DG Regional Economic Strategy 2015-2020

Report
Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee
12 May 2015
DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY REGIONAL ECONOMIC STRATEGY 20152020
1.
Purpose of Report
The purpose of this report is seeking approval of the Dumfries and Galloway Regional
Economic Strategy 2015-2020.
2.
Recommendations
Members are asked to:2.1 agree the adoption of the Dumfries and Galloway Regional Economic Strategy 20152020 (Appendix 1);
2.2 agree to nominate the Chairman from this Committee (and substitute) to sit on the
Economic Leadership Group (Appendix 3);
2.3 note that the Strategy will be presented to the Dumfries and Galloway Strategic
Partnership for endorsement;
2.4 note that an Action Plan will be developed and delivered by lead partners; and
2.5 agree to receive an annual performance report.
3.
Considerations
3.1 The development process outlined below is informed by the Scottish Local
Authorities’ Economic Development Improvement Guide and one of the aims of the
process was that the resulting Regional Economic Strategy 2015-2020 (RES) is a
document that is “owned” by the region – not just Dumfries and Galloway Council.
3.2 In 2014 the Crichton Institute was commissioned by Dumfries and Galloway
Council’s Economic Development Service to produce a Baseline Study and Regional
Economic Profile and to facilitate consultation with key communities of interest and
stakeholder groups.
3.3 The Dumfries and Galloway Regional Economic Profile and Baseline Study, presents
the core economic indicators that underpin the RES and provides an economic profile of
the region. The areas covered include standard economic indicators as well as ‘softer’
indicators that contribute to overall understanding of how the region’s economy functions.
This led to the identification of the headline factors and key questions which informed the
next phase of development of the RES.
3.4 The first round of consultation on the RES took place in May 2014 when the Crichton
Institute held focus groups in Castle Douglas, Dumfries, Lockerbie, and Wigtown. At the
same time a comprehensive questionnaire was put online to enable all interested parties to
participate in the consultation. A list of the organisations invited to participate is included at
Appendix 2.
3.5 The Strategic Partnership Executive Group held a workshop on Employment and
Skills in April 2014. The outcomes and recommendations from this workshop were
considered in the redrafting of the Strategy.
Report
Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee
12 May 2015
3.6 Comments received from the Members’ Seminar held on 31 October 2014 were
considered in the redrafting of the Strategy.
Overview of the Strategy
3.7 The RES has been developed to ensure that the strategic economic priorities for the
region are clearly identified and that interventions to support these are prioritised by all
Partners involved. The Strategy is founded on the key principle of addressing inequality
through economic growth.
Vision
3.8 The vision that underpins the strategy is:
“By 2020, Dumfries and Galloway will have a more diverse and resilient economy.
One which is capable of taking advantage of opportunities by combining an
appropriately skilled workforce and connected infrastructure to support more
prosperous and inclusive communities where every member of every community has
equality of access to that prosperity.”
Measures of Success
3.9 The strategy three key measures of success by which progress towards the
achievement of the vision can be monitored:
1. We will have the highest youth employment rate in Scotland by 2020
2. Business growth in the region has grown faster than in Scotland as a whole
between 2015 and 2020
3. We will reduce the wages gap between the regional and national average by 20%
Economic Leadership Group
3.10 The establishment of Dumfries and Galloway Economic Leadership Group has been
endorsed by the Dumfries and Galloway Strategic Partnership. The Terms of Reference
for this group are included at Appendix 3. The key role for the Economic Leadership
Group is to oversee the successful implementation and delivery of the RES in order to
stimulate sustainable growth for the regional economy and ensure that the key actions
identified in the RES are delivered by partners and partnerships. It will aim to inspire
business and public sector leaders to help deliver sector and cross-sector actions to the
economic benefit of the region.
3.11 In accordance with the Council’s Scheme of Representation for Outside Bodies
nominations are sought for appointments of a member (and substitute). Given the terms of
reference in Appendix 3, it is recommended that these roles be under taken by the
Chairman and Vice Chairman of this Committee.
Action Plan
3.12 An annual Action Plan will be put into place to monitor delivery of our Strategy. It will
identify specific measures and targets. It isn’t intended to be a complete list of all economic
development activity taking place in Dumfries and Galloway, but rather a distillation of
those key actions that have the potential to deliver the greatest impact for the regional
economy and deliver against the vision and measures contained in the Strategy. Each
Report
Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee
12 May 2015
action will have a performance indicator against which it will be measured and, where
possible, existing indicators will be used.
3.13 The Action Plan will be reviewed, at least annually, by the Economic Leadership
Group and will support the Annual Report. Priorities and actions in the Action Plan may
change over the lifetime of our strategy and it will be updated as required. As such the
Action Plan will be a dynamic document capable of responding to change.
3.14 Actions outlined in the action plan will be delivered either by a lead partner alone or
working in partnership with other organisations. Lead partners will have a responsibility to
define and deliver detailed actions outlined in the Action Plan. An annual report on
progress will be presented to this Committee for scrutiny.
3.15 The draft strategy will be presented to the Dumfries and Galloway Strategic
Partnership for endorsement following consideration by Committee.
4.
Governance Assurance
The Corporate Management Team and Departmental Management Team have been
consulted and are in agreement with the terms of the report.
5.
Impact Assessment
Equality Impact Assessment
5.1 As this report recommends the formal adoption of a Strategy an Impact Assessment
has been undertaken and no negative impacts were identified.
Strategic Environmental Assessment
5.2 Screening of the statutory supplementary guidance indicates that they will have nil or
minimum effect on the environment and therefore a full SEA is not required.
Author(s)
NAME
Ewan Green
DESIGNATION
CONTACT DETAILS
Head of Economic
Development
Tel: 01387 260340
ewan.green@dumgal.gov.uk
Approved by
NAME
DESIGNATION
Alistair M Speedie
Director of Economy, Environment and Infrastructure
Appendices – 3
Appendix 1 – Dumfries and Galloway Regional Economic Strategy 2015-2020
Appendix 2 – Consultees
Appendix 3 – Dumfries and Galloway Economic Leadership Group Terms of Reference
Background papers –
Baseline Study and Regional Economic Profile
http://crichtoninstitute.co.uk/index.php/component/joomdoc/Reports/Regional%20Economi
c%20Strategy%20-%20Baseline%20Analysis%20Final.pdf/download
Strategic Partnership Workshop – Employment and Skills
http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/communityplanning/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=14343&p=0 (pages
24 to 28)