Agenda item

The Chair welcomed Lord Steve Bassam, Chair of the Business in the Community (BITC) Place Taskforce, and invited Esther Barrott, Adviser, to introduce the report.

Esther introduced the report which provided Board Members with a brief overview of the BITC Place Taskforce and the Board’s involvement to date to support a discussion with Lord Steve Bassam.

Lord Bassam set out the following points:

• Background information which related to the report and the work of the taskforce to date.
• The need to emphasise the importance of business engagement to ensure that resources were allocated to achieve the targets set out in the 12 missions that government had established for levelling-up.
• The 14 recommendations set out within the report, which focused on:

-        Collaboration

-        Business leadership driving successful partnership and place-based

-        The unique resources of each partner and the need for leveraging

-        Government’s approach to ensuring that businesses were involved in relation to levelling up.

Board Members made a number of comments and asked questions which related to the following points:

• Potential programmes to develop new skills, focused on the green skills agenda and retrofitting.
• Funding sources and the need for resources and targets to be brought together.
• The need for a business input that did not dominate the business agenda.
• Future collaboration with the LGA post-publication.
• The planning agenda and the need to make highstreets an attractive place to live, to allow businesses to thrive.

Lord Bassam responded to Board Members’ comments, setting out the following points:

• There was a strong case from both the LGA and local authorities for much more place-based action in relation to climate change.
• The need to develop upskilling in place and drawing the talents of people within local communities in relation to the changing nature of local economies was emphasised.
• BITC continued to engage with government officials to encourage collaborative working to achieve targets, it was suggested that this be in concert with the LGA.
• The relationship between combined-authorities and government, and the need for a more equal distribution of funding was acknowledged.
• The need to create a more diverse workforce within economies was recognised.
• The importance of continuing to work in partnership with Councils, Councillors and the LGA in the future was emphasised.
• Joint representations would be made to government in terms of implementing the report.
• Planning shaped all communities and more thought needed to be given in the future in relation to reviving highstreets.

Lord Bassam thanked both the LGA for their continued help and support also Cllrs Abi Brown and Simon Henig, for their invaluable contributions to the report.

The Chair, on behalf of the Board, expressed thanks to Lord Bassam and other BITC colleagues for their hard work and also to Cllrs Abi Brown and Simon Henig.

Decision:

·       Board Members noted the report.

Action:

·       Officers to ensure that all LGA council leaders received a copy of the BITC report and that recommendations be addressed with BITC colleagues.