Agenda item

(To consider a report from Justin Brown, Assistant Director – Growth, which describes:- the economic impact of Covid-19 as currently known; sets out the actions that have already been carried out by Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and other partners to reduce the impact; explains the priorities of the mid-term economic recovery strategy which the LEP has co-ordinated and will communicate to government and outlines some short-term actions that are being developed)

Consideration was given to a report from the Assistant Director – Growth, which described:- the economic impact of Covid-19 as currently known; set out the actions that had already been carried out by Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and other partners to reduce the impact; explained the priorities of the midterm economic recovery strategy which the LEP had co-ordinated and would communicate to Government.

The report outlined the main economic impacts of Covid-19 as: rising unemployment, tightening labour market, reduced business investment, rapid digitisation, and localised impacts particularly on the tourism and hospitality sectors which provided a high proportion of jobs/business activity. Also outlined was the detail of the mid-term strategy which was structured around three headings: protect, progress, and prosper.

The report also outlined examples of support given to businesses as follows:- District councils had distributed more than 19,000 grants with a value of £227m to businesses; LCC's Business Growth Hub had provided advice to 600 businesses and provided web based information that had been used by 42,000 users; redundancy task forces had been designed by the LEP and trained so that they could stand up should significant redundancies occur; the Local Enterprise Partnership had attracted £26m of infrastructure grant funding which was being invested in accelerating schemes like LCC's Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone; weekly assessments of the economic impact in Lincolnshire had been produced and government officials had been briefed weekly.

It was noted that there was a significant risk that young people with no qualifications would find it more difficult to enter the labour market. It was also noted there had been a reduction in part-time jobs available.

The Committee noted the ways that Covid-19 was impacting on the local economy and congratulated the officers and partner organisations on the steps they had taken to reduce that impact and for the additional work they had been undertaking. The content of the mid-term strategy was supported and members submitted the following comments on the scope of the short-term actions that were proposed to tackle the economic impact of the pandemic:

·               Could LCC and District Councils spend more money in the local economy?

·               Were the LCC procurement powers being used in the most optimal way?

·               Continue to support, where possible, businesses with their digital offering and moving to online trading.

·               It was acknowledged that the broadband signal was poor in some areas of the County and there was a need for rapid improvement to assist the competitiveness of existing and future businesses, the public who worked from home and prospective businesses considering moving to Lincolnshire. It was noted that LCC were in discussions to improve digital connections as well as how to create local energy companies.

·               Increase the number of charging points for electric cars at tourist sites, particularly along the coast should be planned to encourage tourism.

·               How could self-employment be promoted further?

·               The key issues identified were tackling unemployment, advising businesses, promoting job vacancies and matching people to vacancies, helping businesses to diversify and promote themselves, and repurposing the high street and buildings previously occupied by shops and businesses no longer in use. Members suggested that they would like to see more local shops and traders alongside recognised national chains and for high streets to embrace change, particularly as they had been in decline before the Covid-19 pandemic.

·               It was important to ensure resilience and sustainability was built into Lincolnshire businesses.

·               Economic planning in the future would need to address the County as a whole rather than concentrating on specific areas. One aim should be to plan to provide the infrastructure to encourage businesses to relocate to Lincolnshire.

·               It was acknowledged rents were out of reach for some businesses and unaffordable rent increases forced businesses to close or relocate. There was a disconnect between what London based property agents thought rent should be in Lincolnshire and affordability.

RESOLVED:                               That the report be noted and the content of the mid-term strategy be supported.