OPINION
JUST A THOUGHT
Despite the devastation wrought, Covid-19 also brings about economic opportunity, says Cornwall & Isles of Scilly LEP chief executive, Glenn Caplin-Grey
ROAD TO RECOVERY money during spring and summer and may not survive the winter.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to have profound and unpredictable impacts on the economy of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Between March and June this year, the number of Universal Credit claimants almost doubled to more than 48,000, with hotspots in tourism-dependant areas like Newquay among the worst affected. Cornwall and Scilly as a whole have felt some of the greatest economic impacts in the UK with key sectors like tourism, food and drink, retail, construction and arts and culture having some of the highest levels of furloughed workers. The crisis has accelerated the trends we have seen over the past decade with online retail presenting significant challenges to the vitality of high streets. Changes to policy will need to accelerate just as fast to meet the challenge. By the end of June there were almost 80,000 people on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme across Cornwall and Scilly, which is 35% of the eligible workforce and one of the highest take-up rates in the UK. It’s the same picture for Cornwall’s 40,000 self-employed people, who make up significantly more of the local workforce (23%) than nationally (16%). Over 30,000, or 75% of those eligible, claimed £85 million of support grants as of June 30. At the time of writing, both these schemes are due to come to an end in October, bringing risks to employment and businesses across Cornwall and Scilly, especially those that have been unable to make sufficient 46 | BUSINESS CORNWALL
It’s clear the structure of our local economy means Covid-19 is having a bigger impact on Cornwall and Scilly than perhaps any other part of the UK. In employment terms, this means the region is carrying a lot of risk into the Autumn despite the very welcome Government support to business. For the LEP our focus has been on tackling the immediacy of the crisis while looking towards recovery and beyond. By working with business we have provided Government with crucial real-time data about coronavirus impacts to help shape policy, and have lobbied for more flexibility from the support schemes on offer, including part-timing working while on furlough and discretionary business grants.
clear that the impacts of coronavirus differ from region to region, and what’s required is a differentiated regional response to aid recovery. Covid-19 has been a grim harbinger of some of the pressures we might see as a result of Brexit, depending on the shape of the final deal with the EU, such as labour shortages and export restrictions. But it has also shown that we can adapt, innovate and do things differently, and embrace the value of economic localism versus globalisation. That’s why the Government’s imminent recovery and devolution White Paper will be vital to shaping continued investment at a local level, especially when it comes to tackling the long-term threat of climate change.
Changes to policy will need to accelerate just as fast to meet the challenge
We have provided direct assistance to Visit Cornwall and the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce so they can continue to support local businesses, and have put more resources into the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Hub to ensure it can respond to business needs, including managing the £1 million tourism kick-start fund.
And we will continue to make the case for policies tailored to Cornwall and Scilly. It’s
It’s also an economic opportunity, which is why the LEP’s Local Industrial Strategy has a ‘green recovery’ at its heart, and why we have chosen to invest a large proportion of our recent £14.3 million Getting Building Fund award in projects that support clean energy, geo-resources including lithium extraction, and a Housing Retrofit Programme which will deliver social benefits as well as jobs in the supply chain.
The coronavirus pandemic will end, and the economy of Cornwall and Scilly will recover. How fast will depend in part on the Government’s willingness to use its levelling up agenda to empower regions to invest in the businesses, skills and infrastructure that will drive future innovation and growth.
