4. Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development (SLAED) 2022-23 Indicators Framework Report - Report
Renfrewshire Council · 28 May 2024
Back to Economy and Regeneration Policy Board — 28 May 2024 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Economy and Regeneration Policy Board On: 28 May 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development (SLAED) 2022-23 Indicators Framework Report 1. Summary 1.1 The Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development Group (SLAED) is the professional network for economic development officers from across Scotland’s 32 local authorities. They represent a shared interest in working with a wide range of contacts in supporting local economic development, working together to learn from each other to improve delivery of local authority services. 1.2 The SLAED network provides an annual report on local authority economic development activity and performance, published by the Improvement Service, and this board report provides an update on the 2022-2023 SLAED Indicators Framework Report. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 Board members are asked to: Note the contents of the report which summarises the Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development Group (SLAED) Indicators Framework Report 2022-2023, and Renfrewshire Councils contribution towards local and national economic development. ___________________________________________________________________
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3. Background 3.1 The Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development Group (SLAED) has been established for over 10 years and is the professional network for economic development officers from across Scotland’s 32 local authorities. 3.2 The SLAED Indicators Framework Report collates data from all 32 Scottish local authorities and details what Councils across Scotland are delivering as local economic development organisations. 2022-2023 marks the 11th annual SLAED Indicators Framework Report since the introduction of the framework in 2012. 3.3 The report has been kept under continuous review by the SLAED Performance Group, with support from the Improvement Service to ensure it remains reflective of local authority economic development priorities and delivery and is of practical use to councils and their partners. 3.4 The Indicators Framework divides data into 5 categories: Inputs, Activities, Outputs, and Outcomes, as well as information around priority areas such as wellbeing economies and inclusive growth. It allows meaningful comparisons to be made on the relative performance of areas, which can assist in ongoing monitoring of performance and effective resource allocation. 4. Overview of Renfrewshire 4.1 Overall, Renfrewshire Councils performance in this year’s annual SLAED Indicators Framework remained largely consistent with previous years, measuring well against other Councils, and demonstrating the continued success of the area. Statistics from ONS are also used in the report to provide wider area based analysis. Figures from the SLAED Indicators Framework contribute to the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (Employability and Business Development). 4.2 Appendix 1 provides the Renfrewshire figures against Scottish averages and provides a link to the full report. 4.3 The 2022-23 year is considered one of post covid repair and recovery, many of the stats improved year on year as normality returned, services resumed, and the economy improved. The two key areas of local authority service delivery covered in the report are business development and employability. 5. Business Development Highlights 5.1 Overall the business stats improved during 2022-23 following the covid period however there were some drops in numbers for Renfrewshire. The number of businesses attending Business Gateway events dropped in Renfrewshire and this was replicated across local authorities in Scotland. This can be attributed to an overall decrease in events being held.
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5.2 There was an increase of businesses in Renfrewshire with a Business Gateway Unique Customer Account, highlighting that although attendance at Business Gateway events had dropped, more businesses in Renfrewshire were receiving support to develop. 5.3 Additionally, in Renfrewshire the number of attendees attending business events provided by the Council has significantly increased despite many other Councils not running any one-to-many business events in 2022/23. 5.4 Through some of these events, such as the ‘Meet the Buyer’ and ‘How to Bid with Renfrewshire Council’, the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) has been advertised, leading to a steady increase of Renfrewshire companies registered with SDP (as shown below). This will contribute to developing local supply chains and boosting Renfrewshire’s economy. 5.5 Renfrewshire businesses participating in the Supplier Development Programme more than doubled from less than 50 in the previous reporting year, to over 100 business in 2022/2023. 5.6 The main area of concern that year was the 32% reduction (from the previous year) of new Business Gateway businesses that started to trade. Figures went from 264 in year 20-21, to 205 in 22-23. During that time the team were supporting broadly the same number of business interests in start-up but there was a reduction in those going on to commence trading. Fortunately, the figures to be reported for 23-24 show that the numbers increased the following year to 305 new trading businesses with Business Gateway support and so the downturn appears to be a one-off. 6. Employability Highlights 6.1 The employability stats and performance remains high for the Council’s employability service. The number of unemployed people in Renfrewshire that have participated in Council funded or operated employability activities has stayed consistent with last year’s high performance with around 1,900 unemployed people in Renfrewshire participating. Almost 50% of people participating in employability activities across all local authorities were through the Government’s No One Left Behind programme. 6.2 The number of unemployed people in Renfrewshire that have progressed to employment as a result of participation in Council funded or operated employability activities remains within the top 5 of Scottish local authorities. The figures did fall from the previous year due to the end of the Kickstart scheme where Renfrewshire Council ran the largest Kickstart programme in Scotland and achieved around 450 positive employment results from that programme over 2020-2022. The majority of figures from Councils across Scotland show a decrease in numbers in the 2022-23 year. 6.3 Only 5.7% of Renfrewshire’s working age population have low / no qualifications compared to the Scottish average of 9.9%. Renfrewshire has the 3rd lowest figure in comparison to all other Scottish local authorities.
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7. Conclusion 7.1 The SLAED Indicators Framework report should be used to identify possible areas of improvement in local services and should help guide possible future projects and target areas. 7.2 Continuing to monitor and report on the delivery of economic development services across Renfrewshire is essential to allow meaningful comparisons to be made across all local authorities. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Not Applicable. 2. HR & Organisational Development – Not Applicable. 3. Community/Council Planning – Jobs / Economy – the Council’s Economic Development Team continue to be instrumental in creating employment opportunities across Renfrewshire in partnership with local businesses and continue to offer robust advice to new and existing builsinesses seeking to create further jobs and economic growth. 4. Legal – Not Applicable. 5. Property/Assets - Not Applicable. 6. Information Technology – Not Applicable. 7. Equality & Human Rights- Not Applicable. 8. Health & Safety- Not Applicable. 9. Procurement – Not Applicable. 10. Risk- Not Applicable. 11. Privacy Impact- Not Applicable. 12. Cosla Policy Position- Not Applicable. ___________________________________________________________________ For more information contact: Ruth Cooper, Economic Development Manager ruth.cooper@renfrewshire.gov.uk Author: Holly Stephen, Social Policy, and Economic Development Graduate Intern holly.stephen@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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Appendix 1: A. SLAED Indicators Framework: https://www.slaed.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/47874/SLAED-Indicators- Report-2022-23.pdf B. Renfrewshire Councils Returns for SLAED report:
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