submission from slaed - parliament.scot€¦ · changing economic circumstances? ... workshop...

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Angus Argyll & Bute Clackmannanshire Dumfries & Galloway Dundee City

East Ayrshire East Dunbartonshire East Lothian East Renfrewshire City of Edinburgh Falkirk Fife Glasgow

City Highland Inverclyde Midlothian Moray North Ayrshire North Lanarkshire Orkney Islands Perth & Kinross

Renfrewshire Scottish Borders Shetland Islands South Ayrshire South Lanarkshire Stirling West Dunbartonshire

West Lothian Western Isles

SUBMISSION FROM SLAED

1. The SLAED Group is formed from the professional body of Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development senior managers. It meets at least four times a year, with an additional annual conference. This is supplemented by the regular meetings of additional sub groups focused on the areas of trade, tourism, business development, rural development and employability, and by an executive group. SLAED provides an opportunity for economic development professionals to discuss and co-operate on relevant issues and is the only national forum for exchange of best practice amongst professional staff.

2. The membership of the group is drawn from the directors, heads of department

and senior officers and is chaired by Alex Anderson of North Ayrshire Council.

3. The SLAED Group actively discusses national issues and national strategy and such discussions are backed by wide experience in delivering services locally. There is no party political bias to the work of the Group and as senior, active practitioners the members are well placed to facilitate fitting national, strategic programmes to local conditions. Members are particularly well informed on local and regional economic conditions within Scotland.

4. Every local authority in Scotland has a representative member on the Group. In

addition, COSLA and The Scottish Executive send a representative to meetings.

5. SCDI has provided the secretariat for the SLAED Group since 1991 when the

Group was first brought together on a formal basis. 1. How successful have the previous contracts been in securing effective business support services?

6. Evidence from the recent evaluation, alongside the quality assurance and monitoring work carried out throughout the contract period, suggests that the existing contracts have been successful in providing a level of service and overall benefit to the economy in line with that which should be expected of a service of this scale and design.

7. Key points:

Minimum 77,000 service users over 2008-2011 (not including a min 24,000 visitors to bgateway.com).

Net economic impact of £301m in GVA generated

Economic impact ratio of £7 GVA for each £1 of costs incurred

Impact ratios are in line with those recorded by similar business support services across England and Wales.

92% customer satisfaction rates, 91% customers say the service met their expectations, 86% customers say the service was beneficial in helping them meet their business goals

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High levels of awareness of the service amongst target groups

Recognition among stakeholders that BG provides a good quality service and that the transition to LA control has been smooth

Significant successes achieved at local level in: o Integrating BG with other business facing LA services (planning,

licensing…etc) o Introducing additional support services to complement the core BG

service meet the needs of local businesses – ERDF funded BG Plus & Inspiring Enterprise, ERDF funded ESIF, Interreg funded Open Innovation (increasing evidence here of links between Growth pipeline work and Open Innovation programmes).

8. These are all indications that the service has been successful in meeting its

purpose to good effect. 2. What should comprise the “core services” in the new contracts, at a time when resources for local economic development, which are not ring-fenced, may be in decline?

9. As the evaluation outlines, the service in its current configuration is considered (by partners, stakeholders and customers) „fit for purpose‟. As such, the core services provided by BG - the combination of nationally co-ordinated Web and Telephone services alongside locally managed programmes of advisory support and skills workshops – should be retained.

10. Within these programmes, the target customer group for the service includes

prestart and early startup clients, startup and existing businesses with the potential to achieve significant levels of growth, and existing firms with a need for support to improve their skills and sustain their business. Again, in broad terms these customer groups are considered to be appropriate and should be retained within the core service element of the new contract.

11. From the point of view of achieving consistency and a minimum level of service

across the country, it is important that these core elements are agreed and maintained across all local authority areas. These core elements should fit with the new set of Local Economic Development Indicators developed by SLAED.

3. What flexibility will be necessary within the new contracts to allow for changing economic circumstances?

12. Throughout the new contract, it is important that local authority managers and contractors have the flexibility to respond to the needs of their local market place. This need should be met by allowing regional flexibility and autonomy in the criteria needed to access growth support strong local management of workshop programmes to ensure that content is relevant and provision additional to that provided by other agencies; local autonomy to use BG funds to introduce additional services to complement and add value to the core BG offer.

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13. All of this flexibility should be targeted on the need to maintain a customer focused programme of support and to maintain the relevance of the service in response to changing market conditions (both over time and between regions).

4. What is the optimum length for the contracts?

14. To maintain a level of certainty and consistency in provision (and to encourage forward planning and partnership working), it is recommended that the contracts run for a minimum of three years with an option to extend for a further two years thereafter.

5. Are improvements to the marketing of services necessary to enable BG to reach out to all eligible potential clients?

15. Over the past twelve months the BG marketing team have made considerable progress in changing the scope of marketing efforts to reach out to a broader range of clients than the startup group for which the service is already well known. These efforts have included a change in the creative designs used in marketing and increased emphasis on digital marketing routes (including video case studies of advisors and clients), direct mailing, radio campaigns, event sponsorships as well as traditional media advertising – all focused on promoting the BG offer to existing and growth business clients.

16. Initial evaluations undertaken over this summer suggests that this approach

has been successful in improving the cost effectiveness and impact of the marketing spend and in encouraging more existing business clients to contact BG for support. Further and continued effort, however, is required to evaluate how successful the approach is being in attracting significant numbers of new growth clients to the service.

6. How can the contracts provide a minimum quality of service provision across the country?

17. Service levels maintained by:

Agreement on a core set of nationally provided services, provided to an agreed quality standard in all areas, backed up by

A robust, outcome-based approach to ongoing evaluation of the service. This process should be managed by the BG National Unit.

Alignment with SLAED National Indicators

Alignment with SLAED Service Improvement Model 7. Should/must BG contracts be based entirely on the Scottish Government’s economic strategy or is there room for local flexibility?

18. Business Gateway outcomes should be consistent with Scottish Government‟s economic strategy as well as, through individual areas‟ Single Outcome Agreements, the economic development strategies of individual areas.

19. As stated above, local flexibility in service design and targeting is required to

ensure the relevance of the service is maintained and its impact maximised.

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Within this flexibility, however, the core focus of BG provision should be towards a shared set of outcome-based performance indicators (set out in the performance monitoring framework alluded to above).

8. What targets are appropriate for assessing growth? Should growth be expressed in terms of turnover or are numbers of jobs created or export potential more appropriate?

20. With regard to criteria for access to growth services (whether „growth pipeline‟ or „high value startups‟), targets around turnover and jobs are both appropriate.

9. How can the contract be designed to ensure BG services are fit to meet the needs of “non-standard” companies, such as social enterprises, cooperatives, not-for-profit firms etc? How should they work alongside the new Just Enterprise service?

21. Business Gateway services are already made available to social enterprises and other „non standard‟ firms in Scotland who meet specific segmentation criteria (in other words, such firms are treated in precisely the same way as any business). Provision for these organisations is very much mainstream Business Gateway services and it is expected that the new service will continue this activity. Additional public sector support to such organisations is welcomed and referrals between agencies should be managed and monitored under a partnership agreement with BGNU.

10. What is the most desirable method of contracting for future services (i.e. is there a risk that, under competitive tender, local knowledge and expertise could be lost)? What are the legal and cost implications?

22. Delivery arrangements and any required contract re-tendering process should be a decision for the lead local authority (in agreement with their partner authorities) in each delivery area and should comply with legislative and procedural requirements

11. Is re-tendering over such a long timeframe necessary? What is the risk of disruption to delivery and damage to the morale of staff delivering services?

23. Including the evaluation phase, the process will take 18 months. This is in line with the process undertaken by Scottish Enterprise in 2006/7. The due care and attention taken by the SLAED and Business Gateway Scotland Board is proportionate to the size, scope and value of the project.

24. Properly managed, there should be minimal risk of disruption to delivery of

services or damage to staff morale. 12. How do experiences of in-house delivery compare with outsourced delivery models?

25. SLAED has not undertaken any studies comparing these two models.

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13. Has the transfer of services to Local Authorities promoted a more business-friendly ethos within Local Authorities as a whole?

26. SLAED refers to written evidence provided to the predecessor committee (September 2010) on the effectiveness of the transfer of business gateway services to Local Authorities (Attached)

Review of Enterprise Network Reforms: Evidence gathering research Final report

SLAED Business Growth Sub-group 09/09/2010 Introduction In January this year, the Scottish Parliament‟s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee gave notice that it intends to undertake a review of the efficacy of the 2007 reforms made to the enterprise networks. This review is programmed to commence during September 2010 and will consider the impacts arising from the transfer of responsibilities to local government that took place in 2008 and examine “what, if any, should be the fundamental role of a publicly-funded enterprise network”. Terms of reference for the review were agreed in June 2010 along with a call for written submissions to be made. Oral evidence to the committee is expected to take place during September 2010 to February 2011. At the end of the inquiry, the Committee will provide a report to Parliament, including a series of conclusions and recommendations for actions to be taken by the Scottish Government. In advance of this review, the SLAED Business Growth sub-group have undertaken a short research exercise to support the need of SLAED and its partners to provide evidence to the committee. The purpose of the exercise is to gather evidence of: Means by which Local Authorities add value to the mix of services provided through Business Gateway; and, The extent to which transfer of responsibilities to Local Authorities has met the expectations of Government as expressed at the time of the reforms. This paper represents a report on the findings of this exercise. The results reported here are based on: Analysis of responses to a survey of all 32 local authorities which gathered details of business support services provided and council budget commitments. A review of existing research into local authority delivery of economic development services. A review of the rationale behind Scottish Government reforms of enterprise networks as expressed in the Business Gateway Policy paper and the 26th September 2007 statement made by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth to the Scottish Parliament.

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Throughout the analysis, the paper concentrates on direct business support services delivered by Local Authorities and adopts a relatively narrow definition of these activities, focussing on delivery of services which support or directly complement the core objectives of the Business Gateway service. Other economic development activities provided by local authorities – such as employability and skills, physical regeneration, area marketing and promotion, investor support – are considered outside the remit for this exercise. Enterprise Network Reforms The 2007 reforms of enterprise networks in Scotland provided local authorities with the challenge to: Promote greater cohesion between Business Gateway services and other locally provided economic development services Improve the experience of customers by providing a single point of access for all business support activities, and Develop the Business Gateway service in a true spirit of partnership with other agencies and stakeholders (both public and private sector) The rationale behind these reforms is set out in two key documents. The first of these, the cabinet secretary‟s statement to Parliament on Enterprise Network reform1, describes two main objectives behind the reforms: “First, we have been determined to establish within the enterprise agencies a clear focus on … assisting enterprise development in Scotland. Secondly, we have been determined to create greater cohesion in the provision of local economic and enterprise development services in Scotland” This second objective, greater cohesion in service delivery, is of particular importance and is a theme returned to throughout the statement. Specifically: “We need to secure better and closer working between the agencies that have a shared responsibility to work with the Government to achieve our objectives for the Scottish economy” And “The Government is determined to bring greater cohesion to the availability of business support services at the local level” With regard to Business Gateway, the rationale for transferring responsibility is based on the position that: “Truly local activities … should be transferred to local authorities, to enable them to take up a much more significant role in building their local economy. The business gateway is one such function.

1 Source: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-07/sor0926-

02.htm#Col2071

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-07/sor0926-02.htm#Col2071

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-07/sor0926-02.htm#Col2071

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” And that “It is appropriate that that service should be delivered by local authorities, with which those businesses already interact on a range of local issues” Again, this second point is emphasised, the primary objective of the reforms being to improve the convenience by which businesses can access support services through the promotion of greater integration of Business Gateway with those provided by Local Authorities and other partners (Scottish Enterprise, Chambers of Commerce, Enterprise Trusts and other stakeholders). Indeed, the statement goes on to say that: “We believe that a package of services—from the business gateway, local authorities and the enterprise network—can be made available conveniently, under the auspices of local authority offices at the local level, and we will encourage the development of such an approach. We expect that the reforms will enable local businesses to reach a single point of access for advice on planning, licensing, business development and other services.” These themes of promoting integration between delivery agencies and improving customer experiences are similarly reflected in the Scottish Government‟s policy relating to the Business Gateway service following the implementation of the 2007 reforms2. In particular, the policy outlines an expectation that the transfer of Business Gateway to local authorities will: “deliver services closer to users…develop genuine business engagement and achieve better local accountability” “allow integration with other services such as planning, environmental health services, consumer and trading standards, tourism, community planning etc…to deliver an improved service for Business Gateway customers” “progress the Business Gateway as an improved service in a spirit of genuine partnership and co-operation with the rest of the business community” “involve Scotland’s local authorities more fully in economic development and provide them with new opportunities to contribute to growing local business success" Main Findings The initial findings from this review suggest five key means by which Local Authorities have added value to services since the implementation of reforms in 2008. Specifically, over the two years since reforms were made, Local Authorities have: Held enterprise development as a key strategic priority and committed significant levels of financial resources to provision of business support activities, over and above the value of Business Gateway contracts received from Government; Broadened the range of services on offer by providing additional business support services not available through the core BG contract. Ensured a high quality of service provision to Business Gateway customers

2 „Business Gateway Policy Paper‟, Business Gateway Transitional Steering Group, May 2009

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Improved the responsiveness of Business Gateway to the needs of local businesses. Created greater cohesion in delivery of services through improved partnership working and greater integration with other Local Authority services. Committing Financial Resources to Business Support The 2009 EKOS review of Local Authority Economic Development activity highlighted provision of business support services as a high priority for local authorities in Scotland. The review found that: Local Authorities have responded positively to the transfer of Business Gateway responsibility and other aspects of the 2007 reforms, viewing these as having had a helpful impact on the local economy and their ability to provide services. Economic development and business support are seen as a higher priority area for councils as a result of the transfer 60% of LAs rank business support as the highest or second highest spending priority within total ED budgets On average, business support services account for some 16% of total Economic Development budgets3, though this varies considerably between different areas (from a high of over 40% in some areas to a low of 0%). Looking forward, LAs recognise that continuing to deliver and develop services in an era of reduced financial resources is the biggest challenge facing economic development departments. Nevertheless, the majority of authorities remain optimistic about their ability to meet these challenges (65% rate their ability to meet challenges as „Very good‟ or „good‟). Steps being taken to meet these challenges include development of strategic policies to reflect the current economic environment, increasing the priority and role of Economic Development within councils, better partnership working and making best use of partner resources. These findings are confirmed by the survey of Local Authorities carried out for this paper: Over and above core Business Gateway funding, Local Authorities commit significant levels of financial resources to the provision of business support services in their areas. On average, evidence suggests that funds sourced and committed by councils equate to a further 67% over and above the core Business Gateway budget (though the precise ratio varies significantly between areas). Grossing up survey results across Scotland as a whole, these findings suggest a total council sourced contribution of £9.5m per annum.

3 This is a very broad estimate and may be biased by differing definitions of „Business Support‟ between

the Authorities responding to the EKOS survey.

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The strategic objectives which guide the allocation of these resources vary across Scotland in line with the specific needs of the local economies each authority serves. A review of these objectives, however, does reveal a number of key common messages which reveal the approach local authorities have taken to enterprise development in their areas. Key strategic objectives include:

Supporting the creation and growth of indigenous businesses

Growing the base of internationally competitive local firms

Supporting the development of key clusters and sectors

Providing assistance to inward investors

Promoting a culture of entrepreneurship

Encouraging innovation and knowledge transfer activities

Promoting measures to diversify local economies

Introducing recession proofing measures to promote business survival and growth

More detail on the specific measures introduced to meet these objectives is provided in the next section. In addition to committing their own funds to such priorities, Local Authorities have also been active and successful in using European Structural Funds to generate resources for business support. Over the last three rounds, successful ERDF applications led by Local Authorities have totalled some £14.5 million. In Lowland Scotland alone Local Authorities together account for a third of all ERDF funded activity for business support (excluding the Scottish Co-investment fund programme which itself accounts for almost 50% of all ERDF Priority 2 funds allocated to date in Lowland Scotland), a similar proportion to that received by Scottish Enterprise. Table 1 provides an overview of the ERDF allocations for enterprise growth activities made to projects led by Local Authorities to date. These projects cover a range of activities from growth advisory services and key sector development activities to loan and investment funds aimed at improving access to finance for SMEs. In many cases the projects represent good examples of partnership working with groups of local authorities and other partners coming together to develop cross boundary programmes. This analysis, it should be noted, may understate the full level of European funded business support activity being undertaken by local authorities. Other business growth/business support programmes include those funded through LEADER, ERDF priorities focused on rural or peripheral areas, ESF projects focussed on employee skills development. Within the current context of public sector budget cuts, this ability of local authorities to group together and draw in resources from partner agencies is becoming more important. Indeed working to guidelines developed by SLAED and CoSLA, local authorities are currently responding to a further invitation for round four applications to

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the Lowland and Upland Scotland ERDF priority 2 programme. Projects funded through this call will focus on business support services which complement and build upon the core Business Gateway offering and will be aimed at services to promote enterprise and increase the growth aspirations of SMEs. These programmes will be active from 1st November this year and are expected to draw upon some £12m of available ERDF funds.

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Table 1 ERDF Programme 2007-2013, Enterprise Growth, Rounds 1-3

Lowland and Upland Scotland

ERDF Priority 2: Business Growth

Council Project Funds allocated

Dundee City Council E-Zone (Enterprise Zone) £198,612

North Ayrshire Council North Ayrshire Business Growth Programme

£517,561

North Lanarkshire Council Gateway to Growth £254,743

South Lanarkshire Council Lanarkshire Sustainable Business Programme

£778,851

Dundee City Council Enterprising Tayside £450,000

East Dunbartonshire Council

Fit for Growth Programme £602,250

West of Scotland Loan Fund Ltd

West of Scotland Loan Fund £6,000,000

Fife Council East of Scotland Investment Fund £2,000,000

Fife Council Support for Enterprise II £196,423

Highlands and Islands

ERDF Priority 1: Enhancing Business Competitiveness, Commercialisation and Innovation

Council Project Funds allocated

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Connected Hebrides £160,000

Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar

Creative Industries and Media Centre – Stornoway

£1,040,000

Highland Opportunity Ltd Highland Business Growth Fund £560,000

Shetland Islands Council Promoting Business Energy Efficiency in Shetland

£266,700

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Outer Hebrides Small Business Assistance Scheme

£336,000

Orkney Islands Council Lyness Marine Renewables Facility - Hoy £1,190,000

Total £14,551,140

NB: Data in this table relates to ERDF funded projects under the two priorities listed above. As such it does not consider business support programmes funded through LEADER or other ERDF priorities which may be led by or receive Local Authority support as partners.

Developing and implementing services to complement Business Gateway The survey of Economic Development departments carried out for this paper reveals a wide range of activities carried out by Local Authorities which are complementary to the services covered by the core Business Gateway contract. The analysis reveals the extent to which councils are responding to the needs of local business and developing new services which complement and add value to the main Business Gateway offer.

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Findings from the survey show that across the 26 Authorities who have responded, a total of 177 discrete ongoing business support programmes have been identified, an average of almost 7 programmes per area4. Table 2 provides an overview of the distribution of services by theme. Details of the full list of programmes used to construct the table are provided in Annex 1 to this report. Key themes common across local authorities include provision of services to promote access to finance, provide one to one advisory services, development of key sectors, provide of access to specialist support and supplier development. All of the areas who responded to the survey offer a range of grant and loan schemes aimed at improving access to finance for small businesses in their area. These range from large loan funds, such as the West of Scotland Loan fund and the new East of Scotland Investment Fund, to small grant programmes, often targeted at key sectors or focused on supporting investment in staff training or other growth projects. Most areas fund the provision of one to one business advisory support over and above that available through Business Gateway. These include services focussed on supporting business start ups as well as programmes to support the growth and survival of existing businesses. Interventions offered in these programmes include advice on business planning, access to finance, relocation advice, specialist support, company health checks and development reviews and other services. In most cases these services are provided through the existing Business Gateway contractor. Development of key sectors is a significant priority for many local authorities, with programmes concentrating on tailored services for renewable energy projects, community and social enterprises, food and drink businesses, tourism businesses and others, dependent on the specific needs and strengths of the local economy. More than half of the respondents to the survey cited supplier development activities, helping local businesses improve their performance in winning public sector contracts, as a core part of their service mix. All of the areas who responded to the survey provide information services to their business community. These range from, at a minimum, internet information portals to guide businesses through the public sector support available to them, to dedicated business information officers. The value of these services and council‟s ability to respond quickly to the needs of their local economy has been particularly evident throughout the economic downturn. A recent CoSLA report highlighted a total of 155 activities that councils had implemented or planned to support local businesses through the downturn, many of these involving services to complement and enhance the operation of Business Gateway activities. As the paper states: “Councils are focussing on business support as a cornerstone of their efforts to deal with the downturn. This includes widening and publicising services to established businesses as well as start-ups. Over a third of councils have reported enhanced and extended advice and support services offered by the Business Gateway or other

4 Given the way in which some areas group several services under one promotional banner, this

average is likely to significantly understate the true number of activities taking place.

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mechanisms to ensure that these address the specific requirements of recession hit businesses. A number are providing additional seminars and one-to-one support.”5

5 Source: http://www.cosla.gov.uk/attachments/execgroups/rs/rsEconomicDownturnreportfeb09a.pdf

http://www.cosla.gov.uk/attachments/execgroups/rs/rsEconomicDownturnreportfeb09a.pdf

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Table 2 Local Authority business support programmes by theme

Acce

ss

to

Fin

an

ce

-

Gra

nt

Acce

ss

to

Fin

an

ce

-

Lo

an

12

1

Ad

vis

ory

Se

rvic

es

Acce

ss

to

Sp

ecia

list

Su

ppo

rt

Eve

nts

an

d

Wo

rksho

p

s

Ke

y s

ecto

r

de

ve

lop

m

en

t

Inn

ova

tio

n

/Kn

ow

led

g

e T

ran

sfe

r E

mp

loye

e

skill

s

de

ve

lop

m

en

t S

up

plie

r

Deve

lop

m

en

t

En

terp

rise

Pro

motion

Exp

ort

Su

ppo

rt

Info

rma

tio

n S

erv

ice

s

Aberdeenshire

Angus

Argyll & Bute

Clackmannanshire

Dumfries and Galloway

East Ayrshire

East Dunbartonshire

East Lothian

East Renfrewshire

Edinburgh

Falkirk

Fife

Glasgow

Highland

Inverclyde

Midlothian

Moray

North Ayrshire

North Lanarkshire

Perth and Kinross

Renfrewshire

South Lanarkshire

Stirling

15

West Dunbartonshire

West Lothian

Western Isles

Source: SLAED survey, see Annex 1 for details of individual programmes cited

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Ensuring high quality of service to Business Gateway customers The quality of service provided to Business Gateway customers is monitored through an on-going programme of survey research focussing on individual parts of the service. This programme is carried out by an independent external contractor (IBP Strategy and Research) and comprises a monthly customer feedback survey on the service in general, a monthly analysis of feedback from participants to events and workshops, an ongoing research programme to monitor survival rates among Business Gateway customers, an annual survey of clients receiving growth support, a programme of focus groups among key customer groups and an annual mystery shopper exercise. Over the two years that this programme has been operating the research has confirmed consistently high level of satisfaction among customers. Key messages from the research show that during 2009/10: With regard to all customers 1.1.1 91% of all customers were satisfied or very satisfied with the service they

received from Business Gateway 1.1.2 91% of customers felt that the service they received met or exceeded their

expectations 1.1.3 86% of customers felt that the service they received had benefitted their

business. With regard to customers receiving growth support, 1.1.4 79% were satisfied or very satisfied with the service they had received 1.1.5 Clients reported that the service had helped them improve profitability, win

new customers and improve their strategic focus 1.1.6 Over three quarters of customers felt the service received had a significant

impact on their ability to meet growth objective. 76% saying that they could not have grown their business without help from Business Gateway or that without assistance growth would have been slower, less effective or on a smaller scale.

In each case these results are significantly above the target levels agreed for the service. Given the timing of transfer of responsibility to local authorities (i.e. only 6 months following the introduction of a new model for Business Gateway), it is difficult to make direct comparisons between customer satisfaction before and after that transfer took place. Results received in the last two years, however, do compare favourably against those achieved under the previous model for Business Gateway

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provision. A 2006 survey6 estimated a customer satisfaction rating of some 74% (compared against 91% in 2009/10) while 81% reported that the service had helped them meet their business goals (compared to 86% in 2009/10). Improving the responsiveness of Business Gateway to local needs In addition to providing services which complement Business Gateway, one key benefit of transfer of responsibilities has been the ability of Local Authorities to improve the responsiveness of core Business Gateway resources to the needs of local businesses. In doing so, while maintaining and delivering the core priorities of the Business Gateway contracts, Local Authorities have been able to evolve and expand delivery so that the range and impact of services is quite different in many areas from that which was transferred over in 2008. In particular, Local Authorities have been able to: Refocus Business Gateway events programmes to reflect the needs of the local economy, particularly in terms of providing advice and support for businesses through the economic downturn; Develop locally co-ordinated marketing activities to promote wider take up of core Business Gateway services and target key sectors in the local area; and, Introduction of new and refocused advisory services funded through discretionary Business Gateway budgets available to lead local authorities or other sources Key examples of the last of these benefits include: Provision to support companies whose growth projections fall below the current criteria required for acceptance into Growth Pipeline or who exit from Growth Pipeline without meeting criteria for acceptance to DRM, but can benefit from on-going support. – “Sub growth pipeline” companies. Provision of enhanced aftercare services and follow up where support is seen as key to improving survivability rates and encouraging growth within start-up businesses. Each of these adaptations of the Business Gateway provision have been vital to ensure that the service remains relevant through changing economic conditions and continues to provide a service that meets the needs and expectations of the client base. Moving forward, the Business Gateway Operational Network of Local Authorities with lead responsibility for the contracts in each area is working hard to ensure that best practice on such adaptations is shared efficiently across the network and that the ability of the service to respond quickly to changes in the market place is preserved. This work has included the introduction of a new segment in the main contract to help expand the range of businesses to whom growth support can be provided and the beginning of a process of planning for the development of the service beyond the expiry of current contracts in 2012. To support this process, the network is in the

6 „Business Gateway Strategic Review‟, GEN Consulting, March 2006. Given the different

methodologies used to generate the 2006 and 2009/10 results some caution should be exercised in interpreting this comparison.

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process of planning an economic evaluation of the current Business Gateway delivery model. This evaluation will provide an assessment of

Assess the effectiveness of support provided by Business Gateway – in terms of the ability of the current delivery model to address market failure and support government policy.

Assess the cost effectiveness of the service – in terms of the overall value for money delivered by the current model, and

Assist in the development of recommendations for future delivery of the service.

Creating greater cohesion in service delivery The evidence gathered for this paper demonstrates that Local Authority Economic Development departments do not operate in isolation from neighbouring councils and other agencies in the provision of business support services. As a recent SLAED discussion paper notes: “There is significant evidence of City region collaboration developing effectively across the country… Scottish Enterprise remains a key player in both local JVs and City region collaboration, and this is an area which will grow in the future. At a local level, the third sector, Enterprise Trusts and local Chambers are key delivery partners… Most councils can evidence working on a shared services basis with other local authorities, whether these be through City Regional groupings, national thematic groupings, or local partnerships.7” Specifically, in terms of provision of business support services, the 2009 EKOS survey again demonstrates strong evidence of council‟s working in partnership with other agencies. Only a third of council‟s reported that such services were provided directly by council staff, with most working in partnership with Enterprise Trusts, local Chambers of Commerce or other agencies to deliver Business Gateway and related services. As such, these findings suggest that such is the complexity and variety of delivery models and partnerships across the country that no one single model is likely to be appropriate in all areas. In some areas experience suggests that direct delivery of services by local authorities is the most cost and quality effective means of delivery, in other areas provision by other agencies in partnership with local authorities is more appropriate. Evidence gathered for this paper confirms that councils have worked hard to promote an integrated approach to supporting the growth and development of local businesses. This includes measures to ensure that council services such as planning, environmental health, transportation, licensing, trading standards and others are linked directly to the Business Gateway service. In the best practice examples of this integration, a process of regular information exchange is promoted across council departments to ensure that a single co-ordinated response can be made to any large scale business need. Outside of council services and Business Gateway delivery partners, councils have also developed key linkages between the BG service and a range of other stakeholders. In addition to Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands

7 „The changing face of Scottish economic development‟ SLAED discussion paper, January 2010

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Enterprise, bodies with close ties to the service include PSYBT, Scottish Chambers of Commerce, Careers Scotland, FE and HE providers, Scottish Prison Service, Federation of Small Businesses, Skills Development Scotland, Job Centre Plus, local business groups amongst many others. These links have been developed both through the efforts of local officers, the Business Gateway Operational Network and through the development of the Business Gateway Stakeholder Group. This last grouping has been particularly important in providing a high level opportunity for stakeholders to offer meaningful engagement with the Business Gateway service. One key way in which the 2007 reforms have assisted in this process is the increase of local autonomy to make and develop partnerships which best meet the needs of the local client base. Such autonomy allows local areas to respond quickly to opportunities which arise and to work closely with those partner agencies which are most active and effective in their region. In these various ways, the evidence shows that local authorities have, since transfer of responsibility for Business Gateway, made significant progress in: Providing a single point of access for all locally available business services, and, Developing Business Gateway, as well as a wide range of complementary services, in genuine partnership with other agencies and stakeholders. Summary of Key Findings The 2007 reforms of enterprise networks in Scotland provided local authorities with the challenge to: Promote greater cohesion between Business Gateway services and other locally provided economic development services Improve the experience of customers by providing a single point of access for all business support activities, and Develop the Business Gateway service in a true spirit of partnership with other agencies and stakeholders (both public and private sector) This paper suggests that local authorities have delivered on all three of these key expectations by; Promoting business support as a key budget priority within Economic Development Committing significant levels of council resources (some £9.5m per annum) to provision of a wide range of services to enhance and complement the core Business Gateway offering Acting as a lead on projects which draw on available European funds for business support activities (some £14.5m to date over 2007-2013 from ERDF programmes alone) Maintaining a high quality of service to Business Gateway customers through the delivery of the core contract Improving the ability of the core Business Gateway service to respond to the needs of local business, and Integrating Business Gateway within the mix of council services available to business and developing the service in close partnership with other agencies.

20

References „Review of Local Authority Economic Development Activity: a report for SLAED‟, EKOS, April 2009 „Managing Business Growth for Economic Recovery‟, Business Gateway Operational Network, April 2010 „Council responses to the economic downturn‟, COSLA Regeneration & Sustainable Development Executive Group, February 2010 „The changing face of Scottish Economic Development‟ SLAED discussion paper, January 2010 „Sustainable Economic Development‟, COSLA Environment and Regeneration Team, June 2010 „Business Gateway Strategic Review‟, GEN Consulting, March 2006

21

ANNEX 1 1 Annex 1 provides a list of all programmes used to construct the data in Table

2 above.

Authority Programme Title Theme

Aberdeenshire Support for Aberdeenshire Business

Access to Finance-Grant&Loan

Aberdeenshire

Innovation and Business Growth Programme for Food and Drink Businesses with Scottish Agricultural College

Key sector development, Innovation/Knowledge Transfer

Aberdeenshire Survive and Thrive Advisory Services

Angus Business Advice Team Advisory Services

Angus Angus Grants Scheme Access to Finance-Grant

Angus Market Development Grant

Access to Finance-Grant, Export Support

Angus Enterprising Tayside

Advisory Services, Access to Finance-Grant, Access to specialist support

Angus East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Angus Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

Angus

Tourism sector marketing and quality assurance scheme

Access to Finance-Grant, Key sector development

Angus Innovation and Development Fund


Angus Angusproperty.com Information services

Angus AngusAhead.com Business Directory Information services

Angus Sectoral Business Groups Events and Workshops

Argyll & Bute Business Start up grant Access to Finance-Grant

Argyll & Bute Fit For Growth

Advisory Services, Access to Finance-Grant, Access to Specialist Support, Events and Workshops

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire Works Development Advisory Services

Dumfries and Galloway Financial Assistance to Small Businesses Access to Finance-Grant

Dumfries and Galloway Creative Clusters Key sector development

Dumfries and Galloway Business Gateway Discretionary Services Advisory Services

Dumfries and Galloway Savour The Flavours Key sector development, Events and Workshops

East Ayrshire Business Growth Grant Access to Finance-Grant

22


East Ayrshire West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

East Ayrshire Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

East Ayrshire General business advice Advisory Services

East Ayrshire Skills Development & Employability

Employee Skills Development

East Ayrshire Town Centre Management Key sectors development

East Dunbartonshire Business Start Up Grant Access to Finance-Grant, Enterprise Promotion

East Dunbartonshire Business Growth Grant Access to Finance-Grant, Export support

East Dunbartonshire Metrowest Skills Programme

Access to Finance-Grant, Employee skills development

East Dunbartonshire Fit for Growth

Advisory Services, Access to Finance-Grant, Access to Specialist Support, Events and Workshops

East Dunbartonshire Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

East Dunbartonshire West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

East Dunbartonshire Business Improvement Districts Key sectors development

East Lothian General business development Advisory Services

East Lothian Tourism and Events Grant Programme


East Lothian East Lothian Investments Access to finance – Loan.

East Lothian Napier e-commerce Access to Specialist Support

East Lothian Better Business seminars Events and workshops

East Lothian East Lothian Food and Drink Key sector development

East Lothian Y2K assistance Innovation and Knowledge Transfer

East Lothian Better Business seminars

Employee skills development, Supplier Development, Events and Workshops

East Renfrewshire West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

East Renfrewshire Business Training Support


East Renfrewshire Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

23


East Renfrewshire Industrial Property Support Grant Access to Finance-Grant

East Renfrewshire Business Networking Enterprise Promotion

East Renfrewshire Business Accommodation Information services

East Renfrewshire Employer Liaison Enterprise Promotion

East Renfrewshire 3rd Sector Development Key sectors development

East Renfrewshire Business improvement Districts Key sectors development

Edinburgh, City of Social Enterprise Key sectors development

Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh Science Triangle

Innovation/Knowledge Transfer

Edinburgh, City of East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Edinburgh, City of Ethnic Enterprise Advisory Services, Enterprise Promotion

Edinburgh, City of Youth Enterprise Advisory Services, Enterprise Promotion

Edinburgh, City of Creative Enterprise Key sectors development

Edinburgh, City of BEP Environmental Programme

Access to Specialist Support

Edinburgh, City of Leith and West End Business development Key sectors development

Edinburgh, City of Executive Skillsbank Advisory Services

Edinburgh, City of

Construction Sector Diversification and Management development Advisory Services

Edinburgh, City of Inspiring Enterprise Advisory Services, Events&Workshops

Edinburgh, City of Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

Falkirk Falkirk For Business Advisory Services

Falkirk BP Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Falkirk Economic Downturn Action Plan Advisory Services

Falkirk Town Centre Management Ltd Key sectors development

Falkirk East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Fife

Supporting growth and survival of dynamic businesses

Advisory Services, Events&Workshops, Access to Specialist Support

Fife SDP - Public procurement Workshops and Training Supplier Development

Fife Culture of Enterprise Development - FEP Enterprise Promotion

Fife Financial assistance through Fife Investment


24


Fund (grants and loans)

Fife East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Fife

Support for enterprise in Regeneration areas (BYOB)

Enterprise Promotion, Events and Workshops

Fife Innovation and Knowledge Transfer Network Events


Fife

Market Development Exhibition Programme (and exporting) Export support

Glasgow Business and employee development review

Advisory Services, Access to Specialist Support

Glasgow Early Response Programme Advisory Services

Glasgow Glasgow Business Training Support Grant Access to Finance-Grant

Glasgow Internet Marketing Check Advisory Services

Glasgow Minority Ethnic Programme

Advisory Services, Enterprise Promotion

Glasgow Glasgow 4 Business Fund Access to Finance-Grant

Glasgow Supporting Sustainable New Business Access to Finance-Grant

Glasgow West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Glasgow International City Partnership

Enterprise Promotion, Export Support

Glasgow Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

Glasgow Glasgow 4 Business Property Initiative

Advisory Services, Enterprise Promotion

Highland Highland Business Growth Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Highland Opportunity Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Highland Business Startup Grant Access to Finance-Grant

Highland Community Enterprise Loan Fund

Access to Finance-Loan, Key sectors development

Highland European Business Services

Export support, Innovation/Knowledge Transfer

Inverclyde Small Business Assistance Grants Access to Finance-Grants

Inverclyde Small Business Loan Scheme Access to Finance-Loan

Inverclyde Business Training Support

Access to Finance-Grants, Employee skills development

25


Inverclyde West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Inverclyde Special Economic Interventions

Access to Finance-Grants, Employee skills development, Key Sector Development, Events and Workshops

Inverclyde Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

Inverclyde Property Assistance Grant Access to Finance-Grants

Midlothian East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Midlothian Midlothian Property Search Information Services

Midlothian Midlothian Business Directory Information Services

Midlothian Funding Database Information Services

Midlothian Edinburgh Science Triangle


Midlothian Economic Sector Action Plans Key Sector Development

Midlothian New Leaf Employee Skills Development

Moray Funding support website Information Services

Moray

Grampian Food Forum Innovation and Business Growth Programme


Moray East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

North Ayrshire West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

North Ayrshire Business Growth Programme

Access to Finance – Grants Events and Workshops and Specialist Support

North Ayrshire Skills for Growth Prog Access to Finance - Grants

North Ayrshire Business Advice Service Advisory Services

North Ayrshire Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

North Ayrshire Tourism Sector Support Key Sector Development

North Ayrshire Town Centre Regeneration Framework

Key Sector Development and Access to Finance – Grants

North Ayrshire Integrated Employability Programme Access to Finance – Grant

North Ayrshire Property Advisory Service Advisory Services

North Lanarkshire Sub growth pipeline Advisory Services

26


North Lanarkshire Additional advisory services Advisory Services

North Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire Sustainable Business Programme - Start-up Grant Access to Finance-Grant

North Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Sustainable Business Programme Access to Finance-Grant

North Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Business Venture Fund Access to Finance-Grant

North Lanarkshire West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

North Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Business Training Support


North Lanarkshire Gateway to Growth Advisory Services, Key sector development

North Lanarkshire Retail Development Programme


North Lanarkshire Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

Perth and Kinross Business Advisory Service Advisory Services

Perth and Kinross Business Grants and Loans Schemes


Perth and Kinross East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Perth and Kinross Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

Renfrewshire West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire Business Training Support Programme


Renfrewshire Business Venture Fund Access to Finance-Grant

Renfrewshire Social Enterprise Fund Access to Finance-Grant, Key sector development

Renfrewshire Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

Renfrewshire Business Property Fund

Access to Finance-Grant, Access to Advisory, Specialist Support

Renfrewshire Town Centre Property Improvement Grant


Renfrewshire

Job Retention and Workforce Development Programme


South Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Business Training Support


27


South Lanarkshire West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

South Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Sustainable Business Programme

Access to Finance-Grant, Access to Specialist Support, Events and Workshops

South Lanarkshire Business Support Team Advisory Services

South Lanarkshire Clyde Gateway

Advisory Services, Access to Finance-Grant

South Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Active Business Portal Information Services

South Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Area Tourism Partnership

Key Sector Development

South Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Business Directory Information Services

South Lanarkshire Motherwell College Knowledge Transfer Hub


South Lanarkshire STEP programme


South Lanarkshire PSYBT Enterprise Promotion

South Lanarkshire Supplier Development Programme

Supplier Development, Events and Workshops

Stirling Business Directory Information Services

Stirling Stirling4Funding - Funding portal Information Services

Stirling Property Brokerage - SPN system Information Services

Stirling Tourism Grants Access to Finance-Grants

Stirling Business Panel Enterprise Promotion

Stirling StirlingEye Information Services

Stirling East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

West Dunbartonshire Business Support programmes


West Dunbartonshire Business Innovation Grant

Access to Finance-Grant, Access to Specialist Support, Innovation/Knowledge Transfer

West Dunbartonshire Business ICT Grant

Access to Finance-Grant, Access to Specialist Support

West Dunbartonshire West of Scotland Loan Fund Access to Finance-Loan

West Dunbartonshire Fit for Growth

Advisory Services, Access to Finance-Grant, Access to Specialist Support, Events and Workshops,

28


Enterprise Promotion

West Dunbartonshire Skills and Business Growth

Employee Skills Development

West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire Community Planning Partnership Sector Development Group Key Sector Development

West Dunbartonshire Supplier Development Programme Supplier Development

West Dunbartonshire

Local Business Directory/Scottish Property Network Information Services

West Lothian Business Development Advisory Services, Events&Workshops

West Lothian Business Development Access to Specialist Support

West Lothian E Commerce Advisory Services, Events&Workshops

West Lothian West Lothian Business Funds


West Lothian West Lothian Women in Business Enterprise Promotion

West Lothian Business Support Group Enterprise Promotion

West Lothian Alba Innovation Challenge Innovation/Knowledge Transfer

West Lothian Edinburgh Science Triangle


West Lothian Enterprise in Partnership Advisory Services, Enterprise Promotion

West Lothian PSYBT Advisory Services

West Lothian Business information officer/Web portal Information services

West Lothian East of Scotland Investment Fund Access to Finance-Loan

Western Isles Outer Hebrides Small Business support scheme


Western Isles Business support Programme Access to Finance-Loan

Western Isles Outer Hebrides Fisheries support scheme Key sectors development

Western Isles Inter Island Business Development Scheme Access to Finance-Grant

Western Isles Outer Hebrides Online Business Directory Information Services

Western Isles PSYBT Access to Finance-Grant&Loan

SLAED, 23 September 2011

submission from slaed - parliament.scot€¦ · changing economic circumstances? ... workshop...

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