3 minute read
James Muir, Chair of the SCR LEP, on the support available for businesses
Welcome...
...to Chamber Connect
James Muir, Chair of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, on the support available for businesses
Leading recovery and growth in the Sheffield City Region
The past year has been a challenge for us all, but as we see more businesses able to open their doors once again, we can certainly have hope for the future.
At the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, we’re working closely with our Business Growth Hub, Mayoral Combined Authority, Local Authorities and Chambers of Commerce to ensure we support businesses across South Yorkshire, both new and established, to recover, renew and grow.
Throughout the restrictions of the past months, the impact on our business community has been severe, but we’re pleased to have supported more than 20,000 businesses across the region with over £30m of grants, and the support does not stop there. We need long-term investment in jobs, skills and infrastructure to drive our economic renewal, so in March we announced a new £860m stimulus to unleash our region’s potential as we recover from Covid. With the past year having an unquestionable toll on our people, businesses and places, this is a huge opportunity for our public and private sectors to work together to deliver a new deal for South Yorkshire.
Young people across the country have been hit disproportionately hard by the impact of Covid, with 16-24-year olds most likely to have worked in severely impacted sectors and experienced job losses. The South Yorkshire Young People’s Pledge will support young people across the region to travel with discounted bus and tram fares, improve their skills and find work. The support we offer them now is imperative to their future.
We’ll also be spending £360m to fund South Yorkshire’s recovery over the next 12 months, creating jobs, revitalising high streets and town centres and protecting the environment as we invest in infrastructure, new homes, apprenticeships, flood defences, and better transport links. From 2022, we will be creating the South Yorkshire Renewal Fund, worth up to £500m, to unlock investment and transform the region post-Covid through innovative investment in places, infrastructure, transport, jobs and skills.
As businesses have begun to reopen and rebuild, we’ve been seeing ever increasing interest in the growth, start-up and funding support offered by the Sheffield City Region Business Growth Hub, a very positive step forward. We are continuing to invest in the support we offer to businesses in South Yorkshire, with more Business Support Advisors now hired to work closely with SMEs across the region. The Growth Hub acts as a ‘gateway’ so businesses can access support when it is needed the most and within the shortest timeframe, with advisors offering guidance in business
development, innovation, growth, logistics, trade and exporting, and accessing finance or training.
Through our plans for the future, we are committed to backing our business community, helping our existing businesses to adapt and thrive post-Covid, and attracting new ones to locate and grow here. Working with our local leaders and all of us who live and work here, we are delivering on the priorities that matter to people in South Yorkshire and we will improve people’s lives.
There’s no shying away from the investment needed in both our recovery and renewal over the coming years, but this is an opportunity for us all to work together, across public and private sectors, to deliver the development our region needs. South Yorkshire’s best days lie ahead of us, and we should all share the confidence that we’re making our region an even better place to live, work and invest.
