Agenda item

To receive a report from the Director Place updating Members on activities undertaken by the Economic Development Team during the last quarter.

The Group received a report from the Director Place which provided an update on the latest economic statistics from the Economic Development Team. An officer highlighted the following points:

·        Economic unemployment had stayed at 1.9% which was still higher than pre pandemic levels.

·        Two job fairs had been conducted, which included opportunities for Ukrainian guests. There were people who had gained jobs from these job fairs, with one more job fair organised for October 2022.

·        The work of the team over the last few months had mostly been towards gaining bids, with a bid submitted on time for the levelling up fund, with results announced in the autumn spending review. In addition, the shared prosperity fund was submitted on time but no feedback had yet been received and was due to start in October 2022.

·        There were number of work programmes from this, once approved these bids would fund programmes such as: an umbrella scheme called ‘love your town centre’ which would include a number of programmes over a three year period, these would be used for Credition,  Tiverton and Cullompton  and would support vacant shops. Some funding for events and activities would be used to enhance highstreets and support for businesses wanting to use digital marketing. However, there was no launch date for these programmes as funding was yet to be approved. 

·        Field to fork was a programme which supported local producers to sell directly to consumers which would help shorten the supply chain. This would also support food tourism with Mid-Devon.

·        Visitor economy included a number of projects such as better signage throughout the district to encourage visitors to Mid-Devon. There was a proposal for a pilot walking festival in the 3^rd year to be held across the district.  The majority of the money had bene planned to go towards local businesses, supporting work hubs (flexible working) to help encourage rural facilities such as community halls to support this and develop what work hubs could offer.

·        There was an intention for a grant scheme for business innovation to be delivered. These grants would help businesses get to the next stage of their development, with an intention for a business innovation centre to be created.  

·        Skills support and training for people for the future labour market was estimated to be introduced in 2024/25. This considered inequalities within employment with the aim to develop skills to support initial employment. It was hoped that this work programme could be deployed once funding was approved.

·        A rural uplift fund was mentioned, which aimed to support the economy in rural areas, a Government package of £817,672 had been allocated to Mid-Devon. This fund would increase the shared prosperity fund, however there was a need to write and submit a proposal by the end of November. It would be capital funding and therefore had meant that it would have to be capital projects as well as be aligned with the shared prosperity fund.

The Chair opened the floor to the Group for questions that related to the rural and shared prosperity fund, which were as followed:

·        A Member sought clarification on farmers who want to sell directly from their farm. They asked if farms would need the appropriate licences to do so. An Officer explained that processing of primary products would be included under DEFRA schemes whereas the Farm to Fork scheme was aimed at non farming businesses, for example a food box scheme or a shop.

The chair explained that the field to fork scheme was most likely to be used to encourage farmers to diversify.

It was added by a Member that the term field to fork was often associated with livestock farming rather than the wider agricultural market.

The Chair thanked comments from Members and asked officers to continue their presentation on the Cullompton heritage action zone. An Officer highlighted the following:

·        The project officer had resigned and an interim officer had been allocated to temporarily fill this post. Recruitment was underway so that this position could be filled and it was reassured that the scheme was to be continued.

·        The second round of consultations had been completed and work was underway with Devon County Council.

·        There were still strands of work that were still ongoing, particularly within the voluntary sector such as homes for Ukraine so that it is ensured that sufficient support was provided.

The Group thanked the officers for their work on economic development within the district and noted that a considerable amount of work had been undertaken. In addition, the Director of Place also noted that the good work done on the shared prosperity fund.

RESOLVED: That report be noted.