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Memorandum submitted by Hertfordshire County Council (EE 12)
1. Hertfordshire County Council is very pleased to provide evidence to the East of England Regional Committee's first inquiry into the impact of the Government's response to the Global Economic Downturn in the East of England region.
Hertfordshire's response relates to the following areas for inquiry:
- the role of front line agencies in delivering the Government's programme and
- how various agencies are working together to deal with the current climate and also to prepare citizens and communities for the future upturn.
2. Herts County Council is taking a proactive approach to tackling the impact of the recession on Hertfordshire's people, communities and businesses. It is exercising clear community leadership by working with partners across all sectors, locally and regionally.
3. Over
the last year HCC has rebuilt the framework for economic partnership working in
Hertfordshire. In anticipation of the Sub National Review and Government
expectation that local government should have a stronger role in economic
development delivery, HCC has established a new economic partnership for
Hertfordshire-Hertfordshire Works. The partnership has a much wider and more
inclusive membership than the previous sub regional partnership. It includes
the
4. The new partnership has established the following priorities for the year ahead
- Develop a vision and new economic development strategy for Herts by November 2009, that has the support and agreement of all partners
- Adopt a clear performance management framework for the Board by September 2009
- Establish a countywide business forum by June 2009
- Develop an inward investment and business retention strategy by January 2010
- Deliver on the LAA Jobs, Prosperity and Skills targets and the 2009-10 Economic Participation programme;
- Effectively coordinate Hertfordshire's response to the recession;
5. The Partnership has set up five topic groups to take forward its agenda.
- Strategy & Economic Intelligence - Skills and Economic Participation - Recession Task Force - Inward Investment and Business Support - Vibrant Towns
6. Herts Forward the Countywide LSP, led by HCC, has agreed to focus approximately £4m of its LAA Performance Reward Grant on a coordinated programme designed to help Hertfordshire through the recession and to position it well for future recovery.
The programme includes:
- £500k additional funding for the Hertfordshire CABX to provide 5 specialist debt advisers over the next 2 years.
- Increased funding for counselling services for families under stress
- Creating up to 400 apprentices across all sectors in Hertfordshire
- Additional funding for strengthening business skills in the voluntary and community sector and social enterprise
- £500k capital fund for local shopping centre improvement and Shop Local campaign
- £200k for an Inward Investment and Business Retention programme with East of England International and Herts Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
- £1.5m capital for an incubation centre for new entrepreneurs
- £100k for SME "Ready for Recovery" programme with Hertfordshire Business Link
7. The Recession Task Force has developed a 20 point pledge to ensure all partners in Hertfordshire do their bit and work collaboratively on the recession (Appendix 1).
8. The County Council Economic Development Team are monitoring the economic wellbeing of Hertfordshire on a monthly basis, providing information to all partners, reporting regularly to Herts Forward and Herts Leaders and feeding into the Regional Economic Forum.
9. The recession and the future prosperity of Hertfordshire is an important theme in the County's new Corporate Plan. Within HCC, all departments have been asked to consider the impact of the recession on their services and to respond by refocusing mainstream activities where necessary. This has included:
- In Adult Care, providing additional resources to the Money Advice Service to help vulnerable adults.
- In trading standards, working with business to coordinate advice and support on regulatory services.
- In procurement, working with Herts Chamber of Commerce and Industry and local businesses to help them be better equipped to bid for public sector contracts.
- Establishing a Local Employers Partnership between HCC, Manpower and Job Centre Plus.
- Developing a bid with partners to the Government Future Jobs Fund.
- Supporting the development of Countywide Credit Union.
- Paying invoices for SME's promptly.
- Lobbying for critical infrastructure investment to unlock economic growth and major regeneration projects e.g. A1(M) widening, Croxley Rail Link. Appendix 1
Hertfordshire Economic Partnership: Hertfordshire Recession Pledge
22 May 2009
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