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Memorandum submitted by The West Midlands Business Council (CBPS 27)
The West Midlands Business Council brings together over 20 mainly business representative organisations to speak together with one voice, when appropriate, on the key business issues across the West Midlands region.
Further information regarding the West Midlands Business Council can be found in Annex A.
Introduction
The West Midlands Business Council considers that a more thought through and considered approach to service provision across the Welsh border can be beneficial to the people of Wales and the West Midlands region. In particular, we consider that such co-operation would realise the further economic potential for border communities.
The long regional border with Wales is potentially one of the greatest opportunities to generate co-operation - due to the significant powers and relative financial freedom that devolution has provided to the National Assembly of Wales.
Currently the institutional relationship between the Welsh Assembly and West Midlands institutions is very poor with occasional complaints from Welsh MPs and the Welsh Assembly when the West Midlands Regional Assembly takes transport decisions which are seen to be against the interests of Wales. This is despite the efforts of the West Midlands Rural Affairs Forum, which meets under the aegis of the Government Office for the West Midlands, to develop a concordat to establish a working relationship between Welsh and English public agencies.
However the opportunities that close working could deliver for the West Midlands economy is significant, particularly in terms of innovative thinking for financial support for public services.
Financial Burden Sharing
There needs to be a recognition that there are areas in the West Midlands region that act as the main economic centres for a number of Welsh border areas. Shrewsbury is a good example of a town that, essentially, is an economic centre for much of Powys. However, Welsh Assembly funds are not directed to support these English based economic centres.
Alternatively there may be centres in Wales that help support economic activity in the West Midlands region. Therefore we would encourage the Welsh Assembly and West Midlands based agencies to consider a system of financial burden sharing that would be to the benefit of people living in Wales and the West Midlands region.
There are three specific areas that could benefit by close co-operation. These are:
- Transport - One Stop Shop for Rural Public Services including education services - Tourism
Transport
There is a significant lack of bridge crossings between England and Wales. There is also a need to improve some road connections while rail connections require substantial improvement.
These developments would not just be positive for the West Midlands regional economy. For Wales does not contain a rail service that runs north to south without travelling via England.
There is a significant amount of cross border traffic with both individuals and businesses making use of both commercial and public services on the other side of the border. Cardiff is a popular destination for people from Herefordshire, South Worcestershire and parts of Shropshire for shopping expeditions. Hereford gets visitors from the Welsh borders for shopping and leisure, and local businesses do a considerable amount of cross border trade.
Therefore it is in the interests of the people and businesses of Wales and the West Midlands region that the West Midlands regional institutions work closely to develop practical proposals to improve transport links.
By linking in and agreeing transport actions with the Welsh Assembly this can mean that both sets of institutions could share the financial burden of improving transport links - thereby reducing the financial burden for public agencies that address West Midlands' matters.
With the Minister for the West Midlands, Liam Byrne MP, urging regional businesses and the public sector to consider new funding ideas for transport developments, this is one area that would benefit from exploring with the Welsh Assembly Government how financial burden sharing could be to the benefit of Wales and the West Midlands region.
One Stop Shop for Rural Public Services - Including Education Services
One stop shop facility for rural public services needs to be developed in the West Midlands region. Such a development, if planned in the right way, could also benefit Welsh rural border areas.
Such one stop shops for rural public services could be based on the Pathfinder programme. Pathfinders, according to the then Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, Margaret Beckett MP, in 2004 had a clear aim: "Local authorities have a vital role as community leaders in joining up and delivering quality services. I therefore intend to look at innovative mechanisms for devolving delivery even closer to rural communities.
Over the course of this year we will set up a pathfinder in each region to explore more joined up and flexible approaches at local level in rural areas, including to join up services and funding at the point of delivery".
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has described Pathfinders in the following way:
"They will investigate how to improve co-ordination of rural delivery at local level, how to get more value out of the wide range of funding streams available and how to bring strong local leadership to bear in tackling rural disadvantage".
As indicated in these statements, the aims of the Pathfinders has equal applicability across all rural areas as the rural economy has particular needs which is distinct from the urban economy - in particular the diverse nature of rural areas where public services need to be delivered.
Simplifying the service provision available to businesses and ensuring that business can play its' full role in the community is fundamental.
Businesses in rural communities are not just the wealth creators for local prosperity and local jobs - fundamental though that is. It is the rural business community that provides the social glue that tie disparate rural communities together.
Therefore any consideration of the work of rural public services delivery must have the role of the rural business community at the forefront of its consideration.
The West Midlands Business Council would therefore propose that the following issues should be included in the one stop shop concept - which would be linked to the regional business support structure:
- Public Procurement Opportunities - Skills - One Stop Shop for Services
Rural businesses are often the best source for fulfilling local public procurement contracts. The businesses are ideally suited to meet orders in areas which - for larger urban based businesses - may be considered as hard to reach localities. The knowledge of the local area means that value added services and products are provided to the public sector. Finally, the business produced by sourcing public procurement contracts locally can help produce local prosperity and jobs in rural communities.
That is why a one stop shop service is needed to provide an easy to use access point to gain knowledge of available public procurement contracts.
Poor skills levels are holding back the rural economy - whether in land management, agri-business, tourism or a range of other business sectors.
Recent research undertaken by Harper Adams University College for the West Midlands Business Council also reveals that this skills gap is been accentuated by demographic changes in rural areas with a proportional increase in the number of older people in rural areas.
The West Midlands Business Council believes that actions need to be adopted by the public sector and business to utilise the experience and skills base of older workers.
A one stop shop service could bring the Learning and Skills Councils and training providers - including from business representative organisations and higher and further education institutions - to come together to offer an easy to use access point for gaining skills training provision.
Such a one stop shop service will help develop skills programmes that meet the needs of the demand side in the regional rural economy.
This approach would enable skills training opportunities to be advertised to young people - informing them of the potential high value jobs in the rural economy.
With the continuing trend for young people to leave rural areas, such a one stop shop service can also advertise the training courses that would lead to high value jobs in the rural economy.
The business community would call for business support services to be an integral part of the facility providing access to public services.
Marketing is critical to ensure the success of such a service and business representative organisations could be an ideal and cost effective vehicle to publicise this service to the rural business community.
Therefore, while there may be difficulties in funding such a service on a West Midlands regional basis, joint working with the Welsh Assembly could help to release new funds for such a service to progress.
Tourism
The marketing of features such as the Welsh mountains varies depending on which side of the border the marketing effort is taking place. However, tourism co-operation on marketing would benefit both Wales and the West Midlands region as such a joint effort would help draw visitors to an area of common interest for the economy.
The differences in tourism marketing is unnecessary and duplicates effort - and in turn helps hold up the Welsh and West Midlands regional economies. Such problems do not need to exist and co-operation between public bodies across the border is necessary to drive tourism numbers to the delights of border areas.
Conclusion
The West Midlands regional business community welcomes the decision of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee to undertake this inquiry.
It is also timely, in a West Midlands regional context, further to the debate instigated by the Minister for the West Midlands for new thinking over how funding can be found for major transport infrastructure needs.
We believe the recommendations contained in this submission, if implemented, would help further the economic development of Wales and the West Midlands region.
Annex A
The West Midlands Business Council (WMBC) is a UK First - the first time independent business representative organisations have chosen to come together to speak with one voice on the key regional business issues. No other region of the UK has such an organisation;
WMBC is an umbrella organisation for the whole West Midlands region - covering Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, & Worcestershire together with Birmingham/Coventry/Wolverhampton and the West Midlands conurbation.
The member organisations of WMBC are:
Asian Business Forum Association of Colleges British Ceramic Confederation Business in the Community Chartered Institute of Building Confederation of West Midlands Chambers of Commerce Country Land and Business Association Engineering Employers' Federation Federation of Small Businesses Heart of England Tourism Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators Institute of Directors Institution of Civil Engineers Midland Association of Restaurants, Caterers and Entertainment National Farmers' Union National Federation of Retail Newsagents Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors UK IT Association West Midlands Co-operative and Mutual Council West Midlands Higher Education Association West Midlands Learning and Skills Councils West Midlands Minority Ethnic Business Forum
March 2008
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