Agenda item

Councillor C J Davie, Executive Councillor for Economy and Place reported that the current lockdown meant that the country remained in unprecedented times. Although, the statistics showed some growth for GDP in December 2020.  Lincolnshire County Council continued to offer vital support to the many businesses in the County across sectors and also to prepare them for a buoyant future. The meeting today would discuss the extraordinary £12million package of support that had been developed to assist businesses.

Many of the UK leading economists were talking very positively about the future including references to the UK economy as a "coiled spring" ready to release large amounts of "pent-up financial energy". The Council was determined that local businesses were going to be well positioned to maximise those opportunities. He recognised the Committee continued to support work across local sectors – the excellent work being done around the agriculture sector for example and he looked forward to bringing a report from the Tourism Commission very shortly. The Committee had long recognised the importance of businesses, of all scales, in the County and those who worked in them. During this electoral cycle the Committee had highlighted work on the skills agenda – producing future talent and adding new skills to our current workforce. Employment and skills was now a corporate priority too.

Enabling businesses to connect, collaborate and promote the County was central to the work of Team Lincolnshire and he was pleased to see that the Committee would be discussing the business plan. He acknowledged how valuable Team Lincolnshire was to its members and the new opportunities that had been created. He highlighted an upcoming event which he would be introducing and which Team Lincolnshire were promoting: the South Lincolnshire FEZ launch event on 17^th March 2020.  Judith Batchelar Brand Director at Sainsburys would be one of the speakers at the event, along with wider pre event promotion by Sir John Peace – Chair of Midlands Engine. 

Developing physical spaces for business to expand into was another key part of the jigsaw and Committee at the meeting would be hearing how the team were building spaces fit for modern working practices. Blending physical workspace with digital demands.

Movement of goods and people was also critical to local businesses. He reported that he was pleased to see that the committee would today be helping to shape the Local Transport Plan. With an increased focus on supporting sectors, place and the environment, it strongly aligned with many of the discussions had at this Committee and connects across to the Green Masterplan.

He recognised that the Committee had actively followed and contributed to the debate around the Environment Bill, which, although delayed to the next session of Parliament had not been lost, and would be going forward as a continuation of the process so far.  The Council would continue to collaborate with a range of stakeholders to improve the environment in Lincolnshire – in particular to champion the Nature Recovery Networks across the county, a great opportunity to build on and strengthen our longstanding partnership with the Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership as well as with other partners.