The Heart of the South West Growth Hub  has access to a range of resources provided by Government and partners which aim to help businesses plan for the various Brexit scenarios they may face. The Growth Hub team have searched out relevant Brexit related information and guidance available from HM Government and from a range of organisations from both the public and private sector. Businesses can use this resource to quickly get to the information that is most relevant for them. The Growth Hub will continually update this Brexit page with useful links to trustworthy sources of information & advice, Brexit related events in the region and other resources that could be of use to local businesses. Visit the Growth Hub’s Brexit page here.

 Posted 26 July 2018

The Heart of the South West Brexit Resilience and Opportunities Group (BROG) has commissioned a survey of 29 businesses across the HotSW area of Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay to gather their views on the effects of Brexit.  It was jointly funded by the Heart of the South West LEP and Devon County Council. The full survey is available  here.
Key messages coming out of the research are that uncertainty continues to be the overwhelming view; there are positive views on the opportunities for tourism; and that isolation from markets and access to European workforce are key reasons for concern.

Despite this uncertainty, most respondents expressed optimism about the next two years as most have experience growth in sales and employment over the preceding 18 months.

The reasons for optimism are growth trajectories and investment; not being dependent on EU markets; confidence in demand for their product services and confidence in the opportunities presented by Brexit.   The nine respondents who expressed neutrality or pessimism over Brexit cited uncertainty over the final Brexit deal and supply chain issues such as increased cost of imports.

The telephone survey of 29 prominent local businesses provided some qualitative understanding of how businesses are feeling about, and preparing for, Brexit. The businesses in the survey represented ten different sectors. Most of the businesses have their main UK site in the HotSW area, which illustrates that business decisions are made locally and impact locally.

BROG Chair and Chief Executive of Devon County Council, Phil Norrey, said: “This group is and valuable resource to measure the concerns and the opportunities that local businesses are facing beyond Brexit.

“It’s important that we get a local view so that we can feed back through the Local Enterprise Partnership and the Local Authorities what measures need to be in place in terms of policy making and business support to help our local companies survive and thrive after we leave the EU.

“These results are just a snapshot they do provide a useful pulse check on the sentiment across a range of industries and scales of employment.”

Steve Hindley, CBE DL, Chair of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership said: “Brexit is perhaps the most important issue facing many businesses, so addressing its impact is crucial the action plan of our Productivity Strategy to generate economic prosperity.”

Another survey in early 2019 just before the UK leaves the EU, and the group is keen to receive anecdotal evidence about the expected impact of Brexit on business. Businesses can contact Hattie Winter for more information at:  Hattie.winter@heartofswlep.co.uk

An online survey to gather evidence about the impact of Brexit is being promoted by the Heart of the South West LEP and local authority partners in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.

The findings will be used in the Heart of the South West Productivity Plan to devise a strategy to increase prosperity by raising productivity. Businesses across all sectors are invited to participate. Click  here  to complete the survey.

The aim is to get as many responses as possible so that key messages can be drawn from the survey and fed to decision makers to ensure businesses voices are heard.

HotSW LEP is one of the partners, along with local authorities across the area, in the Brexit Resilience and Opportunities Group (BROG) which was established to identify the opportunities and threats of Brexit and help business embrace and address them. The group shares information and expertise; which is fed into LEP and local authority strategies and can be used to influence Government and other decision-makers.

Steve Hindley, CBE DL, Chair of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership said: “Brexit is perhaps the most important issue facing many businesses, so addressing its impact is crucial in our strategy to generate economic prosperity. We want to hear from businesses of all sectors and all sizes so that we can provide meaningful intelligence to help create an effective Productivity Plan for the Heart of the South West.”

Phil Norrey, Chair of BROG and Chief Executive of Devon County Council said: “We are committed to helping businesses embrace any opportunities that arise from leaving the EU and to help them mitigate any disadvantages they may face.

“In order to devise strategies to address Brexit, we need to understand the nature of what issues are important to our local businesses, so we urge them to take part in this survey and help us build a meaningful picture of the economic factors.”

BROG is also keen to receive anecdotal evidence from businesses, feedback from round table discussions, results of any surveys undertaken and any other intelligence on the impact Brexit is having amongst the business community. Businesses can contact Hattie Winter for more information about BROG and to give evidence and ideas:  Hattie.winter@heartofswlep.co.uk  07785 454130.