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Last updated 26/8/08
East Midlands launches response to current economic challenges and boost to funding for local businesses.
On Thursday 21st August, Angela Eagle MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, and Phil Hope MP, Regional Minister for the East Midlands, visited the region to explain how Government and the East Midlands Development agency (emda) are supporting businesses and households through current economic challenges.
During the visit, Ministers and emda Chairman, Dr Bryan Jackson, launched 'The East Midlands economy - a joint response to changing economic circumstances' - outlining the collective approach that HM Treasury, the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and emda are taking to help companies and individuals affected by problems of tighter credit conditions and increasing commodity costs.
As part of the response, emda announced its intention to make an immediate injection of a further £12 million over the next 12 months to supplement its Business Transformation Grant (BTG) currently available through Business Link for invesment in plant and equipment to support resource efficiency.
During the visit, both ministers met with regional businesses and other stakeholders to provide them with the opportunity to share their experiences and highlight the issues they are facing.
Angela Eagle, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, commented:'"I am aware of the difficulties businesses and households in the region are facing due to the global economic uncertainty here in the East Midlands, we are determined that the Government, along with regional and local agencies will all work together to ensure that businesses and households get the support that they need."
Bryan Jackson said: "Our regional response document demonstrates that helping businesses is the primary role undertaken by emda. The first port of call for companies wanting support is Business Link and over the past two years, we have developed a professional independant advice sevice tailored to respond to the challenges and queries raised by businesses.
"More recently, since the effects of the credit crunch and downturn in the property markets became apparent, we have re-focused our Business Link advisers to ensure they give smaller businesses practical advice to survive in an economic downturn. By supplementing our BTG as announced today, we want to encourage businesses to invest in plant and equipment which will enable them to manage their resources more efficiently and improve their cost base".
From a national perspective, the joint response also outlines the range of measures that Government is implementing to respond to these economic changes. These include activities to help stimulate the housing market such as additional investment to improve the provision of affordable housing in the East Midlands; an increase of £60m in the amount of lending that banks can approve under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, bringing the total to £360m this financial year, and developing schemes to boost skill levels to ensure a dynamic and flexible workforce.
Speaking at the event, Phil Hope, Minister for the East Midlands said: "With help from emda, I will be taking action to ensure companies across the region use the Government's Train to Gain cash to improve the skills they need to meet the challenges posed by changes in the global economy.
"The whole world is feeling the effects of the credit crunch and the East Midlands is no exception. During these difficult times businesses need to be innovative and invest in skills in order to thrive, we can't compete with emerging economies in terms of price, but we can beat them when it comes to the quality of our workforce."
Further examples of financial support available to help businesses through these tough times were also outlined in the document. These include:
£3.5m of Selective Finance for Investment (SFIE) grant funding available to companies this financial year.
Between £3,000 and £20,000 available to small businesses that are unable to obtain bank finance through the Enterprise Loans East Midlands programme.
£4.1m of Grant for Research and Development (GRD) programme funding available to companies during 2008-09.
Bryan Jackson added: "This is just the start of the process. We very much welcome inputs on what more can be done to support our economy over the coming weeks and months.
We will continue to listen to regional businesses and stakeholders in order to further inform our understanding of what is happening in the economy."
He also encouraged partnership and cross agency working, and a continued focus on the Regional Economic strategy (RES) which outlines the region's priorities over the next decade. Dr Jackson highlighted the importance of not losing sight of the long term goal of making the East Midlands a flourishing region by 2020.
Speed Networking Event
South Holland District Council, in partnership with the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Focus for Business in South Holland, are holding a speed networking event at the South Holland Centre Spalding, on Wednesday September 10th from 11.00 - 14.00hrs.
Speed networking is a fun, high energy way to promote your business. It follows the highly popular speed dating format where each individual gets to spend around 2 minutes to interact with each other person present, ample time to sell yourself to the person opposite.
Speed networking is all about sharing ideas and meeting new people, remember to bring plenty of business cards if you have them!
Entry is free, and a light lunch will be provided, there will also be a number of business support agencies present to give advice and answer questions.
To book your free place, please email chris.brown@lincs-chamber.co.uk or ring 0845 5555220
Mentoring for all East Midlands.
Access expertise to help your business grow.
Almost everyone has a mentor, although you may not recognise them as such. Your mentors are people you turn to when you need a sounding board or are unsure about which direction to take - friends, family, solicitors, accountants or people you have met through business or social networks. People you know and trust.
However, sometimes it's good to get a fresh perspective on your business related issues and this is where a business mentor can help.
Mentoringforall East Midlands is designed to help East Midlands business owners access the knowledge and expertise of another business leader to develop their own skills and competencies.
Mentoring can provide you with:
Help to focus on your longer term needs and those of your business.
The chance to evaluate and address your development needs, and identify different learning methods.
An opportunity to unlock creativity to solve problems and unlock creativity.
Awareness of resources, business networks and other support for your business.
Increased motivation.
For further information, ring 0115 970 5550
emai mentor@nbv.co.uk
Please note eligibility criteria apply and State Aid rules apply to this programme.
Businesses in Rural Parts of England do less well than those in urban areas and are failing to reach their full potential, a report has said.
The chairman of the Commission for Rural Communities, which wrote the report, said rural areas had up to £347 billion a year of untapped potential.
But Stuart Burgess said some villages could become commuter ghettos, empty of local wealth if action was not taken.
The study was launched after the floods and and foot and mouth crises last summer.
Mr Burgess, who is the Rural Advocate, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The rural economy actually contributes over £300 billion into the general economy already."
He said he did not think the government had been ignoring rural areas, and that he had actually seen a steady growth in rural economies over the past 10 years.
But he said much more could be made of rural economies and that "regrettably, too often rural issues are given little recognition in keynote speeches." And he says too often business councils in rural areas have problems with affordable housing and transport.
Mr Burgess is calling on the government to take four key steps to safeguard rural economies.
He said there needed to be an economic minister to oversee support of rural economies; a "rural" summit to pursue local businesses; a "rural finance forum" to tap into private and public money; and a "rural innovation initiative" to encourage entrepenuers and ensure access to resources such as broadband.
Mr Burgess said the aim for the future should be to reinstate rural villages to their past function which was in "a very real sense that the village used to be an economic hub."
"I don't think the countryside can be left alone," he said.
Business Awards 2008
Following on from the success of last years competition, entries are now being invited for the second annual Lincolnshire Free Press Business Awards. To enter, just decide which category or categories are most suitable, then be ready to receive a short, simple questionnaire.
Categories are:
Business of the Year sponsored by Duncan and Topliss
Business Person of the Year sponsored by NatWest
Growing Business sponsored by Business Link
Customer Care sponsored by Roythornes
Business Start-up sponsored by Brown & Co
Best use of technology sponsored by South Holland District Council
Service with a smile sponsored by the Lincolnshire Free Press
There will be three finalists in each category, a judge from out of the area will then arrange a visit for an in depth assessment of the qualities of the products you produce, or the services you offer.Judges are carefully selected by the sponsors who have made this event happen.
All three finalists will receive free tickets to hte spectacular gala dinner on Thursday October 9th at the South Holland Centre, Spalding.
For more details and to enter on-line, visit www.spaldingtoday.co.uk
'On the up'
The second edition of the Economic Development newsletter is now being sent out to businesses in the district, if for any reason you have not received a copy by the end of May, please let us know by emailing economicdevelopment@sholland.gov.uk, in the meantime you can read or download a copy here (PDF , 203KB)
Could you use an extra pair of hands this summer?
If so, Success Matrix can help! They have a number of enthusiastic, enterprising 2nd year undergraduates who would value the opportunity to work within an organisation during their summer holidays.
The placements take place during the summer for 8 - 12 weeks.
Last year, Success Matrix placed students throughout Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Northhamptonshire, and listed below are some of the projects carried out by these students:
Setting up IT systems
Marketing plans
Analysing and improving production methods
Researching the feasibility of a new product or service
Creating websites and e-commerce facilities
Automating accounts procedures
The Shell Step programme is a training programme and the students are paid through Success Matrix, therefore you have no employment hassles! The cost to a company are £200 per week, plus a one off admin fee of £250. The students are not employed by the company and will not appear on payroll.
The Shell Step Programme is a cost effective way for an organisation to gain access to fresh ideas and new skills which will have a positive impact on business performance.
For more information, please contact Sara Hobson on 01522 574209 or email on sara.hobson@successmatrix.co.uk
A New Funding opportunity in the Creative Industries Sector.
The Technology Strategy Board has allocated an indicative amount of £7 million to invest in highly innovative collaborative research in the application of digital technologies - for creation, preservation, interaction, personalisation and increasing the competitive advantage of creative industry products, services and experiences.
The Technology Strategy Board is interested in innovative, multi-disciplinary projects that will exploit digital technologies to increase the competitiveness of the UK creative industries sector. The result could be the development of new tools, techniques, processes, technologies or underlying capabilities that can be widely deployed across a market sector or sectors and will lead directly to or underpin wealth creation. Proposals to exploit well established existing technologies in innovative ways are welcomed alongside the truly novel inventions.
For more information about this and other events and details on how to register and apply, visit;
www.technologyprogramme.org.uk or phone 01793 442700
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