Issue - meetings

The Panel is encouraged to provide feedback both in verbal and written format that can be delivered to the WECA as part of the evidence base consultation process.

The Director for Economy & Growth gave a presentation to the Panel regarding this item, a copy of which can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book or as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary is set out below.

Background

The aim of the (National) Industrial Strategy is to boost productivity by backing businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.

5 Pillars

·  Ideas: The world’s most innovative economy

·  People: Good jobs and greater earning power for all

·  Infrastructure: A major upgrade to the UK’s infrastructure

·  Business Environment: The best place to start and grow a business

·  Places: Prosperous communities across the UK.

Grand Challenges

·  Artificial Intelligence and data

·  Ageing society

·  Clean growth

·  Future of mobility

West of England Local Industrial Strategy

“Local Industrial Strategy will help deliver the region’s ambition to be a driving force for sustainable, inclusive growth”

The strategy will build on the unique strengths of the West of England:

An attractive place to live and work;

Strong connections by road, rail, air and sea.

Diverse economy offering a wide variety of job opportunities at all skill levels.

It will do this by

Delivering long-term growth that is inclusive and clean

Accelerate economic growth by strengthening productivity to ensure that the region creates high-quality, well-paid jobs for our residents

Delivery

West of England LIS will be delivered through three main strands:

·  Evidence Base

·  Grand Challenge Workshops

·  Deep Dives

Creative Collisions

Deep dives to focus on creative collisions, where enabling technologies overlap.

Evidence Base Outcomes

·  People & Skills

o  A growing population; unlike other places that includes growth in working-age cohorts

o  37% growth expected in over-65 population by 2038

o  16-17 year olds are more likely than nationally to not be in education, employment or training (+0.8 points)

o  Significant growth in high-skilled jobs and decline in low skilled ones: helps lift incomes, but presents a risk of weakening the ladder to prosperity for some residents

·  Clean & Inclusive Growth

o  Productivity in the region is above average

o  Growth has slowed relative to elsewhere

o  Not all residents have shared in recent success, and costs are rising

·  Infrastructure

o  Extensive evidence on the region’s transport infrastructure and built environment has been developed in the Joint Local Transport Plan and Joint Spatial Plan.

o  Infrastructure assets such as the port and airport provide strong international connectivity

o  Economic growth has put our infrastructure under increasing pressure, and house prices have risen to 9.3 times average earnings

·  Business Environment

o  Employment in professional services and the public sector has grown in recent years

o  The region trades less intensively than the national average, but runs a trade surplus, driven by strong services exports

o  Business survival rates and scale-up success seem positive; however, business creations and closures are less dynamic than elsewhere

Summary of Issues

Inclusive Growth - There are gaps in educational and training provision compared with future business needs, and the jobs market  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53