Agenda item

Business Support and Economic Development

It was moved by Councillor Julie Dore, seconded by Councillor Isobel Bowler, that this Council:-

(a)       continues to support the priorities of the present Administration of focusing on jobs and being a business friendly Council;

(b)       welcomes the recent success of the city being named in the Financial Times' FDI Magazine's top 10 northern European cities for foreign direct investment and Breeze Investment recognising Sheffield as its ‘location of the year 2013’;

(c)        welcomes the Administration building on this momentum by announcing the creation of a Sheffield city centre investment fund for the Council to bring forward major regeneration projects in the city centre, including a new retail quarter, in an innovative partnership with private sector investment partners;

(d)       further welcomes existing business-focused policies from the present Administration to grow the local economy, particularly small and medium enterprises, through initiatives such as the Keep Sheffield Working Fund, which has funded:

(i)         RISE Graduate Programme

(ii)        Export Pilot Project

(iii)       Threshold Company Programme

(iv)       Summer Saturday’s

(v)        Business Loan Fund

(vi)       Work Programme Start Up Project

(e)       welcomes recent analysis that shows the Keep Sheffield Working Fund has:

(i)         supported over 90 businesses, due to increase to 130 by the end of December 2014;

(ii)        seen £740,000 invested into supporting business growth and job creation, of which £342,500 has been direct investment into small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to support companies' growth or export plans;

(iii)       supported companies to extend trade relationships to 17 different countries;

(iv)       levered in a further £2,110,000 funding from the initial £800,000 investment through partners and private sector match, and that this will increase to an estimated £2,300,000 by December 2015; and

(v)        seen the Fund on target to deliver 86 jobs over the course of the project's life;

(f)        therefore welcomes that a further £200,000 has been allocated to the Keep Sheffield Working Fund to continue supporting local businesses and economic development;

(g)       welcomes the work of the present Administration to continue to support Sheffield’s Events Programme, despite the unprecedented level of cuts that the Government is making to the Council’s budget, thereby making it increasingly difficult to support city centre vibrancy and the considerable economic benefits this brings;

(h)       welcomes the Sheffield Events Programme 2014 and recognises the estimated economic benefit of some of the events on the local economy including:

(i)            Sports events, including British Indoor Athletics, British University and College Sport Finals £4m

(ii)          World Snooker £1.9m

(iii)         Sheffield Doc Fest £1.2m

(iv)         Tramlines £443k

(v)          Off The Shelf £119k

(i)         welcomes the £270,000 cultural destinations funding from Arts Council England to improve the profile and economic impact of 5 key cultural events (Art Sheffield, Doc Fest, Off the Shelf, Tramlines and Festival of the Mind);

(j)         welcomes the current Administration's role, along with partners, in bringing the Tour de France to Sheffield this year and notes that this will bring significant benefits to the local economy both in 2014 and in years to come; and

(k)        resolves to continue to take proactive action to build a strong economy in the city, welcoming recent developments around the Keep Sheffield Working Fund and Events Programme, and looks forward to the International Trade Strategy, to further drive economic growth, being submitted to the Cabinet in April.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, seconded by Councillor Colin Ross, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the deletion of paragraphs (a) and (e) to (k);

2.         the re-lettering of paragraphs (b) to (d) as new paragraphs (c) to (e); and

3.         the addition of new paragraphs (a) and (b) and (f) to (j) as follows:-

(a)       praises the action of the previous Administration, which took Sheffield – in the words of local businesses – from “the worst place to do business in South Yorkshire to the best”;

(b)       underlines the importance of the Council continuing to work by the business-friendly principles introduced by the previous Administration;

(f)        however, regrets that the actions of the current Administration do not live up to their rhetoric and notes the following as examples of the anti-business sentiments held by members of the ruling group:

(i)         rejecting a proposal by NEXT to locate a new department store in Sheffield;

(ii)        providing a lukewarm reception to the proposal for an IKEA superstore;

(iii)       failing to hold the full MADE entrepreneur festival in 2013;

(iv)       introducing city-centre parking charges on evening and Sundays, which was opposed by many city-centre retailers;

(v)        ignoring appeals from traders in Millhouses for additional parking over the Christmas period; and

(vi)       a bizarre attempt to ban ice cream vans more than 5 years old;

(g)       believes these examples have helped contribute to the following comments made by businesses that Sheffield City Council is:

(i)         “closing its doors” to business;

(ii)        “out of touch with the business reality of the 21st Century”; and

(iii)       “killing us”;

(h)       in contrast endorses the action that Liberal Democrats in Government have helped to secure to support Sheffield businesses, including:

(i)         providing business rate discounts and enhanced capital allowances in Enterprise Zones;

(ii)        cutting National Insurance contributions to give businesses an ‘employment allowance’ of £2,000;

(iii)       supporting businesses to take on apprenticeships through the Apprenticeship Grants scheme;

(iv)       capping business rates at Consumer Price Index (CPI) in 2014 and providing new rebates and discounts;

(v)        reducing business energy costs by freezing the Carbon Price Support rate and giving special help to companies who are 'energy intensive';

(vi)       doubling the amount of money that companies can set off against tax for investing in new equipment; and

(vii)      reducing corporation tax to 20%;

(i)         furthermore, thanks the Government for enabling £30 million of investment to allow the New Retail Quarter to proceed but regrets that so little progress has been made in the past year by the current Administration;

(j)         implores the Administration to drop their anti-business attitude and work towards a genuinely business-friendly Council.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived. 

After a Right of Reply by Councillor Julie Dore, the original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:-

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

(a)       continues to support the priorities of the present Administration of focusing on jobs and being a business friendly Council;

(b)       welcomes the recent success of the city being named in the Financial Times' FDI Magazine's top 10 northern European cities for foreign direct investment and Breeze Investment recognising Sheffield as its ‘location of the year 2013’;

(c)        welcomes the Administration building on this momentum by announcing the creation of a Sheffield city centre investment fund for the Council to bring forward major regeneration projects in the city centre, including a new retail quarter, in an innovative partnership with private sector investment partners;

(d)       further welcomes existing business-focused policies from the present Administration to grow the local economy, particularly small and medium enterprises, through initiatives such as the Keep Sheffield Working Fund, which has funded:

(i)         RISE Graduate Programme

(ii)        Export Pilot Project

(iii)       Threshold Company Programme

(iv)       Summer Saturday’s

(v)        Business Loan Fund

(vi)       Work Programme Start Up Project

(e)       welcomes recent analysis that shows the Keep Sheffield Working Fund has:

(i)         supported over 90 businesses, due to increase to 130 by the end of December 2014;

(ii)        seen £740,000 invested into supporting business growth and job creation, of which £342,500 has been direct investment into small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to support companies' growth or export plans;

(iii)       supported companies to extend trade relationships to 17 different countries;

(iv)       levered in a further £2,110,000 funding from the initial £800,000 investment through partners and private sector match, and that this will increase to an estimated £2,300,000 by December 2015; and

(v)        seen the Fund on target to deliver 86 jobs over the course of the project's life;

(f)        therefore welcomes that a further £200,000 has been allocated to the Keep Sheffield Working Fund to continue supporting local businesses and economic development;

(g)       welcomes the work of the present Administration to continue to support Sheffield’s Events Programme, despite the unprecedented level of cuts that the Government is making to the Council’s budget, thereby making it increasingly difficult to support city centre vibrancy and the considerable economic benefits this brings;

(h)       welcomes the Sheffield Events Programme 2014 and recognises the estimated economic benefit of some of the events on the local economy including:

(i)            Sports events, including British Indoor Athletics, British University and College Sport Finals £4m

(ii)          World Snooker £1.9m

(iii)         Sheffield Doc Fest £1.2m

(iv)         Tramlines £443k

(v)          Off The Shelf £119k

(i)         welcomes the £270,000 cultural destinations funding from Arts Council England to improve the profile and economic impact of 5 key cultural events (Art Sheffield, Doc Fest, Off the Shelf, Tramlines and Festival of the Mind);

(j)         welcomes the current Administration's role, along with partners, in bringing the Tour de France to Sheffield this year and notes that this will bring significant benefits to the local economy both in 2014 and in years to come; and

(k)        resolves to continue to take proactive action to build a strong economy in the city, welcoming recent developments around the Keep Sheffield Working Fund and Events Programme, and looks forward to the International Trade Strategy, to further drive economic growth, being submitted to the Cabinet in April.

(Note: CouncillorsSimon Clement-Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Robert Frost, Sylvia Anginotti, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Penny Baker, Roger Davison, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Denise Reaney, Bob McCann, Anders Hanson, Katie Condliffe, David Baker and Trevor Bagshaw voted for Paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (h), (i), (j) and against Paragraphs (a), (e), (f), (g) and (k) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)