Conclusions and recommendations
1. It is vital that the North West retains skills in order to ensure the region is well positioned for the upturn. We are encouraged that witnesses reported that companies seem to have learnt the lessons of previous recessions and do appear to be doing all they can to avoid redundancies and retain skills in their workforce. We recommend that the Regional Minister continues to monitor this situation.
(Paragraph 16)
2. We conclude that Jobcentre Plus has, on the whole, dealt well with the challenges presented by the recession and has increased its staffing levels appropriately to meet the increased demand for its services. However, Jobcentre Plus must find a way to ensure that it is called in at an early stage when an employer is planning redundancies so that those affected can be given timely advice. We recommend that Jobcentre Plus and its partners continue to work with employers to achieve this.
(Paragraph 24)
3. It is unfortunate that the restructuring of the Learning and Skills Council is taking place in the middle of a recession. In these circumstances it is vital that the transition is planned as carefully as possible. We recommend that the Minister considers the benefits of linking the skills strategy for the Skills Funding Agency to the Regional Economic Strategy and writes to us about whether this is possible and desirable in the North West. We also recommend that in its response to this Report the Government sets out what lessons have been learned in the North West following the gross mismanagement by the LSC of the further education capital programme.
(Paragraph 30)
4. We conclude that
the North West Regional Development Agency, Jobcentre Plus and
the Learning and Skills Council appear to have developed a good
working relationship in the region. We welcome this close relationship
and recommend that these, and any successor, bodies continue to
work closely together in the future to ensure the region is not
disadvantaged by significant skills gaps in the future. (Paragraph
36)
5. We welcome the use of the Rapid Response Service and the Response to Redundancy Programme across the region where needed. However we are concerned that the effectiveness of the Rapid Response Scheme does not appear to be being monitored. We recommend that an exercise be undertaken to evaluate the programme in terms of outcomes for participants. We would also like to hear more from the Learning and Skills Council about the impact of the Response to Redundancy Programme in the North West once the programme is underway.
(Paragraph 40)
6. We consider increasing skills in the North West to be of the highest importance and we welcome the work that the LSC and partners have done to engage regional businesses in skills training. Train to Gain is providing an invaluable service in the North West and funding must be secured to ensure it can continue. We ask the Government to update us on progress with bidding for additional funding for the scheme in the North West.
(Paragraph 45)
7. We believe it is crucial that young people who have begun apprenticeships are able to complete them. The Government and its regional agencies have set up schemes to protect apprentices affected by the recession, but these do not appear to have been promoted enough within the region. We ask the Regional Minister to coordinate with companies, the further education sector and Jobcentre Plus to ensure that apprentices affected by the recession are made aware of what assistance is available to them. We also recommend that the Regional Minister takes the lead in ensuring that schemes to protect apprentices are promoted to all partners.
(Paragraph 52)
8. We support the apprenticeships scheme launched in Building Britain's Future and recommend that the Government sets out how it proposes to increase the number of apprenticeships available to young people in the North West within both the public and private sector.
(Paragraph 53)
9. We welcome the Future Jobs Fund as a means
of supporting innovative bids to create new jobs for the North
West. We recommend that the Regional Minister and the Government
Office for the North West work with partners, including the trade
unions, to ensure as many applications from the North West, particularly
from young people, are as successful as possible. (Paragraph
57)
10. We are encouraged that Jobcentre Plus,
the Learning Skills Council and university careers services are
working together to support graduates during the downturn. We
ask Jobcentre Plus and the Learning Skills Council, or its successor
bodies, to report back to us in six months time about the progress
made in delivering these initiatives and whether any further support
can be given to graduates in the region. (Paragraph 63)
11. We are strongly in favour of promoting and protecting jobs in the North West. However, any support funded by the taxpayer should be able to demonstrate value for money in its approach. We recommend that the short-time working proposals put forward by the Federation of Small Businesses and the TUC are discussed at the next meeting of the Joint Economic Commission in order to canvas support for the measures compared to other available options.
(Paragraph 67)
12. Manufacturing is a vital part of the North West economy and also supports a large service sector. We welcome the efforts made by NWDA and the Manufacturing Advisory Service to support manufacturers in the region. However, we believe more could be done by the NWDA and the Government to make sure that the manufacturing base in the region remain a diverse and important sector in the North West. We recommend that the NWDA and the JEC make manufacturing a priority over the next twelve months. We further recommend that the Regional Minister works with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to accelerate the delivery of the Automotive Assistance Programme in the region.
(Paragraph 74)
13. We welcome the work that the NWRDA and
Business Link have done to restructure Business Link. This had
clearly led to improved perceptions of Business Link and encouraged
businesses to seek advice and support from the service. However,
the NWDA and Business Link could still do more to promote Business
Link as a first point of call for early advice or a business health
check and we recommend that it continues to work with banks, local
authorities and other partners to improve signposting to the valuable
services it provides. (Paragraph 79)
14. We agree with the NWDA that the failure to restore sufficient access to credit and confidence in the banks remains a major risk to the regional economy. We recommend that the Government continues to apply pressure upon the banks at a regional and a national level with regard to increasing lending to businesses in the region. We also ask the Regional Minister to examine the cost of borrowing in the North West and report to us on how this compares with the pattern nationally.
(Paragraph 87)
15. We support the
joint work being done between Business Link, LloydsTSB and HBOS
to increase the dialogue between businesses and bank staff. However,
it is vital that the Government urges all major banks to educate
their staff about the services Business Link provides. (Paragraph
88)
16. It is difficult to measure the success of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme at present because of the low awareness among banks and businesses. This is a serious flaw in a scheme that was intended to increase the level of lending from the banks to businesses. We recommend that Business Link continue their work to increase take up of the scheme. This should include every opportunity to engage with bank staff who are involved in delivering the scheme. We further recommend that the Joint Economic Commission monitor the take up of this scheme and report this information to us on a quarterly basis.
(Paragraph 95)
17. There is a demonstrable need for venture capital funding in the North West. It is important to ensure that innovative small and medium sized enterprises survive the recession, and are well placed to expand when the opportunity arises. It also provides a vital potential source of funding for new-starters. We recommend that the Regional Minister works with HM Treasury to clarify the status of the Venture Capital Fund and accelerate a decision as to its final delivery, and that he reports back to this Committee on the response from HM Treasury.
(Paragraph 98)
18. Business Link and the NWDA have valuable experience of the needs of business in the region, and the detail of how projects are delivered on the front line. The Government should have engaged more with the Northwest Regional Development Agency before announcing initiatives that the NWDA had to implement. We recommend that in future the NWDA is involved in discussions about new initiatives in the region from the start. The Government should also consider how it disseminates information in the region to other partners, including banks, and review what it can do to make sure the delivery of initiatives does not become confused.
(Paragraph 101)
19. We welcome the move by the JEC to make prompt payment an immediate priority. There are differing opinions as to performance of public sector in paying on the 10 day target and we agree with the NWDA that there should be an audit of public sector (central government, agencies and local government) performance in this regard. These results should be made public, the reasons why the 10 day target is not being met in some parts of the public sector should be identified and the JEC should work with the relevant partner organisations to improve the level of performance.
(Paragraph 107)
20. We are dismayed to find that larger firms are exploiting their strength at the expense of small businesses. The JEC should identify and make public the worst offenders among the private sector in the region, to borrow the Regional Ministers phrase, we should be 'shining a light' on those that do not pay on time. The Government should also take this message to the banks, regionally and nationally, that they have a major role to play in increasing the speed with which cash can move through supply chains and help reduce the need among business to withhold payment.
(Paragraph 108)
21. We conclude that the NWDA refocused its priorities quickly and appropriately in response to the economic downturn. However, we are concerned about the impact budget cuts will have on Agency investments, particularly in 2010-11 when the transfer of funding to the Government's Homebuy Direct Scheme will hit the NWDA's budget hard. We recommend that the Government details the investment projects which the NWDA has had to cut or cancel as a result of this reduction in funding. We also ask the Government for a commitment that there will be no further cuts to the Agency's budget over the 2008-2011 period.
(Paragraph 126)
22. We
welcome the enthusiasm with which the new Regional Minister has
taken up his role. However, we also need to see action to be persuaded
that the role carries real weight and influence at Westminster
and that the Minister has time to commit to the role in addition
to his other responsibilities. We are concerned that the Government
Office for the North West (GONW) does not appear to be providing
strong leadership in the region. Indeed it seems invisible to
us as constituency MPs. We also remain to be convinced that the
Joint Economic Commission (JEC) has played any greater role in
the region than providing a forum for information sharing. We
recommend that the Regional Minister and GONW brief us on actions
agreed at the most recent JEC and then update us on progress delivering
these actions on a quarterly basis. We also recommend that the
Minister sets out what his intentions are for the future of the
JEC. (Paragraph 146)
23. We
conclude that the city region pilot scheme has potential to help
the local authorities in the Manchester conurbation work together
on areas of mutual benefit. However, the Government must ensure
that other parts of the North West do not lose out as a result.
We recommend that in its response to this Report the Government
set out what assessment it has made on the impact of the pilot
scheme for the rest of the region. (Paragraph 154)
24. We
welcome the Minister's confidence about the prospects for an economic
recovery. It is vital to ensure that the region is prepared for
an upturn and we place on the record now our intention to scrutinise
the Single Regional Strategy in detail. We recommend that the
North West Development Agency shares drafts of this document with
us as soon as it becomes available. (Paragraph 159)
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