Business Gateway Lanarkshire Contract Extension
North Lanarkshire Council · 18 November 2022
Back to Enterprise and Fair Work Committee — 18 November 2022 and its agenda
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EFW/BG/YW-SQ Date 18/11/22 Business Gateway Lanarkshire Contract Extension – 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2024 From Pamela Humphries, Head of Planning and Regeneration E-mail weiry@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Yvonne Weir 07508 001238 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the Business Gateway Lanarkshire Service and seek homologation of the decision taken by the Convener of Enterprise and Growth in consultation with the Head of Planning and Regeneration to extend the Lanarkshire Business Gateway contract to 29th February 2024. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: 1) Consider and note the contents of this report. 2) Homologate the decision to extend the Lanarkshire Business Gateway contract to 28th February 2024. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy
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1. Background 1.1 Business Gateway is a publicly funded service that provides free business support and impartial advice for start-up and existing businesses based in Scotland. Following changes to the delivery of local economic regeneration agreed in 2007, the delivery of the Business Gateway service across Scotland was transferred to local government on 1st April 2008 to align more closely with local priorities and economic development. 1.2 Since then, the local authorities have been responsible for the delivery of the service in local areas with eighteen Lead Local Authorities (LLAs) coordinating the delivery on behalf of the local authorities in their respective Business Gateway region. In Lanarkshire the LLA is North Lanarkshire Council, who manage the delivery across North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire. 1.3 In Lanarkshire, the Business Gateway Service is outsourced and delivered by a third- party contractor. The current contractor is Elevator North East Trust Limited trading as ‘Elevator’. In March 2021, following a competitive procurement process Elevator were awarded the current contract for the provision of the Business Gateway services in Lanarkshire. The contract is for an initial 24 months to 28th February 2023, with the option to extend for a further two twelve-month periods. 1.4 A robust contract and supplier management programme is in place to enable contract performance to be closely monitored and reported. The strategic direction and performance of the service is overseen by the Business Gateway Steering Group. This group consist of 2 elected members and senior members from both North and South Lanarkshire Councils, supported by operational staff who have responsibly for contract management. The group is chaired by an elected member from South Lanarkshire Council and meets on a quarterly basis. 1.5 The value of the contract across the 4-year term is £4,600,000 (£1.15m per annum) with a contingency option to increase by a further £1,000,000, taking the total maximum value of the contract to £5,600,000. The core £4,600,000 is provided through North Lanarkshire Council’s Revenue Support Grant (RSG). 2. Report 2.1 The current contract with Elevator for the delivery of the Business Gateway Service in Lanarkshire has an optional break on the 28th of February 2023. In March 2022 the Business Gateway Lanarkshire Steering group agreed to extend the contract for a further period to 29th February 2024. This was subsequently agreed by the Convenor of Enterprise and Growth in consultation with the Head of Planning and Regeneration. A decision on the second break option will be taken in early 2023 following a review of performance and options of the current contract. 2.2 This decision to extend the contract to 29th of February 2024 was taken in consideration of the strong performance of the contract and positive customer satisfaction. Performance for the first 12 months from 1st March 2021 to 28th February 2022 2.3 The Business Gateway Lanarkshire service has two key service areas: firstly, to support pre-start and new businesses trading less than 12 months and secondly, to support existing businesses. The overarching aim of the support is to increase the
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number of businesses per capita in Lanarkshire, increase the productivity and outputs of Lanarkshire businesses, help them to access new markets and introduce innovation, and ultimately create more and better paid jobs for Lanarkshire residents. 2.4 Services to support new businesses include advice from a local business adviser, access to training workshops and webinars, market research and online resources to help businesses successfully commence trading. The below table outlines the number of pre-start and new businesses supported in 2021/22, against the minimum targets set in the contract: New Businesses Number of businesses supported % To target achieved North South Businesses Supported 1065 107% 576 489 2.5 During the period, 1065 new start businesses were supported through the service. This was against a target of 1000. 2.6 Services to support existing businesses are delivered through the existing and growing business service. The support provided includes a dedicated local business advisor to help businesses create an action plan for growth, access to surgeries, accelerator programmes and up to 21 hours of expert support from a qualified consultant on an array of useful topics including Finance, HR, Digital Development and Marketing. 2.7 The below table outlines the intensive support provided to existing businesses in 2021/22against the minimum targets set in the contract: Existing Businesses Number of businesses supported % To target achieved North South Businesses Supported 412 103% 195 217 2.8 412 businesses received intensive support through the existing and growing business service. This was against a target of 400. 2.9 In addition to the above, for the period: • 1565 hours’ worth of ad hoc support was provided to local businesses • 175 local workshops were delivered on topics integral to helping local businesses start and grow in Lanarkshire. • 774 businesses operating in sectors of local importance where supported. • 446 businesses supported employed people under 25 • 351 business supported operated in areas of deprivation Performance for the first 6 months of Year 2 from 1st March 2022 to 31st August 22 2.10 The contract has continued to perform well for the first six months of year two. The below table outlines the number of pre-start and new businesses against the minimum targets set in the contract: Number of businesses supported % To target achieved North South Businesses Supported 511 102% 240 261
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2.11 During the period, 511 new start businesses were supported through the service. This was against a target of 500. 2.12 The below table outlines the intensive support provided to existing businesses against the minimum targets set in the contract: Number of businesses supported % To target achieved North South Businesses Supported 225 113% 94 131 2.13 225 businesses received intensive support through the existing and growing business service. This was against a target of 200. 2.14 In addition to the above, for the period: • 866 hours’ worth of ad hoc support was provided to local businesses • 73 local workshops were delivered on topics integral to helping local businesses start and grow in Lanarkshire. • 381 businesses operating in sectors of local importance where supported. • 173 businesses supported employed people under 25 • 199 business supported operated in areas of deprivation Financial Performance Update 2.15 The financial performance of the contract is closely monitored monthly. The total cumulative spend for the contract to date, the period period 1st March 2021 to 31st August 2022 is £1,737,306. This is £12,306 over the targeted spend. 2.16 The financial performance for the period has been outlined in the table below: 2021/22 April – Sept 2022 Total Variable Payment £783,130 £407,950 £1,191,080 Fixed Payment £287,484 £143,742 £431,226 Innovation Payment £115,000 £0 £115,000 Total £1,185,614 £551,692 £1,737,306 Cumulative Spend £1,737,306 Spend Target £1,725,000 Overspend £12,306 Ongoing Customer Satisfaction with the Service 2.17 To monitor the local and national satisfaction rates, the Business Gateway National unit instruct an independent quarterly satisfaction survey, issued to a selection of clients recently supported through the service. 2.18 The minimum targets of 80% have been consistently exceeded throughout the contract. The latest survey results for the period 1st April 2022 to the 30th of June 2022 have been outlined below:
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Service (1st April 22 – 31st June 22) National Average North Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire Overall satisfaction (Extremely satisfied, very satisfied or satisfied) 83% 100% 96% Service delivered met expectations (Met or exceeded expectations) 81% 100% 96% Benefit the business will gain from service received (All saying yes, support will be beneficial – excluding those who report it is ‘too early to say’) 87% 100% 96% Would recommend Business Gateway (Definitely or probably) 84% 100% 96% 2.19 In North Lanarkshire a sample of 13 businesses were surveyed for the period; 100% of these businesses were satisfied with the service, had their expectations met, will benefit from the support, and would recommend the service. 3. Measures of success 3.1 North Lanarkshire Council continues to play a leading role in supporting local SMEs, aiding their growth and prosperity. The service delivery will continue to measure: • Number of new start businesses that have accessed support through the Lanarkshire Business Gateway Service • Number of growth and sustainable businesses that have accessed support through the Lanarkshire Business Gateway Service • Businesses in key sectors that have accessed support 4. Supporting documentation N/A Pamela Humphries Head of Planning and Regeneration
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The value of the contract for the period 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2024 is £1.15m in line with the current budget availability. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? A contract extension letter will be required to confirm the extension beyond 28 February 2023. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The delivery of the Business Gateway Service is recorded within the Service Project Risk Register.