Examples from the research
In the research, we heard from councils that are connecting with businesses in new and creative ways using hyper-local evidence to create a plan to support businesses in the short and medium-term. In this section of the report, a number of illustrations of the innovations delivered by councils have been identified as well as four case studies from councils across the country.
Some innovations include:
- convening a Net Zero business group to ensure employers are at the forefront of carbon reduction ambitions (Lambeth Council)
- identifying and using the exact issues facing businesses through bids to the Community Renewal Fund (Norfolk County Council)
- developing sector profiles and inviting sector leads to present at statutory committees to encourage a better understanding by elected members of the issues facing industry (Gloucestershire County Council)
- information campaigns to engage black and minority ethnic (BAME) business leaders (Lewisham Council)
- task and finish groups to identify future perspectives of young entrepreneurs (Hull City Council).
All of these examples are encouraging a healthy conversation intended to collectively solve some of the issues of the day.
Case Studies
Case Study – Maldon District Council
Maldon District is a small rural coastal district in Essex with around 3500 businesses, of which a very high proportion is micro-sized.
Pre-pandemic
Pre-pandemic the council’s relationship with businesses was limited and tended to focus on the provision of statutory services. The area also did not have any formal structures in place, such as Business Improvement Districts, due to the nature of the local business characteristics. However, the small and localised nature of businesses within the district led to the natural creation of multiple small business groups – these groups represented a sub-sector or a particular area of interest. These groups were self-created and coordinated by businesses themselves and were used to identify common issues and requirements which were occasionally bought forward to the council.
During the pandemic
The pandemic had a very adverse impact in the district, with high streets and a large hospitality and tourism sector particularly affected. Acknowledging the importance of the high street, the council, as part of its Sense of Place initiative facilitated the creation of the Maldon Business Board – which acted as a “network of networks”. This board helped bring together representatives from each of the local business groups to identify where support needed to be focused within the town and which areas were most resilient. It also proved vital in helping both the council and businesses understand COVID-19 restrictions; business support; and the grants programme but also for the council to share that information with business groups who may have been unaware. The council undertook webinars and assigned volunteer high-street stewards to ensure that the dissemination of information and guidance during the pandemic was communicated well with all businesses within the area.
Moving forward
Looking ahead, the council would like to move towards a place-based and asset-based community development model enabling businesses to work together, with the council acting as a partner and stakeholder in economic prosperity and community cohesion. With Sense of Place, they are working to establish a second town focused business board in Burnham-on-Crouch and further sector-based networks as part of the Maldon District Business Network. The council appreciates that the pandemic has shown the importance of local businesses in their communities and would like to act as facilitators and enablers, rather than being ‘sovereign’.
An example of this is the Totally Locally Fiver Fest which businesses coordinated and ran themselves in the high street. This proved to be a highly successful campaign to get people back to the high streets. However, the council understands that it has a key role to play in signposting businesses to the correct information but also to other business services. Thus, it intends to continue providing its monthly newsletter to businesses - which helps signpost them to external support services (i.e. BEST Growth Hub, SELEP); and inform them about local campaigns and initiatives.
Maldon District Council via its grassroots approach has been able to reach out to more businesses, especially the small independent high-street businesses and hopes to bring together more via the Sense of Place initiative, supported by the Magnox Socio-economic Scheme.
Case study – Gloucestershire County Council
Gloucestershire County Council established a statutory joint committee in 2014 to ensure that the seven constituent members could co-ordinate action to deliver the strategic economic plan (SEP) and the growth deal. Partners include Cheltenham Borough Council, Cotswold District Council, Forest of Dean District Council, Gloucester City Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Stroud District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council and the GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership.
The county council took a strategic leadership role in establishing a committee across district, borough and city council partners. The Gloucestershire Economic Growth Joint Committee (GEGJC) also has responsibility for the monitoring and scrutiny function for the recently produced economic recovery plans, to support the local economy in its recovery from the pandemic.
Pre-pandemic
Pre-pandemic, there was limited direct input from business on the topics considered at the GEGJC although there was strong representation from and through the local enterprise partnership, GFirst LEP.
During the pandemic
During the pandemic, direct contact between the county council and its partners identified a series of issues across different sectors. Tourism businesses struggled, and continue to struggle, to recruit the workforce needed to operate hotels, restaurants and bars to satisfy the visitor economy; the agriculture sector is facing uncertainty around the reduction in the Basic Payments Scheme and climate change priorities are encouraging a review of the potential for green jobs across the county.
Moving forward
In 2021, the county council adopted a new approach to engage with businesses to better understand the issues impacting the county. This also coincided with a number of newly elected members joining the joint committee and a desire to inform them of the local issues and opportunities. This approach involved:
- theming individual meetings by sector based on the key employment generators in the county
- conducting a deep dive into that sector to highlight the size, value and employment across the sector as well as setting out the challenges and opportunities facing those businesses locally
- inviting sector leaders to present their particular perspective, drawing on the reality of operating a business in Gloucestershire
- stimulating debate with elected members to explore how businesses can be supported with their key challenges and making links with wider activity across the county to support their growth and sustainability
- continuing to work with sector groups to ensure that actions identified can be followed through with economic development officers from the districts and the county.
Over the year, the sectors that have presented to GEGJC include cyber, tourism and hospitality, and farming and agriculture. The next sectors in the programme are green jobs and manufacturing and engineering.
Case Study – Hull City Council
Kingston upon Hull is a small city in East Yorkshire with around 6,335 enterprises, of which the majority are from either the science, retail or construction sector.
Pre-pandemic
Pre-pandemic, the Kingston upon Hull City Council relationship with businesses was at a strategic level with membership-based organisations and centred on business support via Humber Growth Hub and product related programmes as well as on statutory services, such as collecting business rates. Communication between the council and business community was limited, with discussions mainly taking place between council representatives and business owners at chamber meetings. Though for the Top 50 businesses there was a key account system in place. Many micro businesses in particular found the local authority difficult to navigate and as a result, many businesses were reluctant to engage with the council.
During the pandemic
During the pandemic however, there was a shift in this relationship as engagement increased. Businesses came to realise the strength of the support offered by the local authority as council services became more focused on their needs. The council began to understand more about the different types of businesses and their working patterns, the particular challenges of micro and small businesses struggling to keep solvent, and ineligibility issues for the pandemic support funding.
Overall, the council has come to understand more about the key role business owners play in the economic wellbeing of local communities and by providing jobs for local people. The enterprise panel, which existed before the pandemic, gained heightened engagement during the pandemic. The panel, split between big businesses, smaller businesses and support organisations, acted as a route to consultation. This enabled the council to gather general information on the local economy, information on how particular sectors were performing, and local intelligence from the chamber of commerce. Kingston upon Hull City Council is now building on this and has set up a business group under the young people’s enterprise champion which aims to produce a better relationship between businesses and the council.
The pandemic highlighted how business support is often delivered in competition between support partners and the council, and to overcome this, the council aims to create a support network that directs businesses towards the most appropriate type of support. Kingston upon Hull City Council also aims to develop links between the council and businesses so the council can refer businesses to the public for services that the council itself cannot offer. It also intends to make business support more flexible, by delivering activities online outside of standard 9-5 Monday to Friday hours, in particular for enterprising young people.
The pandemic has shown the ease and practicality of digital communication, and the council seeks to capitalise on this by engaging more through online means with businesses and business support partners and look at more effective use of its linkages via its key account model.
Moving forward
Looking ahead, the council aims to further develop a culture of understanding and support of businesses, by triangulating information through local knowledge built during the pandemic by business support partners and the council and in terms of young entrepreneurs has established a Business Engagement group chaired by a young entrepreneur and involving elected members.
Case study – Walsall Council
Walsall is a metropolitan district situated in the West Midlands with 8,000 registered businesses. The local economy is comprised of manufacturing, human health and social care activities, wholesale and retail trade repair of motor vehicles, and transport & logistics. Walsall Council’s Business Growth Team deal with mostly SME manufacturers, transport & logistics firms, skills & training providers and start-ups.
Pre-pandemic
Pre-pandemic, Walsall Council’s capacity to engage with local businesses related directly to European Regional Development Funding (ERDF). Due to the associated eligibility criteria, Walsall Council’s Business Growth Team largely focused efforts on local SMEs who were eligible for such support. The government’s COVID-19 Support Grants meant that the council had to act quickly to put processes in place to administer grants and rate relief. This was a particular challenge as pre-pandemic, the local business base engaged with the council in a limited capacity, for statutory services.
During the pandemic
The pandemic changed the relationship between Walsall council and its businesses on a strategic, operational, and technical level. The council strengthened its internal communications to address businesses, with the public health, business rates, and environmental health teams all collaborating to deliver on a targeted and local level. This involved distributing both COVID-19 related guidance to businesses and items such as testing kits and PPE. On a broader level, to deliver grants Walsall council brought in an IT company to set up a portal which enabled them to address the high volume and complexity of business queries, which led to increased engagement with businesses and better long-standing relationships with businesses.
The council utilised its social media profiles and its newsletter, as well as contacting businesses personally through council members, to pass information from the office level to local businesses. The Black Country Economic Group was set up during the pandemic which brought together the key local stakeholders of business support, such as the Growth Hubs, Chambers of Commerce, and Universities, with the council for monthly virtual meetings and allowed for the learning and information to be shared on business support.
Already collaborating well across the Black Country, the pandemic strengthened collaboration, both within the council and among the council and business support organisations. This has been underlined in the ongoing review by the West Midlands Combined Authority which aims to identify and cultivate a business support eco system involving LEPs, enterprise agencies, universities and councils together.
Moving forward
As a result of the pandemic, Walsall council has interacted and supported more businesses than it would have previously, and such businesses have gained greater understanding of what the council can do to support them. As membership organisations bring membership fees and some businesses cannot afford them, it is thought that businesses will look to engage more with councils for support without cost. Moreover, as the economy transitions post-Brexit and while moving from EU funds to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Walsall Council recognises the opportunity to build local packages for the targeted needs of local businesses. To maintain this increased level of engagement, communication is imperative, and the council as well as elected members aim to engage more regularly with its business base whether that be speaking at events or quarterly visits.