In the Chancellor’s Budget, I was pleased to see progress on nuclear delivery and an overdue reset of the green agenda, as well as some reference to clusters, which are becoming increasingly important. The package to encourage people back into work is welcome, and it was also positive to see incentives to encourage more investment in businesses.
However, much of the specific support is passing the South West by, often in favour of the North and Midlands; a missed opportunity for our area. This underlines the continued need for a strong, clear message about the challenges and opportunities of our area.
The Chancellor also revealed that there will be a consultation to transfer the role and functions of LEPs to local authorities. It is good to receive some clarity around the future role of LEPs, and we will be working with Government and our local authorities to ensure an orderly transition.
The details of how this will be progressed will now form part of the consultation process in the coming months. I would like to thank the LEP board and staff for their continued support and efforts, as we move through this next phase.
In the meantime, the Budget and the continually challenging economic data mean there is a lot to do! Therefore we will continue to deliver transformational opportunities through our Build Back Better Plan, and tackle the region’s challenges alongside our key partners.
David Ralph
Chief Executive
We're calling on Government to support our future skills
The region’s ‘skills gap’ is leaving some of our most innovative companies struggling to fill roles, and slowing down growth. Demand for key sectors such as tech and digital is outweighing the number of skilled workers.
We are calling on Government to support the area in upskilling the workforce for the jobs of the future, through increased flexibility on the apprenticeship levy, and accelerating the availability of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for skills support. It is crucial that we work with Government to support more people into the labour market, and ensure people’s skills are resilient to the future of industry.
Vital investments needed to improve connectivity
Delivering people and businesses with improved connectivity is fundamental to supporting business growth, collaboration, inclusivity and innovation, and is a key enabler for economic growth.
It is therefore vital that Government commit to getting our most hard-to-reach areas connected. We are urging Government to confirm its promises and deliver vital funding for transport and digital projects in our area.
South West businesses need increased support through economic downturn
Inflation may be predicted to fall later this year, but businesses are still dealing with higher costs and struggling to source the right skills. We need vital funding to support South West businesses through these challenges.
We are urging Government to confirm support for our area’s business community, to help businesses through the economic downturn, and ensure they can flourish now and in the future. We are also calling for targeted funding to support businesses in their transition to becoming net zero.
Spring Budget: passing the South West by?
In his blog, David Ralph discuss the impact of the Budget on the South West: “With a general election in the not too distant future, it seems that red wall voters have been targeted, with the South West left somewhat at the margins.”
“The Budget fails to recognise the strong social mobility and levelling up challenges facing our area, as well as passing by our real opportunities such as floating offshore wind, and our key cluster around climate change science, clean mobility, marine, high value engineering and photonics.”
