Agenda item

5.1

The Committee received a report of the Director of Creative Sheffield on building a strong, sustainable and resilient Sheffield economy.  The report made reference to the refresh of the City’s Economic Strategy,  Council support for start-ups and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

5.2

Attending for this item were Edward Highfield, Director of Creative Sheffield, Kevin Bennett and Duncan Scott, Creative Sheffield and David Wilson, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.  Business representatives in attendance were Julie Robinson, Geco Industries; Paul Houghton, Grant Thornton; Tim Pryor, Lloyds Bank; Jillian Thomas, Future Life Wealth Management and Gill White, Andy Hanselman, Consulting.

5.3

The report was supplemented by a presentation given by David Wilson on creating an enterprising society, which focused national policy on enterprise and particularly referred to the contribution of SMEs to the economy, the current landscape, enterprise culture, the need for a stable and supportive environment  for business, sources of finance and business improvement.

5.4

Members made various comments and asked a number of questions in relation to the presentation, to which responses were provided as follows:-

·                    It was important that the public sector set an example by paying invoices on time so as to assist the cash flow problems of small businesses.

·                    Employment law must provide protection for the vulnerable and a means of dispute resolution.

·                    Quality education was important so that young people could be presented with a full range of life chances.

·                    The German model of including bank representation on companies’ boards was being studied.

·                    Most firms setting up were small and there needed to be an emphasis on change at predictable points to assist the business planning process.

·                    The Government could point SMEs to sources of advice.

5.5

Each of the business representatives then introduced themselves, providing information on their businesses and commenting on problems which they had experienced and how these had been resolved.  Following this, Members made various comments and asked a number of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:-

·                    It was necessary to identify the business Olympians to encourage the media to focus on success.

·                    People should not get preoccupied with the area’s industrial past as there were still lots of engineering/manufacturing firms here.  It was more important to support business and entrepreneurism and people would find business opportunities for themselves.

·                    A strong business service base was required to provide the support which businesses needed.

·                    There was a need to access infrastructure funding and work was being undertaken on bringing in funding from the City of London to Sheffield.

·                    More care and support was required for those young people for whom the traditional apprenticeship was not suitable and attempts were being made to involve sympathetic employers/ entrepreneurs.  There was a need to engage young people and one method of achieving this might be to involve them in part-time employment at an early stage.

·                    It was the job of financial institutions to respond to customer requirements and it was important to ensure that funds which were sent out worldwide came back into the United Kingdom.  It should be noted that approximately 24% of SMEs were asking for bank finance and that over 60% of these applications had been approved.

·                    Apprentice schemes may not be suitable for small firms as it was necessary to have someone with the apprentice at all times.  It should be possible though to signpost young people to appropriate apprenticeship schemes.

·                    One way in which the Council could become more business friendly was to be more visible at business events.

·                    The invitation for business representatives to attend this meeting was an example of the Council being more business friendly and comments made within the business community suggested that this was the case.  However, the Council was only as friendly as the day-to-day dealings with business e.g. in relation to planning.

·                    Sheffield was viewed very favourably by the City of London, with analysis showing that Sheffield was creating more businesses than anywhere else in the UK and that businesses were more likely to use ancillary local businesses to provide support services.  A Financial Times survey had shown that Sheffield was the 47^th best place in the world to do business and this needed to be more widely communicated.

·                    It should be borne in mind that self employment was not for everyone, as evidenced by the number of sole traders, who had set up just because they could not get a job, and ultimately failed.

·                    An alternative to Quantative Easing would be to give everyone £2,000 to spend in order to achieve growth.

·                    The introduction of a Sheffield Pound was an idea worthy of consideration to encourage spending in the City.

·                    The importance of providing the right business advice to the right people was emphasised, with some mapping for SMEs being required.  In relation to planning, the Council needed to adopt a positive approach and consider the effects on job creation of its decisions.

·                    It would be helpful if there was just one place where entrepreneurs wishing to set up businesses could go for advice.  There was a view that now was the easiest time to start up a business because of the use of the internet.  However, it should be borne in mind that there was still much business regulation and that the decade of easy money up to 2008 was now over with businesses starting up having to adapt to this cultural change.

·                    Economic development was a long hard slog and what was required was a sustained increase in performance year on year.  Statistics were useful but health warnings were needed with regard to their use.  The challenge now for SMEs was growth and this needed to be made easier.  There was much to be gained from listening to the business representatives and these messages would be taken on board.  The ultimate aim was to generate lots of start-ups and have existing businesses growing, but it was also important to understand failure rates and work was being undertaken in this regard.

RESOLVED:  That the Committee:-

(a)       thanks the business representatives for their contribution to the meeting, David Wilson for his presentation and Edward Highfield for his report; and

(b)       notes the contents of the presentation and report and the comments of the business representatives.