,975 5,837 13,193 -3,193Promotion Expenses 40,000 80,000 48,813 11,744 0 11,744 60,557 19,443Misc Other Expenses 22,000 42,000 24,756 7,573 -7,543 30 24,786 17,214Total Activity Costs: 468,013 333,713 177,853 40,532 5,385 45,917 223,770 109,943

625,913 613,913 396,292 45,111 32,412 77,522 473,814 140,099

Balance: 0 0 223,421 -45,111 -32,412 -77,522 145,899 -145,899

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

45

Transport:Income:

Balance B/fwd: 91,579 91,579 91,579 0 0 0 91,579 0

Sponsorship 0 0 37,000 0 0 0 37,000 -37,00091,579 91,579 128,579 0 0 0 128,579 -37,000

Expenditure:Exhibitions and Events 91,579 53,579 28,400 0 0 0 28,400 25,179Promotion Expenses 0 13,000 7,603 736 0 736 8,339 4,661Employees 0 10,000 6,583 0 0 0 6,583 3,417Other Fees 0 15,000 8,553 26,891 -25,000 1,891 10,444 4,556

91,579 91,579 51,139 27,627 -25,000 2,627 53,766 37,813

Balance: 0 0 77,440 -27,627 25,000 -2,627 74,813 -74,813

Growth Plan:Income:

Balance B/fwd: 64,578 79,578 79,578 0 0 0 79,578 0

BIS Growth Plan 250,000 250,000 250,000 0 0 0 250,000 0314,578 329,578 329,578 0 0 0 329,578 0

Expenditure:Staff and HWCC 0 108,000 95,879 0 12,525 12,525 108,404 -404Consultants Fees 239,578 146,578 33,295 0 33,000 33,000 66,295 80,283Other Fees 75,000 75,000 47,050 0 0 0 47,050 27,950

314,578 329,578 176,224 0 45,525 45,525 221,749 107,829

Balance: 0 0 153,354 0 -45,525 -45,525 107,829 -107,829

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Apprentice Awards:Income:

Balance B/fwd: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Event Income 0 0 36,410 0 0 0 36,410 -36,4100 0 36,410 0 0 0 36,410 -36,410

Expenditure:External Printing 0 0 633 0 0 0 633 -633Hospitality 0 0 11,056 0 0 0 11,056 -11,056Other Expenses 0 0 15,122 74 0 74 15,196 -15,196

0 0 26,811 74 0 74 26,885 -26,885

Balance: 0 0 9,599 -74 0 -74 9,525 -9,525

Total Income and b/fwd: 1,032,070 1,035,070 1,114,280 0 0 0 1,114,280 -79,210107.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 107.7% -7.7%

Total Expenditure: 1,032,070 1,035,070 650,466 72,812 52,937 125,748 776,214 258,85662.8% 7.0% 5.1% 12.1% 75.0% 25.0%

Excess of income over expenditure 0 0 463,814.62 -72,812 -52,937 -125,748 0 338,066 -338,066

47

LEP Budget Monitoring 2014/15 28/02/2015

Growing Places

Income and Spend to Date (June 14) Reserve

Date of Decision to

CommitDate of

Advance

Monies Received - Feb 2012 5,518,972.00

Loans Advanced to 31.3.14:Worcester Cricket Club -1,250,000.00 Jan-12 Jul-13Johnson Vellen -91,815.33 Jun-12 Nov-13

Capital and interest receipts to 31.3.14:Interest - Cricket Club 11,417.00Capital - Cricket Club 12,500.00Interest - Johnson Vellen 517.81Capital - Johnson Vellen 0.00

Expenditure to 31.3.14:Ye 31.3.13 -11,600.00Ye 31.3.14 -26,992.30

Balance on growing Places Reserve at 31.3.14 4,162,999.18

Loans Advanced ye 31.3.15:Hoo Brook -909,500.00

Loan Repayments Received ye 31.3.15:Interest Receipts Capital Receipts

Worcester Cricket Club -30.6.14 - £20,977 8,477.00 12,500.00Worcester Cricket Club -30.9.15 - £20,891 8,391.00 12,500.00Johnson Vellen 0.00 0.00

Total Interest Received ye 31.3.15 16,868.00

Expenditure ye 31.3.15:Thomas Lister - Redditch Eastern Gateway 2,100.00Coding correct agreed with Nigel Hudson -Cheyl Perry (was on L50000 / 50030) 375.00

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Total Expenditure ye 31.3.15 2,475.00

Excess of Expenditure of Income ye 31.3.15 14,393.00

Transfer to Reserve -14,393.00 14,393.00

Balance on Reserve at 28/02/2015 3,292,892.18

Commitments:Johnson Vellen - balance 2,184.67 Redditch Eastern Gateway 1,800,000.00 Hoo Brook -

Total Commitments at 28/02/2015 1,802,184.67

Uncommitted at 28/02/2015 1,490,707.51

49

2015/16 Budgets LEP

Cost Centre G/L Code Description Latest Exp and (Over)/ InitialBudget Commitments Under spend Budget2014/15 2014/15 2014/15 2015/16

£ £ £ £

L50040 Core Funding

209 Gen Office Staff Pay 230,000 216,810 13,190 260,000 43401 Rents Payable 16,700 16,401 299 16,700 49078 Office Equipment Computers 7,500 2,953 4,547 5,000 49754 Stationery 5,000 - 5,000 5,000 50030 Consultants Fees 20,000 15,959 4,041 20,000 50032 Misc Services - 150 150- 50034 Telephone Services 1,000 - 1,000 1,000 50035 Other Fees - 2,960 2,960- 50319 Comp Software 10,000 10,134 134- 5,000 50603 Conference Exps 42,200 32,323 9,877 35,000 51001 Subscriptions 20,000 17,580 2,420 20,000 51602 Expenses Publicity 10,000 7,673 2,327 10,000 51603 Marketing Expenses 70,000 42,140 27,860 70,000 51604 Hospitality - 10,744 10,744- - 51619 Misc Other Expense 22,000 6,996 15,004 10,000 51646 Exhibitions & Events 10,000 15,168 5,168- 20,000 51665 Training 5,000 - 5,000 5,000 51674 Project Activity 139,513 76,953 62,561 75,900 51685 Travelling and Subsistence 5,000 1,771 3,229 5,000

Total Exp 613,913 476,714 137,199 563,600

66015 DCLG Grant Income 278,600- 278,600- - 278,600- 66999 Contrib from Reserves 180,313- 180,313- 0- 130,000- Estimated reserves left at 31.3.1568507 Cont From LA 150,000- 154,000- 4,000 150,000- 68527 Events Income 5,000- 6,800- 1,800 5,000-

Total Inc 613,913- 619,713- 5,800 563,600-

TOTAL L50040 - Core Funding - 142,999- 142,999 -

LEP have an action at the FAR meeting (17.3.15) to exceed this budget

50

L50050 LEP - Transport

209 Gen Office Staff Pay 1,000 459.85 540 42012 Security Measure 3,000 1972 1,028 49758 External Printing 1,000 79 921 50006 Advertising 5,000 3000 2,000 50035 Other Fees 5,000 30291.67 25,292- 10,000 51603 Exp Marketing 8,000 5339 2,661 51646 Exhibitions & Events 53,579 28400.35 25,179 60,000 53986 Other Hire and Cont Ser 3,000 1891.05 1,109 59614 D&P Graphic Work 2,000 750 1,250 59633 Employee Cost Rechge 10,000 6583.23 3,417

Total Exp 91,579 78,766 12,813 70,000

66999 Contrib from Reserves 91,579- -91579 - 70,000- 67573 Admin Fee - -37000 37,000

Total Inc 91,579- 128,579- 37,000 70,000-

TOTAL L50050 - Transport - 49,813- 49,813 -

L50070 LEP - Growth Plan209 Gen Office Staff Pay 108,000 108403.76 404- 130,000

50030 Consultants Fees 146,578 66295 80,283 100,000 51674 Project Activity 120,000 50035 Other Fees 75,000 47050 27,950 -

Total Exp 329,578 221,749 107,829 350,000

66015 DCLG Grant Income 250,000- -250000 - 250,000- 66999 Contrib from Reserves 79,578- -79578 - 100,000- 67599 Other Fees - -

Total Inc 329,578- 329,578- - 350,000-

TOTAL L50070 - LEP Growth Plan - 107,829- 107,829 -

LEP - 300,641- 300,641 -

Reserves not included in the above 15/16 budget but are part of the 14/15 budget

Reserves at 31.3.14 (included above) 351,470- Estimated Reserves at 31.3.15 (included above) 300,000-

51

11.0 GROWING PLACES REPORT

WLEP BOARD RECOMMENDATIONThe LEP Board is recommended to:

1. Note the current financial statements supporting the continued activity under the Growing Places Fund.

2. Approve the 2% revenue from the fund into the WLEP account.

3. Approve the Worcestershire Cricket Club payment holiday for 12 months to develop phase 3 of the site.

4. Recommend an approach with the remaining unallocated funds of either, open another round of funding or utilise the fund to create the pipeline of projects with a return through section 106 or other mechanism.

11.1 Context

11.1.1 Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP) has been allocated £5.5m through central Government's Growing Places Fund (GPF). The amount of funding was based on a formula of population and employed earnings. The funding is intended to boost economic activity by unlocking development.

11.1.2 WLEP, with Worcestershire County Council as the accountable body, will allocate funds through loan and equity financing. This is a revolving loan fund charging market rate.

11.2 Growing Places Financial Summary

Unallocated; £1,492,892

Committed, Redditch Eastern gateway,

£1,800,000

Cricket Club; £1,212,500

Johnson Vellen; £91,815

Hoo Brook; £909,500

Growing Places - £5,518,972 Received

52

11.3 Worcestershire County Cricket Club

11.3.1 On 1st May 2013, Worcestershire County Council, as Accountable Body for the LEP, entered into a Funding Agreement with Worcestershire County Cricket Club (‘the Club’) as part of the Growing Places Fund initiative. The headline elements of the Agreement being:

A loan of £1,250,000 with a repayment interest rate of £2.74% per annum

A quarterly repayment schedule extending from December 2013 to September 2023

A total repayment, including interest, of £1,443,079.

11.3.2 The purpose for which the loan was made was the construction of a five storey Club building and facilities adjacent to the new 120 room hotel built and operated by Premier Inn Ltd. The club building with meeting rooms and conference facilities was completed in January 2014.

11.3.3 Subsequent to the announcement of the Growth Deal in July 2014 and the inclusion of funds in 2014/2015 to raise New Road to reduce the risk of flooding impacting upon the economy of the City, we have been in contact with the Club to discuss our approach to the project.

11.3.4 The Club assert that whilst the Phase 3 development is a real ambition, the prospect of starting work in 2015/2016, ie to align with the New Road flooding project, is far earlier than envisaged and that the Club does not have the financial resources to invest in feasibility work whilst at the same time, repaying the loan.

11.3.5 The WLEP Quad agreed the following recommendation and asked the Board to ratify this approach.

A revised repayment schedule is agreed whereby the first payment is made in March 2016 and the date by which all repayments are to be made is unchanged ie September 2023;

The reason for agreeing to the repayment holiday is to release Club funds to invest in feasibility costs aimed at bringing forward a Phase 3 development and to allow the Club to review its financing options for Phase 3.

Agreeing to this request does not necessarily imply a willingness of the LEP to re-negotiate the entire Agreement or indeed, to invest further in Phase 3.

11.4 As part of the growing places rules LEPs were allowed to claim a 2% revenue fee from Growing Places fund. This has never been claimed by WLEP. However, in view of the unallocated funds and the resource potentially required to bring forward a pipeline of projects for various funding opportunities. It is recommended that WLEP claim 2% revenue from the unallocated funds for 14/15 and make an immediate claim after the financial year starts for 15/16. This resource is added to the core funding budget.

11.5 Uncommitted Funds

It is proposed that consideration of Local Growth Funds, Local Authority Capital programme and the potential use of uncommitted funds to SEP priority projects over the period 2016 to 2020 be investigated by the Executive, with a proposal coming back to a future Board with a recommendation on how a revolving fund could work as part of this project development.

53

12.0 POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE GENERAL ELECTION OUTCOME ON THE WLEP

Gary Woodman (verbal update)

54

13.0 SUB GROUP REPORTS APRIL 2015

13.1 Business Growth

NAME OF THE GROUP:

Business Growth

MISSION:

To ensure that a full offering of financial instruments are available and that business can access the appropriate financial solution to create business growth.

STRUCTURE:

In addition to Roy Irish (Chair), the 9 original members are Ian Priest (banking consultant), Alistair Hayward-Wright (Accounting Practice), Robert Capper (Corporate Law), George Makison (CDFI – Local “Public” Sector Bank), Steve Harris (Corporate Finance and Grant Consultant), Mike Hankins (Angel Networks and Mentoring), John Painter (Accounting Practice but also the Chamber), Sue Crow (Business Central), Gary Woodman (LEP). Also just been joined by Richard Nicol (expertise in Social Enterprise Finance) and Mike Ashton to represent the Chamber.

These members also represent the County geographically by being located across the districts.

CURRENT PRIORITIES:

To monitor progress on the West Midlands fund of funds and ensure it fits Worcestershire’s needs.

To support the development of “Advised in Worcestershire”, which is all the local professionals working together and potentially a unique service for the business community.

To ensure the promotion of the Worcestershire Expansion Programme grant scheme now it has reached its conclusion.

To support the delivery of the Growth Hub (building on the Business Central model) to create a best in class model.

To encourage the formation of an Incubator for Worcestershire

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KEY ACHIEVMENTS AND ACTIVITIES:

Part of the team driving the West Midland fund of funds – project approved by the LEPs and now moving to formal application with BIS to complete by the end of 2015 (separate update attached).

Sponsor for Advised in Worcestershire and supported its launch.

Delivery of the Expansion Programme and giving direction to the next steps within the Growth Deal.

Lobbying the local authority and LEP on mechanisms to deliver a business support service for the County – examples enhancing Growth Hub and creating an Incubator.

Constantly using the input of the professionals on the sub-group to help understand where the needs of the business community are.

Integrated Social Inclusion into the thinking process.

Started looking at areas to reduce red tape and joined in with the initiative to establish an easier route to regulation in the Agri Tech sector.

PLANNED WORKLOAD AND DELIVERY: (NEXT 3 MONTHS)

Give input to fund of fund on areas of demand for financial instruments and the best spread of the types of funds available prior to an outline application to BIS (This is a continuing commitment).

Determine what an enhanced Growth Hub should offer.

See the formal launch of Advised in Worcestershire – now launched but need to give it some concrete projects to work on. The membership is growing well to 50 members.

Incubator sub-group has now procured a consultant to create a feasibility study.

CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS:

Fund of Funds – challenge is central government delay currently slowing the process although there is now recognition that the West Midlands will have a fast track path.

Expansion Scheme – gap between this programme that has just closed to establish a new scheme.

Agreement between the LEP and partners as to what a Growth Hub should comprise and how it should be managed going forward – risk is that with a cut to funding we could hit a void.

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13.2 Employment & Skills Board

NAME OF THE GROUP:

Employment and Skills Board

MISSION:

Improve Skills and Education in County

STRUCTURE:

Employment and Skills Board – Sub groups including Worcestershire Apprenticeship Group (WAG) and STEM Sub group.

CURRENT PRIORITIES:

Connecting Schools and Business roll out continuing

Increasing Apprenticeships in County – Selfie Campaign, Website Launch, ATA introduction and Clearing House

Monitoring Employment and Skills Programmes in County

Procurement of demand study for University Technical College/vehicle for STEM development in schools

Supporting the localising of careers advice – Dynamic website development

Supporting the growth of STEM skills in the County

Developing a cyber-skills strategy for County

Developing an Agri Tech skills strategy for County

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES:

Launch of Connecting Schools and Business Programme to 29 schools with 75 employers signed up

Launch of Employment Hub in Kidderminster

Launch of National Cyber Security Centre in Malvern

Development of Apprenticeship strategy to target 18- 24 year olds

Launch of Worcestershire Apprenticeship brand , website launched In February

National Apprenticeship Week – selfie campaign

Launch of 1st Annual Worcestershire Apprenticeship Awards

Development of concept of UTC in Worcestershire

Development of career progression tool in County – launch to schools PDF April 2015 , Dynamic website Summer 2015

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Demand Study for UTC

Refresh Employment and Skills Board Strategy

Consider strategy for employment hub in Worcester

Apprenticeship Awards November 12th 2015

Second stage of development of Connecting Schools and Business Portal

Develop Careers Progression tool App for Summer 2015

Commission Clearing House for Apprenticeships

Agri Tech Apprenticeship Event – May 2015

Construction Skills Discussions with Construction Companies – April 2015


Need for greater employer engagement into SMEs to understand direction of travel

Inflexibility in Education funding sources – SFA/EFA / DFe etc

Finance to support activity

Resource to complete activities

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13.3 National Profiling

NAME OF THE GROUP:

National Profiling Sub-Group

MISSION:

To raise the profile of the County Regionally and Nationally under the banner of World Class Worcestershire.

STRUCTURE:

Now a smaller sub group with representatives from Worcestershire County Council (Research and Marketing and Economic Development), Director of Commercial and Change, Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (Executive Director and PR and Communications), Chamber of Commerce and Business representatives.

Extended network to include the previous wider group members, including the local media.

CURRENT PRIORITIES:

To raise the profile of the County locally, regionally and nationally

To profile the priority growth sectors and the expertise within the County

To encourage inward investment to Worcestershire

Promotion of key investment sites


Inward investment event at Hotel Du Vin – Birmingham (January 2015) was well attended and successfully held with Business Desk. Partnering with Business Desk resulted in positive promotion regionally, as well as developing relationships with contacts at this key media organisation. Business Desk is keen to explore further opportunities in the future – whether that is hosting events together or providing speakers for events. Business Desk have fed back that the only other location they are aware of doing something similar to Birmingham is Derby.

World Class Worcestershire guidelines – the guidelines have been developed for World Class Worcestershire including those for businesses, how local people can get involved and feedback from the Youth Cabinet on how they and young people can be further involved.

World Class Worcestershire at events - Consistent use of the World Class Worcestershire identity is now being seen at more events including the backdrop for Kevin Gaskell, the key note speaker at the March Chamber Expo and at a variety of other events, for example, a Children’s Services recruitment event and the Skills Show. An example for businesses, which is being developed as a case study, is a budget briefing by Bishop Fleming at the Mercedes garage which placed the Bishop Fleming brand alongside Mercedes and World Class Worcestershire, which was further enhanced by World Class sports people from Worcester also being in attendance.

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Invest in Worcestershire website - the new www.investinworcestershire.com website has been launched. This includes more case studies and videos on ‘Why Worcestershire?’ for development and investment opportunities.

I love Worcestershire selfie campaign – the County Council is leading on a ‘selfie’ campaign where local people say what is great about Worcestershire and tweet a picture of themselves with a Worcestershire scene, for example, the Malvern Hills or a favourite restaurant or visitor attraction. The possibility of extending the campaign into the local media is being examined so people send in pictures of ‘Your Worcestershire’ to increase pride of place. The Youth Cabinet were keen for young people to be involved.


Regen 2015 Liverpool on 24 and 25 March – a World Class Worcestershire stand has been secured with a prime location within this exhibition which should gain good footfall.

World Class Worcestershire visit on 28 April 2015 – a visit is being planned to the County on 28 April to bring investors and developers to Worcestershire. Personalised tours will be provided depending on their areas of interest, for example, a company interested in opportunities for Agri-Tech may visit Evesham. The event will start and conclude at the cricket club which will also include presentations, networking opportunities and a key note speaker. Further details are available at www.worldclassworcs.com/register

MIPIM UK, London – a stand has been secured at MIPIM UK (21 – 23 October 2015). Promotion is starting now and it is planned to provide news stories to the Estates Gazette as to gain publicity ahead of the exhibition. A 45 minute slot has also been secured for the first day to profile World Class Worcestershire to this audience.

World Class Worcestershire website – a ‘portal’ website is being developed to link through to a number of different pages. Four sections will be in place: World Class Sport and Culture, World Class Destination, World Class for Learning and Skills and World Class place for business. The portal will be applicable to all audiences and directs the website visitor to the appropriate websites.

Development of a programme of high profile events for attendance (2015/16) – recognising the success of MIPIM UK in 2014 and others attended, a programme of events is being agreed that will raise the profile of the County including those in the three priority growth sectors. The approach for each could vary depending on the event and could include a stand, a speaker being offered or members of partner organisations and businesses attending.

World Class Worcestershire for young people and alumni – now the brand guidelines have been developed, approaching the University of Worcester and Heart of Worcestershire College for further promotion opportunities and examining those available through the alumni.

Developing a programme of events within the County – the Cyber sub group is considering a National Cyber conference to be hosted in Worcestershire during 2015. It is also planned to hold further conferences in Agri-tech and Advanced Manufacturing.

Suite of literature to be completed – The ‘Tier Two’ World Class Worcestershire document profiling key Game changer investment sites and employment opportunities is being finalised.

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http://www.worldclassworcs.com/register

http://www.investinworcestershire.com/


One concern with the visit to the County is that a number of invites were sent out for the inward investment event in London and although attendance on the day was good and the people in the room were the right audience, take up was not initially as high as expected. The Birmingham one, however, was oversubscribed within a week. A challenge will be now asking people to make a visit to the County, which will be a whole day, however, as liaison has taken place with these individuals since meeting with them at MIPIM, London and in some cases, Birmingham, we would hope attendance would be good and the initial reaction is positive.

Not all partner organisations are currently utilising World Class Worcestershire and so further work needed to bring partners and businesses on board.

The detail for the ‘Tier 2’ document and the development sites is taking some time to come through, however, a plan is in place and a meeting with all parties to agree the strategy to get any outstanding details.

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13.4 Planning Development & Infrastructure

NAME OF THE GROUP:

Planning, Development and Infrastructure

MISSION:

To establish a consistent, business focused spatial and development management experience across Worcestershire as one fundamental contribution towards attracting inward investment and economic growth.

STRUCTURE:

David Hughes (Chair); Jacqui Bayliss, Harris Lamb (Former Chair); Mark Bellringer, Robert West, Jess Munn, Thomas Vale Construction; Pete Cullen, PC Consultancy; Andy Plant, St Francis Group; Jason Tait, Planning Prospects; Mark Martin, One Creative; Claire Bridges, WLEP.

LPA’s Heads of Service join for combined WLEP and WPOG meetings at quarterly intervals.

Statutory Consultees invited to key meetings as required.

CURRENT PRIORITIES:

Review the Planning and Development Charter and Action Plan and update the WLEP ambitions and specific delivery as a consequence of the WLEP SEP, ESIF and Growth Deal submissions

Review the membership of the Place Development and Infrastructure Sub group as a consequence of WLEP Board and Business Board membership changes; Meeting in March 2015


Planning, Development and Infrastructure Planning and Development Charter launched 2012; Action Plan 2013/14 developed

WLEP PDI Sub Group formed in 2012 comprising multi disciplinary business perspectives

Good collaboration with other LEPs – West Midlands and alliances with surrounding LEPs

Shared learning and practice exchange across National LEP network

Collaborative working established between WLEP, LPAs/WPOG and Statutory Consultees at kick-off event on 10 May 2013 (subsequently encompassed by WEG and not met since)

Action Plan delivery in 2013/14 focused on the production of a Spatial Growth Plan and development work for specific major schemes and initiatives with strong business cases which were featured in WLEP Strategic Economic Plan and EU Structural Fund Investment Strategy

Contributions to the WLEP’s Growth Deal 2014 bid; continuing preparation for Growth Deal 2015 bid

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Contributions to Game Change Programme and emerging pipeline project priorities

National Pinch point programme (Junction 4/M5 capacity, J9 M5 and A46 improvements at Ashchurch) and Southern Link improvements secured

Bromsgrove station (consultation) and Worcestershire Parkway bid - New Stations Fund.

County Broadband project development

Growth Deal 1 Schemes being developed; Growth Deal 2 Submission prepared


To kick start development work and change which will roll-out over the next 1-2 years as follows:

Establishing a Worcestershire Streamlined Service Standard based on Wychavon DC’s Fast Track for Business approach and Wyre Forest DC streamlined "end to end approach" for businesses

A Common/Consistent Validation Checklist (based on Wyre Forest DC’s model developed with GBS LEP Local Planning Authorities

Consistent Pre-Application Advice Service Standard involving LPAs, Statutory Consultees (EA, WRS, English Heritage, HA etc.), Economic Development Officers and businesses

Officer and Member Shared Learning Series - collective responsibility which signals LEP-wide changing cultures and behaviours

LPAs' Open Door Culture based on Redditch & Bromsgrove’s proposal for better signposting, material and promotion (actual/electronic) around common LEP-wide common arrangements therefore establishing a "good Worcestershire planning service"

Worcestershire Developers Forum construction/development industry forum to develop individual and collaborative relationships with LPAS, SCs and support the WLEP SEP & EUIS ambitions

Connect Planning Charter to the WLEP Regulations and Business Charter 2012 to establish a co-ordinated approach across regulatory services which fulfil the Government’s Better Business for All programme

Worcestershire Planning Statement a business friendly comprehensive/high level statement of Worcestershire’s current/emerging spatial strategy (existing planning arrangements, key policies, constraints, opportunities, sites, zones, major infrastructure schemes, to encourage investment (written, visuals & mapped information)

LPAs Heads of DM and Succession Planning - bring in front-line planners to Heads of Service meetings with agents/developers on prospective enquiries to ensure that agents/developers get consistent advice from any one person in a LPA.

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Having successfully shaped the Spatial Growth Plan and established the Game Changer Programme, the Sub Committee’s focus needs to priorities initiatives and proposals for Development Management services which meet business needs;

Different successful components exist in different authorities and the challenge is to secure commitment of officers’ time and expertise from all Local Planning Authorities towards establishing consistent First Class business-friendly Development Management services across Worcestershire

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13.5 Cyber Security

NAME OF THE GROUP:

‘Cyber sub-group’ – full name is Cyber Valley Working Group (CVWG)

MISSION:

“To promote Worcestershire-based Cyber suppliers outside of Worcestershire and outside of the UK too”

STRUCTURE:

Chair is Steve Borwell-Fox. There are well over 20 business participants from IT, Security, Defence, Insurance, Finance, Legal and other sectors, where there is cyber dependency or delivery of professional services, IT Services and products. Meetings tend to get 10-15 proactive business owners attending.

CURRENT PRIORITIES:

To actively promote the National Cyber Skills Centre (NCSC) in Worcestershire and further afield

To promote the new Cyber Essential Scheme (CES) to WCC, SMEs and corporates

To make the UK National Cyber Security conference happen in Worcestershire in 2015


The NCSC is now providing several onsite cyber courses from ‘InfoSec skills’

The NCSC is running IASME Consortium’s course on ‘Step by step cyber essential’, which is a one day course and includes accreditation costs for CES (£600 all in)

Cross-LEP – SBF would like to meet with the GFirst LEP to help facilitate the formation of the Gloucester Cyber Cluster. SBF has asked two Gloucestershire based businesses to help, and they have said they would help form the cluster, and agreed it was a good idea. Malvern is too far from Gloucester and Cheltenham, and the current location for the Malvern cluster is quite remote from Malvern and even Worcester. This new cluster will provide the ‘Cyber Valley’ or ‘Cyber Severn Valley’ with a much stronger network to neighbouring cyber clusters located in Hereford, Cardiff and Bristol. Is there one in Oxford? What about Warwick/Leamington Spa area?

Worcestershire Innovation Wednesday (WIW) – SBF had the opportunity to present about his business and about the WLEP goals for Worcestershire’s cyber sector (See slides in this doc)

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The next CVWG workshop will be held in May, and will have the focus of ‘Turning SME apathy into action’

Awaiting QinetiQ decision on hosting the national conference

Showcase of local SMEs to GCHQ personnel at QinetiQ, to discuss potential work in the supply chain


Cyber apathy – still many SMEs still have their heads buried in the sand about cyber risks

NCSC Marketing – needs some serious support to get the NCSC thriving and surviving

NCSC Staff – need a bigger team to do some serious cyber activities

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€¦ · Web viewWORCESTERSHIRE LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING. Thursday 2nd . April....

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