CEDOS September 2021 Newsletter
Message from the CEDOS Chair
I hope the CEDOS family had a good extended summer and are refreshed and ready to go for what already looks like a packed run in to 2022. We have long-awaited news on Community Renewal Fund, progress on Levelling Up and UK Shared Prosperity Fund, not to mention a potential outcome to LEP review to contend with.
Firstly, I would like to thank Dawn and Daniel from Surrey County Council for leading our last Lunch and Debate session and Rob for leading our work through the Community Renewal Forum, which has been a useful platform to share experiences and try and knit through the current fog. In addition, the CEDOS team have had a busy summer, reflecting member’s interests on the Rural Economy, on the LEP Review and on various aspects of Levelling Up and wider Government announcements – all of which are available on the CEDOS website.
I hope you can join us for our next Lunch and Learn session, focussing on developing high quality business cases which should be informative and thought provoking.
The wet summer has given me time to reflect on the past 18 months. The pandemic has ultimately brought together the economic development profession perhaps in a way that has never happened before. The UK has been a varied amalgamation of local economies and CEDOS members often represented different perspectives and came with very different priorities. Now we have come together around common issues like stimulating recovery, high streets, the digital economy, blended working, BREXIT and promoting economic inclusion.
I suspect watching recent news we have more areas of commonality brewing. A lack of HGV drivers has turned into a crisis for UK PLC and many stoic businesses recovering from lockdowns. However, not so much for current drivers who are now experiencing double digit plus pay rises. The knock-on effects are being felt from retail, the building trade and in many a local hostelry.
The HGV driver shortage is compounded by ongoing issues in the manufacturing and shipping industries and a developing CO2 shortage, all of which will have major implications in supply chains. I suspect these issues will be at the forefront of our minds going forwards and will be new areas to try and develop effective interventions.
Another issue moving rapidly up the to-do list is how to help businesses respond to an increasingly cashless society – with implications hitting micro businesses such as traders, the hospitality sector, the rural economy and small niche businesses. There are also considerable implications for the most disadvantaged in society, older generations and those in financial difficulties.
The final and perhaps more surprising issue at a local and national level is the rapidly increasing number of unfilled vacancies, which have now surged past a million and are higher than before the pandemic. This is an unexpected and positive outcome as the labour market rebounds rapidly. This bounce may be partly tempered when furlough ends, but could have significant implications for a long term recovery and for productivity led growth. A cumulation of EU workers leaving the UK, mismatches between job seekers and opportunities, the ‘pingdemic’ and a large cohort of the workforce exiting as a result of retirement or changing priorities due to the pandemic are all factors.
Over the past year we have been gearing up to tackle a major unemployment crisis, mobilise employment and skills programmes and try and create demand in the labour market. It seems we might have a very different and more supply led labour market crisis to tackle instead.
All food for thought now the barbeques are packed away for the year…..
Finally as always, if there are any colleagues who know of other Economic Development leaders who would like to join us, please signpost them to info@cedos.org.
Justin Brown, Lincolnshire County Council and CEDOS Chair.
New Secretary of State and MHCLG Rebrand
Rt Hon Michael Gove MP has been confirmed as Secretary of State at the newly rebranded Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as part of latest cabinet reshuffle, with Neil O’Brien MP as Parliamentary Undersecretary. The changes also see Andy Haldane become Head of the Levelling Up Taskforce – reporting to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State.
CEDOS look forward to working with the new Secretary of State and his team on some of the key shared issues that we face, including rethinking our urban cores, progressing investment programmes in economic and community infrastructure and supporting the Levelling Up process.
In January 2021, Andy Haldane contributed to a report on Levelling Up for the Industrial Strategy Council. To view the report, please click here.
Lunch & Learn Network Event – 24th September 2021
The next CEDOS Lunch and Learn session is scheduled for 12pm on Friday 24th September. The session will cover good practice and lessons learnt in the development of business cases to secure Government funding. Government is increasingly utilising a business case approach to allocate competitive resources and this is now a critical skill for any Local Authority economic development function. We hope you can join us at 12pm on 24th September 2021 and contribute to the debate
Lunch and Learn Network Event Recap: 21st July 2021
Thank you to participants who contributed to the healthy debate around the role of ‘Place in Economic Development’ at our last Lunch and Debate session. The impact of the pandemic on retail and town centres has been felt across the country and is an issue all members are grappling with. Focussing on town centres, we discussed the changing role of economic development towards being a more pro-active place leader – and the partnerships that will need to be fostered and the challenges overcome to do this.
For a copy of the presentation slides please click here.
Future of Economic Development CEDOS Research Study
CEDOS are undertaking research on behalf of members relating to the future role and skills requirement of economic development professionals in a fast-changing profession. Feedback from CEDOS members has been that there are currently limited opportunities (or awareness of opportunities) to enhance skills and experience through ongoing Continual Professional Development or specialist economic development orientated (and affordable) training courses.
Recognising the important roles we have in providing the right conditions for economies and communities to thrive, the role of economic development is moving more towards a place leadership role. In response to the above the CEDOS Executive are keen to better understand:
- What are the likely requirements of an Economic Development function in a changing world?
- What are the current skills and competencies within CEDOS members?
- Have CEDOS members been able to recruit/reskill staff to fulfil these roles
- What type of skills have members found most valuable in their teams?
- What skills are likely to be required by the profession going forwards?
- What are the skills and training opportunities that are available at present to allow the Continuing Professional Development of the profession?
- What are the gaps?
- What shared resources might be useful – such as template job descriptions, a CPD network or enabling focussed training and is there a potential role for CEDOS to fill any gaps?
We would gratefully appreciate it if members could spare a few minutes to complete the survey which can be accessed here. We will also be looking to interview a number of CEDOS members over the coming weeks. If you are happy to be interviewed as part of this process, please email rob@s4w.org.uk.
Community Renewal Fund
At CEDOS’ last Community Renewal Forum, members touched on some of the issues that ongoing delays to announcing which areas and projects had secured Community Renewal funding were having. The notes of the last meeting are available here. CEDOS was tasked with contacting MHCLG to make Ministers and Civil Servants aware of the challenges now faced, but to also recommit that Local Government has a key role in managing and distributing place-based investments.
Every first Monday of the month at 12pm-1pm, CEDOS will be facilitating a forum to discuss issues and share practical solutions and best practice around the Community Renewal Fund. It will be open to members and non-members and will run until May 2022. The forum will be virtual and can be accessed via an open link. The notes of each session are published on our website. Forthcoming forum dates will be:
- Monday 4th October 2021 – 12pm
- Monday 1st November 2021 – 12pm – 1pm
- Monday 6th December 2021 – 12pm – 1pm
Please contact info@cedos.org for further information.
Priorities for the Rural Economy
CEDOS’s membership represent some of England’s more rural areas and have a significant interest in any future activity and programmes to support and grow the rural economy, either under the auspices of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund or wider Government schemes or initiatives. Most of our members have actively been involved in developing rural strategies, delivering rural development programmes such as LEADER and the Rural Development Programme for England and supporting rural communities to achieve their potential.
With input from a number of rural Authorities we prepared a Prospectus for the Rural Economy, which was submitted to MHCLG and DEFRA as part of a consultation on the rural economy as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The prospectus covered key issues raised by members including:
- The challenges in stimulating an economic recovery in rural areas due to low demand, low population density and fluctuating raw material prices.
- Uncertainty over a raft of long term rural policy agendas
- The difficulty in delivery employment and skills interventions in rural areas
- Lack of connectivity and the growing digital economy
- Delivering innovation support to growing businesses to develop a growth focused, robust and broad business base in rural areas.
- Supporting the growth of market towns and the role of ‘place’ in rural development
- Ensuring there is a balanced planning system in place to enable necessary development but protect the key features of rural communities.
To see our full prospectus submission to DEFRA/MHCLG please click here
Benchmarking in Economic Development
CEDOS held a session on benchmarking in economic development on 13th September to identify what Local Authorities currently report in terms of performance and how they benchmark their services and their local economies against others. An outline note of the session is available here.
National Inclusive and Sustainable Economies Network
This new multi-agency network will explore evidence, ideas and promising practice about how we reset the economy for improved health and shared prosperity. Launched in June 2021, it will facilitate networking, sharing knowledge and bringing experts to challenge and grow thinking. The network is open to all those with an interest – to join please email health.equity@phe.gov.uk.
Tackling Current Skills Issues
We would be happy to hear from any members that have begun to develop proposals for tackling current skills shortages, especially those where shortages are critical including Logistics, Health and Social Care and Hospitality. Please email info@cedos.org if you would be happy to share your current experiences, contribute to the debate and share any potential case studies.
CEDOS on LinkedIn
CEDOS are delighted to launch our new LinkedIn company page for members to share links, news and commentary. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and we look forward to engaging with current and prospective members on the platform. To follow and post please visit https://www.linkedin.com/company/cedos/