Lead Members examine how councils can support local businesses and entrepreneurs

Lead members for economic development will examine how councils can support local businesses and entrepreneurs by influencing the local delivery of national schemes and ensuring this works effectively with any local support.

Drawing on case studies from Sweden, the United States and past UK programmes, the Portfolio-Holder Network is particularly timely as several authorities begin procuring business support services tailored for their local economies and the Heseltine Review reports shortly on how the public sector can interact more effectively with the private sector.  Whislt the evidence shows that those firms that receive advice are more resilient, grow quicker and employ more staff, an overly-complex offer can confuse businesses and prove inefficient.
 
The Network is on Thursday 18th October from 10:00 - 12:00 at the Business Centre, Histon, Cambridgeshire.  Liz Basing (Regional Director of UKTI-trade) and Jan Pinkerton (Deputy Director of BIS Local, East and London) will both brief politicians on how recent successes can be built upon. There will also be examples of how councils across Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Central Bedfordshire have led local programmes and Ian Hughes, Programme Manager at the Local Government Assocaition will also attend to ensure its work reflects the priorities of member councils.  
 
The Network is free and can be attended by any politician with an interest in economic development issues - book your place with jonathan.skinner@eelga.gov.uk.  Both the briefing paper and key findings from the meeting will be shared with county-based networks of economic development officers.