A new organisation to champion the collective local business voice and meet the priorities of the increasing number of business boards in councils and Mayoral Combined Authorities goes live today.
The Business Board Network will independently support business and economic growth boards with their plans to drive local growth and build local economies, and to ensure that the voice of local business is heard and acted on, forging a collective single minded approach to achieve that aim.
Mark Bretton MBE, Chair, Business Board Network, said: “Our mission is simple – connecting local growth and building local economies. The new Business Board Network goes live just as we start working with the new government on their core priorities.
“The bread-and-butter work of business boards, and of the Business Board Network in supporting them, is to help deliver Local Growth Plans, applying a modern industrial strategy and infrastructure strategy to the benefit of local regions, and achieving local net zero ambitions. We’ll also be supporting the valuable Growth Hub network as the “go to service” for local small businesses, and working with other Business Representative Organisations and the British Business Bank, especially in overcoming the biggest barrier for growth to SMEs – access to finance.”
Following the transition of LEP functions to MCAs and councils, a letter from government to local council chairs in April 2024 laid the foundations:
“The government supports the principle of maintaining a network that continues to represent the local business voice to help strengthen the aims of devolution and economic growth – and to that end hope you will support the evolving Business Board Network.”
- Government guidance to local authorities delivering business representation and local economic functions set out the value and role that business boards will play in local growth and devolution:
- Acting as strong independent business voice embedded in decision-making – an eligibility requirement for some HMG programmes.
- Strengthening local economic strategies and interventions.
- Being a strong vehicle for leveraging match funding for public sector programmes and developing effective partnership to support growth.
- Providing challenge and insight on business impact of public sector initiatives.
- Adding delivery expertise, pace and market credibility.
- Shaping business, trade and investment support around local business needs.
The Business Board Network will support local business boards and all LEP successor organisations in these aims to help achieve the government’s economic, business and devolution priorities – particularly in the areas of regional growth plans, industrial strategy, infrastructure strategy, net zero, and skills planning. Using local economic strategies, driving local foreign direct investment, ensuring local business exploits the trade strategy, and working with universities to support spin outs, and boosting exports for local small businesses.
Councillor Tim Oliver OBE, Chairman of the County Councils Network, said: “Our County Councils Network (CCN) report last year made clear that shifting functions from LEPs to CCN members will add another string to our economic growth bow, and help drive the growth this country needs. But we also said there was clear need for the continuation of a network to oversee economic priorities for CCN members.
“A centralised body in the Business Board Network can go a long way to helping oversee regional development, and ensure that we do not lose the strategic economic oversight that will be so critical to future local growth and productivity.”
- The Business Board Network is funded by government and its membership has been working with stakeholders across the country, including the County Council Network and local councils, to build on their success. Essentially its role will primarily include:
- Strengthening the role of business boards, underpinning successful integration of economic functions and where a local decision has been taken to retain an arm’s length relationship with LEP successor organisations.
- Connecting local growth and building local economies.
- Engaging with ministers, Whitehall officials and Parliament on common themes and concerns.
- Convening pan-regional and regional business leadership – bringing Chairs/Chief Execs/Skills Leads/Growth Hubs together to share information and collaborate on cross border issues.
- Identifying business developments and opportunities across rapidly developing sectors.
- Continuing to co-ordinate and support national Growth Hub activity that supports local business, especially with access to small business finance.
- Monitoring parliamentary activity relevant to local business landscape.
- Working with main policy think tanks (Localis/IPPR/Centre for Cities etc) and Business Representative Organisations (CBI/FSB/IoD/MakeUK etc).
- Utilising stats and data sources built up over the past decade – unique local evidence bases on place specific issues. Commission new evidence reports as appropriate.
The Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), will form part of the new Business Board Network, continuing on its 2040 Plan for Growth Strategy for Worcestershire.
The Government confirmed their decision to cease funding LEPs from April 2024, transferring their functions and funding to Upper Tier authorities, where in Worcestershire, all the partners have agreed to continue the delivery of the Worcestershire LEP.
Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We welcome the launch of the Business Board Network to help support business and economic growth organisations, like the Worcestershire LEP moving forwards. There is an aim nationally to drive growth and to do this we need to ensure that the public, private and education sectors are connected and collaborating to seize upon the opportunities and drive economic growth across the country. The Worcestershire LEP, with the support of partners across the public, private and education sectors in Worcestershire, will continue to work on delivery projects and programmes to help achieve our vision of ensuring Worcestershire is a connected, creative, dynamic economy for all.”
To find out more about the Business Board Network, visit their website here.
To view the 2040 Plan for Growth Strategy for Worcestershire, follow the link here.