Agenda item

(i)        Joint Report of the Director of Transformation and Partnerships and the      Corporate Director of Regeneration and Local Services.

(ii)       Update on the work of the County Durham Economic Partnership – presentation by Professor Brian Tanner, Chairman, County Durham    Economic Partnership.

The Chairman introduced the Chairman of the County Durham Economic Partnership (CDEP), Professor Brian Tanner, and the Principal Policy and Partnership Officer, DCC, Tarryn Lloyd Payne who were in attendance to provide the committee with detail of the CDEP’s vision and priorities, measures of success, partnership activity to make a difference and economic challenges (for copy see file of minutes).

The Chairman, CDEP explained he was one of several Chairman of thematic groups, under the umbrella of the County Durham Partnership (CDP).  Members noted that the CDEP had a vision: “We wish to see County Durham as a highly valued centre for business growth and innovation; with a vibrant local economy, high value employment opportunities, a quality housing offer and a highly skilled local workforce”.  It was added that while not there yet, the place to start was in trying to improve the employment rate for County Durham.  The Committee were reminded that the CDEP had no funding of its own, rather it acted to help coordinate and foster cooperation between partners, not operate programmes of its own.

Councillors noted that in order to help judge levels of success, five measures were looked at: employment rate; gross value added (GVA); number of businesses; household disposable income; and employment deprived index deprivation.

The Chairman, CDEP noted it was important to note that the targets set out were for 2030, and that while there was progress in four out of five of the measures, the GVA had lost ground, though the number of Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs), those areas in the top 20% of employment deprived areas, was reducing.

Members were referred to a graph showing the relative changes in employment rate over the period 2004 to 2016 and it was highlighted that while there was a degree of uncertainty, a factor of the sample size, the general trend was positive.  However, it was explained that the gap between County Durham and both the regional and England and Wales rates was refusing to narrow. 

Councillors noted that GVA was a measure of the value added by the processes, products and services provided in County Durham, a measure of our productivity.  Members noted a graph showing that there was a widening gap between the County Durham GVA and that of the North East and the rest of the United Kingdom.  It was explained that GVA helped inform as regards the quality of jobs, however it also rolled in the number of people not in a job.  The Chairman, CDEP noted that therefore it had been requested to provide the figures in terms of the GVA per filled job, and Members were referred to a further graph showing this trend over time from 2002 to 2016, with the target for 2020 also shown.  It was highlighted that this showed that there were better jobs being created, and that this was something being pushed by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP).  Members also noted that the GVA per filled job in County Durham was the same as the region although the gap to the United Kingdom figure remained. 

The Chairman, CDEP referred to a map of County Durham highlighting the areas of deprivation, and explained that it was not simply a matter of geography, with some of the most deprived areas sitting alongside the largest areas of development, for example Aycliffe, a deprived area sitting next to the largest industrial park in England.  Members noted that place investment was not simple and that there were many factors mixed up within this including skills, infrastructure and transport.

The Committee noted that a partnership approach was undertaken in terms of “more and better jobs”, with this being the NELEP’s strategic economic plan.  It was noted that this followed an investment approach, with place based regeneration, human capital and business growth.  It was added that the Vice-Chair of the CDEP, Sue Parkinson was liaising with the NELEP as regards joint working, and regional working arrangements through ESF and fighting County Durham’s corner when coordinating investment.  It was added that another element would be to look for opportunities post-brexit, and ensure there was a pipeline of opportunities and that funding was spent wisely.

Members were given several examples of placed based regeneration and growth such as: Aykley Heads; Salvus House; Durham University Masterplan; Durham BID; Hitachi; NETPark; Hawthorn Enterprise Zone; Horden Rail Station; Bishop Auckland Town; Kynren; County Durham Housing Group; and major junction improvements on the A19 and A1 arterial routes.  It was highlighted that NETPark had started relatively small, however, had the potential to be a large economic driver for the County. 

The Chairman, CDEP explained that in terms of Human Capital, there were several examples such as the Youth Employment Initiative scheme, DurhamWorks and the Council’s County Durham Apprenticeship Programme.

It was noted that in respect of business attraction and growth there had been the Durham Business Opportunities Programme, Finance Durham and the JEREMIE 2 programme.  It was explained that it was important to maximise funding opportunities, including the Local Growth Fund (LGF) and the EU Programme. 

The Committee noted that there were challenges ahead, in promoting the County as an area to do business and in playing to our strengths, as well and continuing to understand and tackle barriers to investment through a multi-faceted and partnership approach.  The Chairman, CDEP concluded by reiterating that through understanding these barriers it was hoped to close the gaps previously mentioned, with the CDEP looking to: work together to add value; coordinating what we are doing; and informing partners of opportunities.

The Chairman thanked the Chairman, CDEP for his update and asked Members for their comments and questions.

Councillor P Jopling noted the maps as shown and asked whether there was a need to link skills to those business hubs, “skilling up” local people in those areas rather than simply bringing in people from other areas.  The Chairman, CDEP noted this was the case, a good example being the University Technical College (UTC) at South Durham, linking to the skilled development at Hitachi.  He added that skills were important, however, there was also a need in terms of transport as this was very important in terms of both economic and social impact.

Councillor L Maddison noted the references to NETPark and asked if there was links in place in terms of the Science Park being developed at Sunderland, to work in cooperation with them.  The Chairman, CDEP noted that Sunderland flagships were based upon the digital economy, on software and the slightly less tangible, whereas NETPark was more “hard science” such as Polyphotonix and their work on a mask to treat diabetes and Kromek and their work in relation to radiation detector technology.  The Chairman, CDEP explained he saw their development as complimentary rather than competitive, with plenty of space in the sector for both the development at Sunderland and NETPark.

Councillor J Maitland noted she felt that it was important to get the message through to 14-15 year olds at school as regards what jobs were available, or would be available, and therefore what skills they would need to be able to access these good jobs.  The Chairman, CDEP noted that this was indeed the point, with national careers guidance gone it fell to individual schools and this led to a variation in the quality of provision.  The Chairman, CDEP went further to suggest that it would be important to try and reach young people at an even earlier age, perhaps in Years 7 or 8 in terms of explaining the types of opportunity there were for skilled work.  Members were reminded of the success of the Future Business Magnates (FBM) competition and that this was a good example of being able to raise awareness of career options and in raising aspirations in terms of being able to access opportunities and work in these sectors.

Councillor P Howell noted the GVA measure and asked how the service industry was picked up, representing a large number of the jobs in our County.

The Chairman, CDEP noted that there was not as good a proxy in terms of measuring the service industry impact, however, the GVA was a good indicator of where we are going and of “what are better jobs”. 

Councillor P Howell asked if there were statistics that could be compared excluding for example London, to give a more balanced view of the County in comparison to similar areas within the country.  The Chairman, CDEP noted that the Principal Policy and Partnership Officer should be able to get such regional information for Members.

Councillor D Hall noted the measures of success had a target of 2030, however asked if there was anything that could be learned from the sharp increase in 2006 as shown on the graph that had been presented to the Committee.  The Chairman, CDEP explained that pre-recession there had been a heavy reliance on the public sector and there had been subsequent cuts to the public sector.  It was noted that also there had been a number of companies fail during the recession and there was not a single answer in terms of why there was an increase, however, it was noted the pre-recession there had been a lot of long term investments.  The Chairman, CDEP added that it would now be very important to use funds wisely, those from the Council, EU, Investment Banks and the Government, but also to be bold.

Councillor E Adam asked if there were any interim targets, in working towards the 2030 targets.  The Chairman, CDEP noted that the Partnership was keeping a track of the measures and the Principal Policy and Partnership Officer added that while they were tracked many were not controlled directly.  The Chairman, CDEP cited NETPark as an example whereby a long term investment could take a while to develop and progress into a success.  Councillor E Adam noted 2030 was a long way away and that frameworks available now may need to change for the future.  The Chairman, CDEP explained that the Regeneration Statement was something that was refreshed to take changes into account and the Principal Policy and Partnership Officer added that the annual “State of County Durham” report was available via the CDEP website.  The Chairman, CDEP explained that the CDEP had a number of working groups, looking at issues such as: Business, Enterprise and Skills; Housing; and Rural issues and therefore there was a lot of depth in the number of people brought in from different backgrounds to help feed into the work of the CDEP.

Councillor J Atkinson noted the comments as regards the trading estate at Newton Aycliffe and the talk in terms of wanting to create more “better” jobs, however he noted not to underestimate the value of “a job” and that young people should be encouraged to help see that not all “factory jobs” were low skilled or mundane, that in fact there was a lot of real, good jobs out there.  He added that he felt it was important to help ensure a “good fit” for people and asked what information was fed into the CDEP as regards this, noting that recent STEM events were good, however, could be aimed at young students to help generate more interest.  The Chairman, CDEP agreed, and with the earlier comments from Councillor J Maitland, in terms of raising aspirations at a younger age and to give young people a truer image of manufacturing, highlighting there are some very exciting job opportunities and that the current mind-set as regarding these types of job needed to be changed.

The Chairman noted that the Committee had representatives from education providers, Schools and Businesses attend a meeting and it had been noted there was an overlap in terms of such provision and suggested this was an area to be looked at and addressed.  Councillor M Davinson noted that as young people chose their GCSE pathways at Year 8 then it would be logical to approach young people with the information as regards potential careers within Year 7.

He added that there were barriers in terms of being able to raise aspirations, bring home the value of having a job, and to break the cycle of worklessness.  Councillor M Davinson noted his Division’s Wards were all within the bottom 10% in terms of deprivation and also noted that the “brain drain” from County Durham was also an issue and asked how we encourage people to stay in the area.  The Chairman, CDEP noted that a focus on aspiration was key, however there was not a simple or single answer.  It was explained that role models were important, however the distribution of high achievers, at A-Level, were mostly at a very small number of schools, and therefore the number of such role models across the County was relatively low.  The Chairman, CDEP added that he noted from a recent FBM event that it was clear from speaking to one of the teachers involved that enthusiastic staff were important in terms of encouraging the pupils to be interested and inspired.

Councillor A Hopgood asked if it was made clear to high achieving students that the academic route was not the only option available to them, with University noted as being the only measure of success.  The Chairman, CDEP noted that a feature of one of the FBM teams was the involvement of alumni from that particular school helping to inspire and act as a role model, as previously described.

Councillor A Hopgood asked in terms of the data for GVA if there was more recent information rather than January 2015.  The Chairman, CDEP explained that this was the most up-to-date data, however, the CDEP spoke to partners as regards any emerging trends or events that may be relevant while awaiting statistical evidence.  Councillor A Hopgood noted a downward trend at January 2015 and asked if we were in a better position now or worse.  The Chairman, CDEP explained that it depended upon which aspect, however, business was confident, with decisions made 5 years ago for example regarding Nissan and Hitachi, now coming to the fore.

Councillor P Howell noted that given the success of Hitachi then it would follow that in the period from January 2015 to now that the GVA would have improved, and he added that benchmarking of interim progress against the measures would be useful, and when did the figures and targets “start” from.  The Chairman, CDEP noted that the refresh of Regeneration Statement around 2 years ago gave the latest targets and that there was a 15 year “window” in terms of looking at such activity.  Councillor P Howell noted that in terms of motivating people, people only see “little boxes” at Newton Aycliffe and not understand what goes on inside the buildings and what job opportunities existed.  He added that he felt businesses could be best placed to show what opportunities were available for young people.  The Chairman, CDEP agreed, however, it was being able to convince businesses that such an investment of their time would pay off.  He added that FBM had shown how industrial partners can help to inspire young people and it was how to get this engagement as part of the norm.

Councillor P Jopling asked as regards funding for careers advice and the Chairman, CDEP noted that this was within schools’ budgets, however, in a climate of increasing budget pressures, then how much resource was allocated to careers advice was for individual schools to determine.  Councillor P Jopling asked whether there could be a promotion highlighting the benefits of business and education engagement. 

The Chairman, CDEP explained that one method of trying to help businesses become involved was being led by the Business Development Director, Business Durham, Sarah Slaven, rolling out an FBM workshop for Year 7 pupils, and utilising video conferencing opportunities to make it more time and cost effective for businesses to speak to a number of young people within a school.  It was added that this was an area being developed.

Councillor L Maddison asked what was being done to stop young people moving away from our area when starting university, was there something our local universities could be doing to help retain people locally.  Councillor M Davinson added he believed it was around 50% of Durham students stay after completing their courses, with around 33% of those from the area travelling out of the area to go to university coming back to the County. 

Resolved:    

That the report and presentation by the CDEP be received and comments made by Members be noted and reflected in the consideration of the Committee’s 2017/18 Work Programme.