Issue - meetings

This report outlines the current position in producing a revised Sub-Regional Investment Plan (SRIP) by December 2006, allowing the Board (representing the Local Strategic Partnership) to comment on key issues emerging from The Strategic Economic Assessment of the York & North Yorkshire Sub-Region, and The Strategic Framework for the Sub-Regional Investment Plan.

Members considered a report that outlined the current position in producing a revised Sub-Regional Investment Plan (SRIP) by December 2006, allowing the Board, representing the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), to comment on key issues emerging from The Strategic Economic Assessment of the York & North Yorkshire Sub-Region, and The Strategic Framework for the Sub-Regional Investment Plan.

The report advised that work on producing a revised SRIP had focused on undertaking a Strategic Economic Assessment (SEA) – from which the priorities for investment should emerge – and, in parallel, producing an overall strategic framework/vision for the whole of the sub-region. This work was being coordinated through Jonathan French at the York & North Yorkshire Partnership Unit who had provided the papers in the two Annexes as prompts for discussion on these two issues.

Jonathan French attended the meeting to provide further information and answer Board members’ questions.

The following points were made:

·        York is a vital economic generator for the sub-region and this should be reflected in the SEA and SRIP.

·        The link to the Regional Spatial Strategy and employment/housing land applications is important: York had one of the lowest average household incomes across the sub-region, but house prices are  high and this could impact on labour supply.

·        The emphasis on skills will be important in enabling local people to secure jobs and increase income levels.

·        The transport infrastructure would also be affected if more workers commute into York.

·        The semi skilled sector in the labour market was disappearing, emphasising the need to focus on a skills strategy for York.

·        York’s history and employment culture, along with difficulty obtaining capital and finding suitable premises, were the main reasons as to why firm formation was low. Potential exists to reverse this trend, supported through the SRIP.

·        Any emerging plan needs to be flexible to be able to respond to new opportunities as they arise.

·        The focus on generating well paid jobs and SCY activity is vital.

·        Investment in providing support to existing businesses is important – including tourism and SCY.

·        The SRIP needs to play to strengths, in the form of York, generating employment/economic success – some of which will be located elsewhere in the sub-region and Leeds City Region.