BUSINESS SUPPORT SIMPLIFICATION PROGRAMME LOCAL AUTHORITY EVENT – 15th MAY 2007 On the 15th May 2007, 35 local authorities from across the country took part in a Business Support Simplification consultation event held in London. The aim of the event was gain Local Authority feedback on progress so far on simplifying business support, and seek their help in developing thinking to ensure the right kind of support goes to the right business. Martin Wyn Griffith, Chief Executive DTI’s Small Business Service welcomed attendees to the event, setting out a compelling case for change. He appealed to local authorities to work collaboratively with the programme to develop a shared framework that offers value for money for tax payers. He concluded “the number of people thinking about, starting or growing a business is 4,000 a week and we have evidence that those getting business support outperform those that don’t we need to reach out to those people that are helping this country grow its economy.” John Deegan Strategic Director for Environment & Economy Warwickshire County Council acknowledged that the vision put forward is one all local authorities recognise and spoke highly of the collaborative nature of the programme saying “this programme is about a partnership of equals and not about command and control it is therefore for local authorities to opt into the programme ” A number of lively discussion groups then followed covering products and services local authorities need to meet local economic development objectives, access and delivery arrangements, future management and marketing and branding. Key outputs from these sessions were: o
Recognise local political drivers and ensure business support is visibly connected with Local Authority activity.
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There were still some concerns from Local Authorities around using Business Link as the primary access channel and we need to establish how they can best work with Business Link.
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There were many examples where sub-national coordination of Business Support is working well and we need to learn from this.
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Commonality of economic development objectives between Local authorities in particularly the need to increase prosperity and develop a sustainable local economy
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We need to be clear what we mean by business support when we are talking to Local Authorities
This report records feedback arising from the BSSP Local Authority Event that took place on 15th May 2007 at Church House. 17 people filled in the feedback questionnaire out of 37 attendees (49.5%). However, it should be noted that in the questionnaire some participants filled in more than one box so the totals in some cases may be more or less than 100%. Overall the event was well received and local authority representatives came away with a positive attitude toward the programme and what it is trying to achieve. Whist the stats show how positive attendees perceived the event the comments provided give an insight into the real issues that may be on their mind.
Q1.
Did you come to the event for a specific reason?
42 responses were received for this question. 64.7% 58.8% 58.8% 52.9% 11.7%
came to meet others engaged in the BSSP Programme came to learn more about the Programme came to raise issues and concerns came to be updated on the BSSP Programme came for other reasons.
Comments: Good for LAs to have a voice & meet those involved; To have an input and say independent of Programme, to see how best to work in partnership with BL in future; I came to influence the process.
Q2.
Were your expectations met?
17 responses were received for this question. 62.5% 43.75%
said that their expectations were met said that their expectations were met but with reservations
Comments: A lot more discussion in detail needed; Slight reservations on discussion topic headings.
Q3. Was the debate constructive? 17 responses were received for this question. All thought the debate was constructive Comment: Q4.
Very much welcomed presentation by LA Representative.
Are there any areas that you need to seek further clarification on? • The role of simplification and Business Link; • How it is anticipated that the reforms will be publicised; • Programme Boards, Matching Aid;
• Flexibility of local delivery to meet local needs how representation of local authorities on programme board was selected; • The organisation of Business Link does not seem consistent. Info on variations would be useful; • Definitions of business support by Business Link; • How Business Link will deliver and to what strategies and targets; • Governance Arrangements; • How are HE to be involved – a major source of proliferation; • Want to keep in touch with the whole process; • Want to know about relationships and responsibilities as the programme evolves.
Q5.
How useful was the discussion for each session:
• The “Welcome and Introduction” session was thought to have been very useful by 40%, useful by 60%.
• The “Why Important for Local Authorities?” session was thought to have been very useful by 46.7%, useful by 53.3%.
• The discussion group “What BSSP products & services LAs need to meet local economic development objectives“ was thought to have been very useful by 50%, useful by 43.7% and not useful by 6.3%.
• The discussion group “Access Channels” was thought to have been very useful by 90%, useful by 10%.
• The discussion group “Delivery arrangements” was thought to have been very useful by 40%, useful by 60%.
• The discussion group “Strategic Management” was thought to have been very useful by 46.7%, useful by 46.7% and not useful by 7%.
• The discussion group “marketing & branding” was thought to have been very useful by 30.8%, useful by 69.2%.
• The “Conclusions and next steps” session on was thought to have been very useful by 38.4%, useful by 61.5%.
Q6.
Overall how useful did you find the event?
16 responses were received for this question. 66.6% 31.2% 7%
Q7.
thought that it was useful; thought that it was very useful; thought that it could have been better.
What could be done better for the future?
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Convene event for other non-LA local partners e.g. Agencies and social enterprises; Explanation of the impact Business Simplification will have on local / Regional level. The process of simplifying to less than 100 and flexibility in the 100 categories; More engagement with Business Link who have actually accessed support services; Bigger AV screen, prep given in advance of questions to be asked; Agenda more in advance to allow time for consideration of the different agenda elements from our local authority view point / time for consultation with colleagues; Sessions produced a common debate; Seemed to be a lack of understanding of the role of local authorities; More time per topic are needed;
Q8.
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More time!
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The BSSP needs to agree a process for Business Support Delivery at the local level first, and then sort out delivery arrangements, marketing and branding etc.
How helpful was the organisation of the event?
14 responses were received for this question. 50% 28.6% 21.4%
thought that it was very helpful; thought that it was helpful; thought that it could have been better.
Comment: Confusion at start; Biscuits with coffee/tea at start would have been good! Only heard about this event at 2 weeks notice & agenda notification was too short term. BSSP Programme Office - May 2007