Sponsor
Thursday 18th November 2010, One Great George Street - Central London, 08:50 - 16:00
Driving Economic Regeneration Through Local Economies
Overview
Local economic development and regeneration is essential in building the foundations of a strong national economy. The current challenging economic period provides an opportunity to explore new innovative ways of thinking about local economic development and regeneration.
Local businesses and organisations are the heart of any thriving community. Despite the country now being on the road to recovery, the scars left by the recession are most visible on the high streets and local economies around the UK. Businesses are the backbone of the economy, supporting jobs and growth, 5,000 of these businesses were wound up in the second quarter of 2009. With the economy now in recovery, with a predicted growth of 1% in 2010 and 2.6% in 2011, there needs to be a balanced, innovative economy, one that supports both industry and retail, but also invests in new industries that can help drive the recovery.
To ensure economic growth, there needs to be a focus on regional and local strengths. For local markets to regenerate and grow, regional and local partners need to work collaboratively to create an environment where businesses can flourish, with sustainable employment opportunities, as well as providing specific support to business and the economy.
The coalition government has set out their plans to create a new economic model, they intend to raise the private sector’s share of the economy in all regions of the country, allow greater availability of credit for small and medium sized businesses and set up business-led Local Enterprise Partnerships, which will be more responsive to local business needs.
Agenda
This forum will provide delegates with the opportunity to discuss the importance of local economic development and regeneration in driving the national recovery. Stakeholders will have the chance to examine what the new government will do to support local economic growth and rebuild local communities’ economic resilience.
| 08:50 |
Registration and Coffee |
| 09:20 |
Chair’s Welcome Address
Professor David North, Head, Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research, Middlesex University (CONFIRMED) |
| 09:30 |
Redefining, Regenerating and Rebuilding Local Economies
- How important are local economies both locally and nationally?
- What will the new government do to drive local economic growth and lay the foundations for future growth?
- Reviewing all small business taxation – Releasing undue administrative burdens or uncertainty on the self-employed, or restrict labour flexibility
- The role of Local Enterprise Partnerships
- Creating a level playing field between small and large retailers – Enabling councils to create competitive local plans to shape the direction and type of new retail development
- Making the UK one of the fastest countries in the world to start up new business – How?
- Promoting small business procurement within the public sector
- Regional Growth Funding 2011-12 and 2012-13 – Creating sustainable increases in business employment and growth
- Creation of a new Enterprise Capital Fund
- Reducing regulation and creating tax breaks
Andrew Field, Deputy Director, Policy and Partnerships, Economic Development Directorate,Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (CONFIRMED)
|
| 10:00 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 10:10 |
The Future of Local and Regional Economic Development
- How will limited local government finances effect economic development?
- What will be the implications of funding cuts on economic development and regeneration? - Giving local authorities more control over their funding
- The importance of economic development in boosting growth and developing an effective and skilled workforce for the future
- Ensuring there are measure to stimulate enterprise
- The importance of place based regeneration
Paul McKenna, Senior Consultant, Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) (CONFIRMED)
|
| 10:30 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 10:40 |
Coffee and Networking |
| 11:10 |
Will Local Enterprise Partnerships Work?
- What are the barriers to economic growth?
- What are the solutions?
- Ensuring LEPs are accountable to local people
- Giving LEPs the powers of other bodies to ensure they have the support to drive economic growth
- Integrating LEPs in a phased approach
- Good examples and points of reference
Kieran Larkin, Policy Analyst, Centre for Cities (CONFIRMED)
|
| 11:30 |
What Next for Economic Development?
- Who will be supporting businesses and how?
- Who will be tackling worklessness and how?
- Who will be supporting communities and how?
- How should the public sector ‘do’ economic development?
- What role for other sectors?
Keith Burge, Chair, Institute for Economic Development (IED) (CONFIRMED)
|
| 11:50 |
Regenerating Rural Economies
- What is the state of rural economies post -recession?
- Using the diversity of rural places to stimulate more empowered place based partnerships to mobilise local leadership, engaging key, local partners to work together
- Developing diversified, green and resilient local rural economies – Local food, eco-tourism and green technologies
- Helping rural economies build on the potential they offer
Roger Turner, Head, Rural Economies, Commission for Rural Communities (CONFIRMED)
|
| 12:10 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 12:30 |
Lunch and Networking |
| 13:30 |
Delivering Employment and Skills Interventions through Partnerships
- What opportunities exist to contract worklessness programmes in your local area?
- How do you effectively exploit this opportunity and gain buy-in from your partners?
- Successfully expanding the role of private providers in finding work for the jobless
- Developing an effective partnership framework to ensure deliverability
Matthew Nicholas, Director, Employers and Stakeholders, Jobcentre Plus (CONFIRMED)
|
| 13:50 |
Frameworks and Partnerships for Sustaining Employment
- Using the framework effectively to join up provision
- Developing strategic and delivery partnerships
- Giving employers and customers what they need to sustain employment
Janette Faherty OBE, Director, Avanta Enterprise Ltd (CONFIRMED)
|
| 14:10 |
Developing the Economic Potential of Small Cities, Market Towns and Rural Communities: Cumbria County Council
- Putting Lancaster, Carlisle and Chester at the heart of sub-regional economic development
- Harnessing the power of market towns to act as a catalyst for local investment and regeneration
- The Energy Coast Masterplan: Using £2 billion public and private-sector investment over 20 years for nuclear new build, waste management and other lo-carbon technologies, complemented by high-quality local services
- Building on the strengths of tourism and farming
- The enterprise development workers pilot project: Tackling deprivation through the creation of 106 new micro-enterprises and employment for more than 150 people
- The importance of physical infrastructure against the back drop of the floods
- Balancing economic, social and environmental policies to create a robust, resilient integrated regional strategy
- Progress and next steps
Lynn Parvin, Regeneration Strategy Manager, Allerdale Borough Council (CONFIRMED)
|
| 14:30 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 14:40 |
Coffee and Networking |
| 15:05 |
Building Economic Resilience at a Local Level: Tameside Council
- The Tameside Works first initiative: A £12 Million funding package to help business and mitigate the effects of the recession
- Putting innovation at the heart of economic resilience
- Creating partnerships with the Third Sector
- The outcomes:
- Ensuring councils deliver their local economic assessments
- Developing confidence in councillors to meet local economic priorities, with a focus on rural areas
- Improving job opportunities for all
- Opening access to skills and enhancing job opportunities
- Key themes:
- Personal resilience
- Skills and employment resilience
- Business resilience
- Community resilience
- Environmental resilience
- Future resilience
- Other lessons to be learnt and next steps
Tim Rainey, Assistant Chief Executive, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (CONFIRMED)
|
| 15:25 |
Building a New Economy: Manchester’s Commission for the New Economy
- The role of the Commission: Leading economic development for the Manchester City Region
- The priorities:
- Increasing the international connectivity of the regions firms, especially newly emerging economies
- Increasing direct foreign investment, with particular focus on knowledge-based sectors and low carbon industries
- Encouraging a culture of enterprise within the regions educational institutions
- The Greater Manchester Employer Coalition: Using business leadership and job opportunities to improve the career prospects of local people
- Delivering the Better Life Chances, Higher Level Skills and Retaining Talent priorities outlined in the Greater Manchester Strategy
- Providing economic intelligence and evidence to shape and inform regional economic policy
- Providing funding advice
- Progress so far and future work
Juan Gomez, Head of Economic Strategy, Manchester’s Commission for the New Economy (CONFIRMED)
|
| 15:50 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 16:00 |
Chair's Summary and Close |
*programme subject to change without notice
Audience
Delegates attending this forum will include heads of regeneration, heads of economic development, heads of planning, heads of town centre, director of partnerships, heads of policy, strategic directors, heads of enterprise, heads of sustainable communities, heads of sustainable development from central government departments, regional government, local government, private sector, third sector and academia.
