PAPER D

Purpose : for Decision

REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE

Date : 3 DECEMBER 2003

Title : REPORT OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UK AND EU, REWGIONAL ISSUES

IMPLEMENTATION DATE : 15 December 2003

SUMMARY/PURPOSE

1 To receive the quarterly report of the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership and consider how to receive such reports in future.

BACKGROUND

2 The Executive is responsible for letting and monitoring the contract between the council and the IWEP.

3 However, that contract is of relatively minor significance in terms of procuring outputs and/or outcomes from the IWEP. Further, the contract represents a small part of the functions of the Executive, such as planning policy, tourism and support to other agencies, which together contribute to the promotion of the economic wellbeing of the Island. Day to day management of the contract is delegated to the Head of Corporate Policy and Communications.

4 The Executive previously determined that it wished to carry out quarterly monitoring of the contract. The information set out in Appendix 1 enables the discharge of this function. Appendix 2 summarises the obligations of the IWEP under the terms of the contract.

5 The information in Appendix 1 provides substantially more information about the activity of the IWEP in the period July – September 2003. It provides an overview of progress on all IWEP activities and is not restricted to those which are funded by the Council.

6 This extra information allows the Executive to keep under review the extent to which economic development activity on the island is sufficient, and whether the council’s discretionary functions in relation to council specific economic activity need to be given a higher priority in order to complement activity undertaken by other agencies.

7 Members had particularly asked for information on the Ambassadors Scheme and progress against the PSA targets, which the IWEP are delivering on behalf of the Council. This information is provided in paragraphs 22-25 (Ambassadors Scheme)) and 26 – 28 (PSA targets).

8 Members may particularly wish to note changes in funding programmes on the Island, with SRB V and the Rural Development Programme ending in March 2004. It is a credit to the IWEP in generating activity on the Island that the monies for both of these have been fully committed with an extra £400k made available under the RDP which will fund projects on a reserve list (details of these will not be available until they have been confirmed by SEEDA). It is worth noting that many other areas have not been so successful in using their funding.

9 Cowes Waterfront continues to progress well and is seen as a flagship development for the Island. This is a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate that with the right support the Island has the ability to develop and deliver a complex long term project in a planned and strategic way, with the active participation of a range of partners.

10 Other items worth noting are:

a. The Isle of Wight branding and marketing initiative which is gathering momentum and support from a range of key organisations on the Island

b. The Area Investment Framework (AIF), into which the Council has had considerable input. Papers have gone to Director’s Group to ensure that priorities put forward will meet the objectives of Island Futures and the Council, which will require endorsement by this Executive.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

11 The Council delivers its economic development activities through the IWEP. These contribute to the achievement of the Corporate Objective “encouraging job creation and economic prosperity” as laid down in the Corporate Plan.

12 The activities of IWEP also contribute to actions identified in the Economic Development Best Value Improvement Plan and contribute to 2 PSA targets (supporting business and job creation, and encouraging over 50s into work). Progress against these targets is given in the attached report.

CONSULTATION

13 As a report on past activity, consultation in the preparation of the report is unnecessary. However, Economic Development, Planning and Tourism Select Committee will receive the report on 16 December 2003.

14 The role of the Select Committee is not concerned with contract management but with scrutinising the extent to which the island is being well served by the Executive’s approach to economic wellbeing and development and, by extension, by the current multi agency activity.

FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

15 For the financial year 2003 / 04 the Council have contributed £104,000 in cash, in addition to which they have seconded staff as per the Service Level Agreement. The Council continue to honour their agreement to pay rent on Enterprise House should the IWEP be unable to do so. This amounts to £135,000 per year paid in quarterly instalments of £33,750.

16 The IWEP have submitted a growth bid for an additional £100,000 for the financial year 2004 / 05. This will be considered, together with all other growth bids, as part of the budgetary process for next year.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

17 The council has a duty under the Local Government Act 1999 (and subsequent circulars) to deliver best value through the letting and management of the contract with the IWEP.

18 More significantly, there is a duty to keep under review the use of discretionary economic wellbeing powers under part 1 Local Government Act 2000.

OPTIONS

i To receive the report from the IWEP

ii To delegate the management of the contract to the Head of Corporate Policy and Communications

iii To determine that the Executive will continue to undertake quarterly contract management

iv To continue to receive reports from the IWEP for the purpose of keeping under review the sufficiency of economic development on the Island generally and the exercise of the council’s economic wellbeing powers in particular

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

19 The current arrangements for the delivery of quarterly reports are disproportionate to the contract management functions and risk becoming a missed opportunity for a regular rolling review of economic activity on a multi agency and council specific basis.

20 The value of the regular reports is significant and it is proposed to enhance the value further by bringing future reports in the context of other information about economic development and the promotion of economic wellbeing. One mechanism for delivering this enhancement is by diminishing the profile of the contract management function, by delegating it formally to the Head of Corporate Policy and Communications, with provision for exception reporting to the portfolio holder and/or the Executive as necessary

21 Future reports could consider the report of the IWEP in the context of delivery of the PSA, Audit Commission activity in the area of partnerships and the efficacy of delivering economic development activities through a range of activities including contracts such as this.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Options i, iii and iv.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

22 Service Level Agreement between the Council and IWEP

23 Legal Agreements between the Council and IWEP undertaking to guarantee payment of the rent on the properties known as Enterprise House and the Innovation Centre, St Cross Business Park, Newport, should the IWEP be unable to do so.

24 Area Investment Framework (AIF)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

25 Appendix 1 – IWEP Activities – Quarterly Report July – September 2003.

Contact Point : Lesley Williams, Principal Policy Officer.

Tel: +44 (0)1983 823797 email: [email protected]

J BENTLEY

Head of Policy and Communications

H REES

Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, UK and EU, Regional Issues

brought forward from a reserve list. These have yet to be confirmed with SEEDA.

Leader+

10 A considerable number of projects are coming through this programme and a further 17 projects have been approved over the last quarter, with funding totalling £1,371,834 and match funding of £993,978. These include the Rural Training Bus, Photographic Courses at Dimbola Lodge, Rural Support for the Blind Society and Chale Nursery.

Market Towns Initiative

11 A review of the MTI delivery has taken place during the last quarter and it has become clear that existing staffing arrangements were not meeting the needs of the towns. As a consequence, key IWEP staff have taken a lead in working with the towns to manage the local strategic framework.

12 The Ventnor delivery plan has been approved by SEEDA and projects are ready for appraisal/approval under this plan. The Sandown & Shanklin delivery plans have been reviewed by IWEP staff, in conjunction with the Community Partnerships and revised versions are now being put to SEEDA for approval.

Healthy Living Programme

13 The 19 projects have been reviewed by members of the management and advisory group, together with the HLP staff. Discussions are continuing as to how to make the programme sustainable and recommendations will be shortly be made to NOF (current funders) that they should release further funding to the programme in 2004.

Enterprise & Investment

Cowes Waterfront

14 In just 1 year the partnership between the Council SEEDA and the Isle of Wight Partnership has achieved the following:

- Commission of development framework Sept 2002

- public consultation with an 85% approval rating

- strong commitment from both the public & private sectors

- supplementary planning guidance adopted by the IWC in July 2003

- substantial cash investment

- significant investor interest

- and the purchase of 2 key sites, GKN North Works & Three Gates Rd

15 In addition, we have re-branded the Project to Cowes Waterfront. This was launched during Cowes Week and has already gained acceptance. The reasoning behind the name change is simple; as we put more effort in to the marketing of the Project we wanted to market a destination and not a project. We will be formalising the marketing plan during November.

16 We have also re-branded Ellen MacArthur’s boat Kingfisher; she is now called “Team Cowes”, and is entered in a race from Le Havre in France to Salvador in Brazil. This will be the first time the names of Cowes and the Isle of Wight will be marketed on an international basis.

17 Cowes Waterfront shows what can be done in just 12 months when a strong commitment is made by all of the parties involved.

Inward Investment

18 As previously stated, our inward investment projects do not move significantly from quarter to quarter. The number of enquiries is increasing probably due to our work under Cowes Waterfront.

19 We anticipate that 1 of our projects will come to fruition during November. This will create up to 20 jobs in Ryde, (see Ambassadors section). The company recently ran a recruitment piece in the County Press.

Innovation Centre/Enterprise Hub

20 The Innovation Centre continues to thrive with one new addition and one new prospect. Criterion, a company who specialise in the testing of mobile phone networks moved into the Centre during September. We have just started a real marketing push on the Centre working with key influencers such as banks, accountants and solicitors.

21 Our Hub activities include working with the composites industry on R&D requirements and waste management requirements. We are also hosting a composites brainstorm to discuss the future of the industry on the Isle of Wight.

Ambassadors Scheme

22 We have now developed our initial list of IoW Ambassadors. We have many notable names willing to help us with our efforts to promote the Island. I anticipate publishing the names as and when our web-site is launched.

23 We will be releasing the marketing material during December and are currently beta testing our web-site. The Site allows us to e-mail ambassadors on a regular basis with good news stories about the IoW. It will also provide case studies on different facets of the island.

24 An example of how the scheme should work is highlighted by our most recent inward investment, Island Call. Island Call is setting up a call centre in Ryde initially with 20 jobs. This was a direct referral from contacts we have been working with for 18 months, Andrew Austin and Andrew Morris. Their recommendation and promotion of the Island and the workings of the IoW Economic Partnership has had the direct benefit of much needed jobs in Ryde. This is exactly how I explained the new scheme would work, i.e. we would concentrate on creating jobs and attracting new investment rather than expensive promotion and high profile dinners.

25 Areas where I believe the Ambassadors scheme could develop are covered in our Branding Strategy for the Isle of Wight. This paper will be submitted to the Executive for consideration.

PSA Targets

26 PSA targets are reported to the Isle of Wight Council under separate cover. The following are the highlights from the reports.

27 Target 3, Job Creation.

The jobs target has been profiled as a linear 33.3 jobs per quarter. (this may change in time to better reflect reality). Against Q1 we achieved 27 jobs and Q2 43 jobs; therefore we are slightly above profile. These figures do not include the new tenant in the Innovation Centre or our new inward investment.

28 Target 11, over 50’s employment.

There have been no jobs created against this theme as yet, however there are 2 reasons for this, 1) a re-profiling of the targets and 2) a significant bid for ESF funding via SEEDA for in the region of £1 million to build a much larger scheme. Obviously the work on the bid has precluded us from the initial delivery of the target.

IoW Branding & Marketing

29 For some months now the Economic Partnership has been working with our partners to re-evaluate the marketing of the Island. As the body responsible for marketing the Island as an investment destination the Economic Partnership was chosen to put forward a draft strategy as to how this could best be achieved. The paper will explain the following:

- why we need an IoW Brand

- the benefits of a Brand

- the process we need to go through

- suggested Brand values

- how to promote the Brand

- the roles of the various organisations

- how to harness private sector spend

- potential funding sources

30 The following organisations have given their full support

- IoW Council

- IoW Tourism

- Wight Leisure

- IoW Chamber of Commerce

- IoW Health Authority

- Wightlink

- Red Funnel

- Skandia

- Cowes Yachting

- SEEDA

31 The establishment of an IoW Brand will attract the much needed investment in to all of our business sectors, in particular tourism and leisure. It will also give a true picture of how we wish the Island to be viewed. All other similar destinations have either established their brand or are doing so, it is therefore important for the Island not to be left behind.

Financial Report

32 The financial forecasts made by the IWEP for the first half of the financial year remain on target and the figures have been communicated to the corporate finance department of the IW Council.

Other Activities

IWEP

33 An IWEP director has a place on the South East Regional Assembly and has attended the Board meetings. We have facilitated responses from the Island to a number of consultative strategy documents.

34 We have also attended scrutiny committees to look at how SEEDA deals with Rural Affairs and have had input into the Framework for Regional Employment and Skills Action (FRESA). We have responded to other surveys being carried out by SEERA in their scrutiny role over the activities of SEEDA.

35 As one of the 10 Economic Partnerships in the South East we are active members of the South East Economic Partners (SEEP) network meetings where information and best practice are shared between the partnerships, GOSE, SEEDA and SEERA.

36 We have worked closely with Charlotte Dixon, SEEDA Director for Economic Inclusion and Sustainability to support policy development for the delivery of AIF action plans across the region and to address the Social Inclusion Agenda. We have attended a couple of network meetings with all 10 AIF partnerships including the meeting on 7^th October to discuss the Draft Proposal for the development of an area network for AIF development which includes Southampton, Portsmouth, Isle of Wight and SEEDA to share information and find models of best practice. Although each of the areas is quite different there are common themes and models that can be shared and there should also be opportunities to develop joint projects across the Solent area.

37 We are represented on the South East Rural Towns Partnership (SERTP) by Joanna Richards our Rural Development Officer and she has been involved in the development of the bid to SEEDA for the development of the Market Towns delivery through the SERTP group.

38 We have representation on the Regional Management Group for the Leader+ programme, which is a European Programme managed through GOSE, RAISE through Sue Dovey, Chief Executive of the Rural Community Council (RCC), and the SE England Rural Forum through Councillor Harry Rees.

39 We attend Board meetings of the Hampshire Economic Partnership as non voting members. We have been able to look to create joint working across the marine sector and are investigating the potential for the Solent being used as the base for some watersports activity for the Olympic Games bid. We are very keen to create the ‘Solent Triangle’ between Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight as an area for water-based activities. We have also had joint working on the rural agenda through work with Sparsholt College. We have attended Board meetings of VTS Careers and have been able to highlight issues around the need for more Adult Guidance on the Island and provide opportunities to link regeneration activities to the careers service.

40 We have worked with Southampton SRB team to find opportunities for joint working and as a result have made links with Southampton Institute. The outcome has been that the Institute are supporting the delivery teams to look at evaluation of grant programmes as a mechanism to support the continuous improvement process and identify issues that are ‘blocks’ to regeneration activity. We are also looking to work with the Institute to develop better interfaces with the community and carry out research to find effective media for delivering learning opportunities within communities.

AIF

41 The AIF Board is being established as a sub-group of the IWEP. It will include representation from the following organisations yet to be nominated:

IWC Health

Private Sector Voluntary Sector

Business Link Wessex GOSE

LSC SEEDA

42 Draft action plan has been submitted to that group for discussion and further work will be carried out for a submission to SEEDA in early December 2003. The IWEP have supported the IWC in running the themed workshops for the Local Strategic Partnership. The priorities from the Island Futures plan are being fed into the document.

APPENDIX 2

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (IWEP) AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL (IWC) UNDER THE TERMS OF THE SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT.

I RESPONSIBILITIES OF IWEP

1 Inward Investment and Marketing

The IWEP for activities aimed at attracting and generating new jobs and investment to the Isle of Wight. In particular the IWEP will:

1. Provide a “one stop” investor handling service for new and existing businesses

2. Strategically market the Isle of Wight as an investment opportunity

3. Facilitate the provision of sites and premises for new and existing businesses in liaison with the Council’s planning department

4. Manage the Innovation Centre

5. Deliver the Ambassador’s Scheme

6. Deliver agreed PSA targets on behalf of the Council

2 Regeneration

The IWEP is responsible for the delivery of the following regeneration programmes for the Isle of Wight:

a) Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) programmes approved under rounds 2,4,5, and 6 of the National SRB initiative

b) Rural Development Programme

c) Market Towns Initiative

d) Leader +

e) Such other initiatives as may from time to time be developed

f) Support for development of sustainable local regeneration Partnership

g) Delivery of agreed PSA targets on behalf of the Council

3 Managing Financial Affairs

The Regeneration Director and Investment Director are jointly responsible for the executive management of the IWEP budget with the regeneration Director being responsible for the management of the day to day financial affairs of the IWEP.

II RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL

The specific responsibilities of the Council are:

a) Advising the IWEP and partner agencies on strategic policy issues concerning economic development and regeneration issues and activities affecting the Isle of Wight

b) Advising the Council on all aspects of the Service.

c) Working with the IWEP in the co-ordination and review of the Island Regeneration Strategy.

d) Co-ordinating and advising the IWEP on European policy concerning economic development and regeneration issues and activities affecting the Isle of Wight

e) Co-ordinating and advising on bid development activities in order to maximise levels of external funding attracted to the Isle of Wight

f) Provision of a research and information service concerning economic development and regeneration issues and activities affecting the Isle of Wight

g) Promoting the tenets of social economic and environmental sustainability in all economic development and regeneration activities.

III PAYMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

In exchange for the above services the Isle of Wight Council provides the following:

a) Staff – employment of six staff seconded to the IWEP – 2 fully funded by the Council, 2 part funded by the Council, 2 funded by IWEP.

b) Cash – an annual sum of £104,000 subject to annual review of the performance of IWEP and the allocation of adequate funding in the Council’s annual budget.

c) Banking Services - the Council undertakes the banking role of the IWEP for all the regeneration programmes.

d) Accountable Body – the Council acts as accountable body for the SRB and RDP programmes.

e) Overdraft facility – an overdraft facility of £150,000 for IWEP is provided by the Council to assist with short term cash flow. All interest costs are covered by a charge to IWEP.

f) Contingent liability – The Council has agreed to underwrite the rent on Enterprise House and the Innovation Centre for a limited period of time should IWEP be unable to meet these costs.

IV AGREED PSA TARGETS

a) Creation of 100 additional jobs and provision of assistance to an additional 6 new and expanding companies.

b) Together with job centre plus increase the number of workless people over 50 years old getting sustained jobs on the Island.