Agenda item

To consider questions from Councillors received in accordance with procedure rule 9.

The Leader responded to two questions submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 9.2 from Councillors Tom Baker-Price and Juliet Brunner as detailed below.

a)        Economic Productivity

Councillor Tom Baker-Price asked the following question.

Following the recent statistics showing unemployment in the Borough is at the lowest level in a decade, can the Leader explain to the Council how Redditch's economic policy written in 2007 is able to meet the current economic challenge of improving economic productivity?

The Leader replied as follows:

I would like to thank Councillor Baker-Price for his question.

Firstly it is worth acknowledging that in June 2015 unemployment in Redditch (as measured by the number of residents claiming Job Seekers Allowance - JSA) stood at 769 people, or 1.4% of the resident population.  It is pleasing to note that this rate is well below the West Midlands rate of 2.2% and the national rate of 1.7%.

However I would also add that some of those in employment may be in part time jobs, zero hours contracts, low paid jobs or minimum wage jobs.

The Council does have a published Economic Development Strategy which covers the period 2009-2018 and was approved in July 2009. It is worth reflecting that the number of residents claiming JSA for Redditch in August 2008 (as published in the Strategy) stood at 1,230, so we have seen nearly a 40% reduction in the number of Redditch residents claiming JSA over the last seven years. 

Clearly, we want to see a further reduction in the unemployment rate in Redditch, but we are on an upward curve and making positive progress.  We also want to see well paid secure skilled jobs in Redditch.

The economic environment has changed significantly since 2008, as we have moved through a major economic recession into a period of recovery. 

The economic development environment has also changed significantly. When the strategy was originally published we were required to work with Regional Development Agencies, Regional Assemblies and Regional Spatial Strategies - they are now all gone. 

The agenda has changed and the Council is actively working with the two Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) - it is a member of both the Worcestershire LEP and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBSLEP).  The Council is also engaged in the discussions around the emerging Combined Authorities. 

The economic conditions are changing and we are seeing a renewed appetite for investment in the manufacturing sector, a sector which is vital for Redditch and supports 8,500 jobs, that’s nearly 24% of the total employment for Redditch.  The manufacturing sector is becoming more efficient and productive and Redditch is well placed to capitalise on further growth in high value sectors such as automotive, aerospace and engineering. 

The future development of sites, such as “The Redditch Eastern Gateway”, have the potential to support new inward investment into the area and provide high value employment opportunities for our residents.  A recent report estimated that the development of the Redditch Eastern Gateway will create up to 1,200 new net jobs for Redditch as well as adding a net figure of at least £100m per annum of Gross Value Added (GVA) to the local economy, which will help to address the challenge outlined by Councillor Baker-Price around economic productivity.

The Council will continue to work with its partners to ensure that local businesses continue to invest in and support our local workforce and to invest in apprenticeships.  On this front, it is particularly pleasing that a Redditch apprenticeships employer event, supported by the Council, recently attracted over 30 small/medium businesses and the outcome was that 40 new apprenticeship opportunities were generated. The Council is committed to supporting young people into apprenticeship opportunities and wants to retain as much local talent and skills within Redditch as possible.

Taking into account the passage of time since the current Economic Development Strategy was published and the changing economic circumstances we find ourselves in, the Council is currently refreshing its set of economic priorities and plans to ensure that it reflects current opportunities and challenges.  I have sought the input of local partners and businesses into this process through the Economic Development Theme Group, a partnership of members and people from the business, voluntary and education sectors, and we have agreed themes of Skills, Enterprise, Vibrant and Confident.  

A report will come to the Executive Committee in September and this will set out the new economic themes and priorities and our future plan of activity.

A supplementary question was subsequently raised by Councillor Baker-Price asking the Leader to inform the Council of any barriers to economic productivity that he was aware of which could have a negative impact on the living standards of Redditch residents.

The Leader replied by explaining that the Council was not complacent and recognised that there would always be the need to explore additional opportunities to enhance economic productivity.  The Council would continue to work with partners to attract new companies and employers to the Borough and to work with partner organisations to achieve the best for Redditch.

b)        Combined Authorities

Councillor Juliet Brunner asked the following question:

Does the Leader agree with me that a combined authority should provide a better service for its residents than the sum of its parts - and that  the services provided to each entity within any new combined  local authority should be better than prior to amalgamation, or combining and in answering can the leader confirm that, in accordance with local authority statutes, all meetings concerning external matters - specifically, combined authority discussions - are minuted how many such meetings has the leader had where issues to do with any combined authority, or local authority amalgamation, have been an agenda item ,can he summarise the discussions and will he confirm that he will be attending all future meetings?

The Leader replied as follows:

I'd like to thank Councillor Brunner for her question.

In answering however I have to say I am disappointed that Councillor Brunner felt the need to ask the question, given that I asked for a report to be brought to the last meeting of the Executive Committee which outlined the current position with regard to Combined Authority discussions. I would also like to point out that I didn’t really need to bring the report to the Executive Committee but I wanted to ensure the Executive Committee, and ultimately the Council, were fully aware of discussions. Furthermore Councillor Brunner took part in those discussions and voted in favour of the proposed delegated authority.

I’d also like to quote from the draft minutes of the Executive:

“Members agreed that it was in the best interests of the town for the Council to have a presence at the discussions, in order to be able to ask questions and ascertain what was on offer for Redditch.  It was agreed that the Chief Executive would email Members every couple of weeks to provide them with an update as to the position and any key discussions which had taken place.”

I am sure that the Chief Executive as promised will e-mail Members with an update as to on-going discussions.

Turning to the first part of Councillor Brunner’s question, I think that Councillor Brunner may be confused as to what a Combined Authority is or could be.  In answering I will simply repeat what I stated at the Executive Committee; that I want what is best for Redditch and we won’t know what is on offer unless we join in the discussions, so the simple answer is yes.

In terms of the second part of the question again I think Councillor Brunner may be confused about statutes – she may want to clarify what local authority statutes she is referring to – I am assuming that she is referring to outside bodies.  If this is the case they are not bound by local authority statutes but by their own rules and regulations. The only ones I believe that are considered to be outside bodies are the GBSLEP, the GBSLEP Supervisory Board and the Worcestershire LEP. As Councillor Brunner knows the Council is represented by Councillor Campion on the GBSLEP and Councillor Sherrey on Worcestershire LEP but I would reiterate that no decisions are taken there with regard to a combined authority. I sit on the GBSLEP Supervisory Board and have attended the meetings where Combined Authorities have been discussed.  A summary of those discussions were contained in the report to the Executive Committee less than a couple of weeks ago. Agenda for the GBSLEP are on the GBSLEP website and minutes of Worcestershire LEP Board meetings are on the Worcestershire LEP website.

As previously stated earlier the Chief Executive has been asked to provide an update with regard to Combined Authority discussions.

Other meetings that will cover the Combined Authority discussions will be Worcestershire Leaders’ Board, GBSLEP Leaders’ Board, a leaders and officers group from the proposed West Midlands Combined Authority area and the northern alliance meeting (Redditch, Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest Leaders and Chief Executives). I can confirm that, barring unforeseen circumstances, I should be attending those meetings; if I cannot then I can send a substitute).

Following the Leader’s response clarification was requested concerning the requirements the combined authority to be reported to the Executive Committee.  The Chief Executive explained that delegated powers had already existed to enable him and the Leader to meet with partner organisations to discuss the Combined Authority concept further.  However, to ensure that the process was transparent a decision had been taken for a report to be presented on this subject at the 14th July 2015 meeting of the Executive Committee.

A supplementary question was subsequently proposed by Councillor Brunner in respect of the date when the Chief Executive’s first update report would be made available for Members’ consideration.

The Chief Executive explained that he had been on leave when the latest meeting to discuss the Combined Authority had taken place.  The Deputy Chief Executive had attended in his absence and would be providing him with a summary of the outcomes of this meeting.  It was anticipated that an update on the outcomes of this meeting would be provided for Members’ consideration by the end of July.  Members were also asked to note that this was a fast moving agenda and this would be reflected in the updates that would be provided.