Agenda item

To receive an update from the Director of City Development in relation to the Council’s support to businesses in Leeds.

The Chair began by thanking Eve Roodhouse and her team for her recent member briefing on employment data, which was well received by members.

Cllr Marshall-Katung went on to introduce the item on business support in Leeds, noting the importance of encouraging productivity in the context of the ambitions of the Inclusive Growth Strategy.

Those in attendance for this item were:

Cllr Jonathan Pryor (Executive Member for Culture, Economy & Education)

Eve Roodhouse (Chief Officer, Culture & Economy)

Phil Cole (Head of Funding Programme and Business Support)

Members were provided with an overview of private sector businesses in Leeds, including the challenges and opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises.

Eve Roodhouse reiterated the ambitions of the relaunched Inclusive Growth Strategy and stressed the importance of helping to create local conditions that enable businesses to thrive, which in turn creates and retains good jobs in the city.

Phil Cole outlined the work of the Business Growth Service with SMEs and the role of the Key Account Management service for larger businesses. He went on to summarise activity linked to key growth and grant programmes including Ad:venture, Digital Enterprise, and Inclusive Growth Rates Relief.

Members considered the role of the employment and skills service, particularly in relation to recruitment and retention, and the ‘no wrong door’ approach to supporting businesses in Leeds.

Phil Cole highlighted the impact of the Council’s various business support programmes in terms of new jobs created, addition to Gross Value Added for the city and region, and return on investment.

Members considered the funding arrangements for this service, noting the high proportion of external funds secured by the team. Concern was raised about a planned reduction of 11% in the LCC budget for 2024/25. Members were reassured that the role that is being deleted from the Council budget is now being funded through an external source.

Members were advised that it is difficult to provide direct comparisons with performance across other cities due to differences in boundaries and populations. However, the latest data for Leeds relating to indicators such as business start ups will be provided to the Scrutiny Board as part of regular performance reporting in January.

Phil acknowledged it has been a challenging few years for many businesses. He reassured members that business stock in Leeds has, however, remained healthy and there has been 9% growth in the digital sector during a period in which other areas have seen a reduction in growth within the sector.

The Scrutiny Board welcomed the “engaged, thoughtful approach” of the Business Support Team.

Matters considered by members included:

-  Ways in which the awareness of the availability of the business support service could be evaluated.

-  The proportion of grant funding available for ‘business to business’ organisations as compared to ‘business to consumer’ organisations.

-  Incentives to encourage landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. Officers shared the example of the refurbishment of the Leeds media centre while considering the challenge and investment required to meet energy efficiency standards.

-  The importance of developing and retaining familiar brands such as Ad:venture and Digital Enterprise, despite changes in funding arrangements for the schemes following the UK’s exit from the European Union.

-  A reduction in the availability of overall funding for business support following the UK exit from the European Union.

-  The role of discretionary rates relief as a relatively cost-effective local lever to support businesses in the city. It was confirmed this is included in the proposed budget for 2024/25. 

-  Ways in which councillors can advocate for the business support service in their local communities.

-  The challenges in securing good quality data in relation to the businesses in the city.

-  The number of businesses that have engaged with the Ad:venture programme since it began.

-  The number of organisations involved in the Business Anchors network.

-  Opportunities to publicise the work of the Business Support Service at events in the city.

-  An increase in anti-social behaviour affecting city centre business. Cllr Pryor noted he had recently met with partners including the city centre BID and West Yorkshire Police to discuss this issue.

-  The availability of business support for people from diverse backgrounds including access to ‘trial stalls’ at Kirkgate Market.

Members queried what constraints on growth have been identified by local business and the levers available to help organisations respond to those challenges. The Board was informed that that recruitment and retention are regular challenges, and the Council can assist organisations by connecting them to education and training institutions. Wider constraints include travel planning, access to large warehouse space for manufacturers and the availability of flexible ‘grow on’ premises for high growth companies.

WYCA can no longer provide financial incentives to encourage businesses to locate in Leeds. A broader range of support services covering business sustainability, innovation and business productivity are provided through the WYCA Business Support team.

The Scrutiny Board requested an all-member briefing on how to signpost local organisations to business support services.

RESOLVED:

Members agreed to note the contents of the report.

It was agreed that an all-member briefing will be arranged in early 2024 to update councillors on how to signpost local organisations to business support services.

12:26pm Cllr Lay left the meeting.

12:45pm Cllr Sharpe and Cllr Flynn left the meeting.