New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Board Meeting
Wednesday 20
th
October 2021
10.00am - 12.30pm
By MS Teams
Agenda
No. Item
1. Welcome from the Chair
2.
Presentation from Corrienne Peasgood - Digi-Tech Factory at City College, Norwich
3. Apologies
4. Declarations of Interest
5. Actions / Minutes from the last meeting
Strategic
6. ICT Digital Industry Council Report Update
Break 15 mins
Strategic
7. New Anglia LEP Programme Evaluation Update
Operational
8.
Government Review of LEPs
– Confidential
Update
9. Chief Executive’s Report Update
10. October Programme Performance Report Update
11.
Quarterly Management Accounts 2021
– Confidential
Update
12. Board Forward Plan Update
13. Any Other Business Update
1
1
Public
New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Unconfirmed)
22
nd
September 2021
Present:
Kathy Atkinson (KA)
Kettle Foods
Sam Chapman-Allen (SCA)
Breckland District Council
Claire Cullens (CC)
Norfolk Community Foundation
David Ellesmere (DE)
Ipswich Borough Council
C-J Green (CJG)
Brave Goose
Matthew Hicks (MH)
Suffolk County Council
Pete Joyner (PJ)
Shorthose Russell
Dominic Keen (DK)
Britbots
Corrienne Peasgood (CP)
Norwich City College
Andrew Proctor (AP)
Norfolk County Council
Johnathan Reynolds (JR)
Opergy
Alan Waters (AW)
Norwich City Council
Jeanette Wheeler (JW)
Birketts
Attendees
Simon Offield-Kerr (SOK)
Norwich University of the Arts
Tim Whitley (TW) – via MS Teams
BT
Chris Gribble (CG)
National Centre for Writing
Alison McFarlane (AM)
National Centre for Writing
Shan Lloyd (SL)
BEIS
Jai Raithatha (JRa)
Suffolk County Council
Vince Muspratt (VM)
Norfolk County Council
Jams Allen (JA)
New Anglia LEP – For Item 6
Chris Dashper (CD)
New Anglia LEP – For Item 7
Chris Starkie (CS)
New Anglia LEP
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)
New Anglia LEP
Helen Wilton (HW)
New Anglia LEP
2
Actions from the meeting: (22.9.21)
Government Review of LEPs
A paper to be brought to the November board meeting with options and timescales
CS
1
Welcome from the Chair
CJ Green (CJG) welcomed everyone to the first in person meeting in 18 months including Chris
Gribble (CG) and Alison McFarlane (AM) from the National Centre and Simon Offield-Kerr (SOK) who
was deputing for Helen Langton.
2
Presentation from Chris Gribble and Alison McFarlane, National Centre for Writing
CG provided the meeting with an overview of the growth of the National Centre for Writing during the
past 15 years noting that it had relocated to the new site in 2015 and opened as the National Centre
for Writing in a project costing £2.0m including £150k in funding from the LEP.
Since that time the Centre has not only met but exceeded its targets in all areas.
CS explained how the Centre had managed during the pandemic given the impact on weddings and
conferences and provided the board with details of the how the Centre had moved its offering online
wherever possible.
In the future projects will focus on using both physical and virtual assets when working with the local
communities and projects such as the Matthew Project supporting those with mental health and
addiction issues and also the over 70s targeting loneliness and isolation.
AM provided an overview of the Collaboration Place: Change project which started in March 2020 and
was delivered online due to the pandemic. The project is a leadership programme designed to equip
the next generation of creative leaders with the skills to drive creative social and economic change
across Norfolk and Suffolk. The programme was set up following the identification of the need to
develop leadership in the cultural sector and the project received £65k funding from the New Anglia
Innovative Projects fund.
Chris Starkie (CS) highlighted the success of the LEP culture board and achievements of the
collaborations with the local authorities noting that the LEP was rated the best culturally by the Arts
Council. He stressed that the cultural sector had significant economic value in addition to the intrinsic
value of the work carried out in the sector.
CJG thanks CG and MA for their presentation and for hosting the board meeting.
3
Apologies
Apologies were received from Steve Oliver, Helen Langton and John Griffiths
4
Declarations of Interest
None
5
Actions/Minutes from the last Meeting
The minutes were accepted as a true record of the meeting held on 21
st
July
CJG reviewed the action log and confirmed all items been updated.
6
Agri-Food Industry Council Report
Corrienne Peasgood (CP) introduced the report and provided an update from the latest
council meeting held on 21
st
September.
The issue of ongoing labour shortages was highlighted and CP advised that the Industry
Council will be providing intelligence to Government around this problem and its impacts on
the sector.
3
The Environment Agency's updated interpretation of the Farming Rules for Water is causing
challenges and the new approach makes it difficult for farmers to use more sustainable and
environmentally friendly soil management methods,
The CLA are lobbying on behalf of the sector and the Council has agreed to send cross
sector case studies to DEFRA.
Council members have reported delays in receiving purchases of large tech items such as
tractors with delays of up to 18 months therefore some businesses are having to take risks
and place larger pre-orders.
A successful session on the renewal plan has been held providing feedback and reflections
from the sector highlighting the need for more collaboration and challenge.
CP noted the huge challenges facing the sector but highlighted the continuing positivity in the
face of the current difficulties.
James Allen (JA) confirmed that Broadland Food Innovation Centre was moving forwards at
pace and the LEP is continuing to work closely with Suffolk Food Enterprise Zones.
The meeting discusses the issues around attracting young people into the industry in
particular housing difficulties and the distances required to travel to work which can be
prohibitive.
CP noted that the industry has highlighted skills required to address shortfalls but these are
not agri-food specific. There is a need for a post A level qualification which is recognised in
its own right.
Dominic Keen (DK) suggested that there could be crossover with the Innovation Board where
its members are provided with challenges facing the agri-food sector and asked to consider
solutions.
The Board agreed:
• To note the content of the report
7
GPF Application Nar Ouse Phase 2 – Confidential
8
Government Review of LEPS - Confidential
4
9
Chief Executive’s Report
CS flagged that the programme promoting clean growth for businsses is progressing well and
partner events are being promoted.
Development of the renewal plan is continuing and the leaders session has been reschedued
for November when a more formal version of the plan can be presented following the
workshops currently being held. Sign off is still planned for January.
CS advised that the CNTC is presenting at the Conservative Party Conferance to showcase
the corridor.
A series of stories have been published to mark 10 years of the LEP and the press release
will be circulated to the board.
The Board agreed:
• To note the content of the report
10
September Performance Reports and Dashboards
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW) presented the reports and highlighted key items.
Growth Deal – Efforts are focussing on delivering spend. RW noted that the report shows
outputs at the end of Q1 and pressure on spend is continuing. Red rated projects are being
closely monitored and the LEP is providing support to resolve outstanding issues.
EAN – RW highlighted the outputs achieved noting that the only one missed was that for work
experience but this was deemed to be acceptable by the CEC given the pandemic. This has
therefore been signed off as green.
RW viewed the Programme and Economic Dashboards.
The Board agreed:
• To note the content of the reports
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Board Forward Plan
CJG reviewed the items on the plan for the October meeting.
5
The Board agreed:
• To note the content of the plan
12
Any Other Business
CJG asked Board members for nominators and seconders at the AGM for the annual accounts
and the reappointment of the auditors.
CJG advised that board that Sam Chapman-Allen (SCA) had completed his term as a board
member and thanked Sam for his support during the past two years.
CJG confirmed that Tim Whitley had also come to the end of his term having served as a board
member for 6 years. CJG expressed her thanks and those of Doug Field for the continued
effort and support for the LEP which Tim had demonstrated during his term and felt that his
efforts had made a significant positive impact on the local economy.
Date Item Action Update Actioned
B
y
Target Date
22/09/2021 Government Review of LEPs A paper will be brought to the November board meeting with options and
timescales
CS November
31/03/2021 Norfolk and Suffolk Enterprise
Zones: Strategic Plan 2021-26
A review of buildings on EZs to be undertaken to ascertain their
environmental impact.
Findings have been included the October Chief Executive's board
report
JM Complete
ActionsfromNewAngliaLEPBoardMeetings
7
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Board
Wednesday 20
th
October 2021
Agenda Item 6
Industry Council for Digital Tech – Progress Update Report
Author: Julian Munson Presenter: Julian Munson
Summary
This paper provides an update on the work of the Industry Council for Digital Tech, one of
the three industry councils set up by the LEP as formal LEP sub-boards to drive forward the
Norfolk and Suffolk Local Industrial Strategy.
Recommendations
The Board is invited to:
Note the contents of the paper and progress update by the Industry Council for Digital Tech.
Background
In 2019 the LEP convened three Industry Councils to drive forward the aspirations of
the draft Local Industrial Strategy in the three strategic areas of energy, agri-food and ICT
digital. The Industry Council for Digital Tech (CDT) was established as a strategic
public/private sector partnership group to provide a focus for decision making and
leadership for the ICT digital sector. The CDT acts as the LEP’s sector group and provides
the strategic direction in delivering the aspiration to be recognised as a leading region for
digital technologies.
The members of the CDT are drawn from across the ICT business and education sector in
Norfolk and Suffolk and include representatives of businesses, academia and research,
Government and Chambers of Commerce, Tech Nation, Tech East and other
representatives from the private sector. The Council was established in Summer 2019 and
meets three or four times a year. The Council is currently chaired by Neil Miles, co-founder
and CEO of Inawisdom, a leading AI and machine learning services business, recently
acquired by Cognizant. The CDT is supported by Tech East through the delivery of some
activities.
Industry Council for Digital Tech (CDT): objectives and delivery
The CDT has in place a delivery plan with a set of strategic objectives and scope of
work which support the delivery of the Economic Strategy and Local Industrial Strategy.
The CDT has sub-groups focusing on key priority areas including digital skills,
hubs/innovation spaces, advocacy/policy, business intelligence and digital adoption.
9
Since September 2021, the secretariat, administration and coordination of meetings of the
Industry Council has been brought in-house and will be managed by the LEP’s Sectors and
Innovation team. A new Service Level Agreement with Tech East from October 2021 will
ensure a stronger focus on delivery of key activities and projects aligned with the four key
focus areas highlighted above. New Anglia LEP continues to work closely with Tech East, a
key delivery partner, on a range of events and activity to support the sector.
Key Achievements to date:
The Council for Digital Tech’s second year of operation has been characterized by a
strategic response to both short term factors relating to COVID-19 as well as progressing the
medium/long term interventions set out in the Local Industrial Strategy.
1. Boosting our innovation and growth capabilities
Ensuring that the region has a world-class offer for businesses, responsive to the ‘new
normal’ of working post COVID-19.
The new Connected Innovation project, led by the LEP has been launched and there has
been significant engagement with the Innovation Centres/Hubs across Norfolk and Suffolk.
This two-year project has been made possible through funding from both the Norfolk
Strategic Fund and the Suffolk Inclusive Growth Fund for the LEP to deliver in partnership
with Tech East and the hubs. A programme of events is being developed which aims to
promote and showcase our innovation hubs and spaces. Key events so far include;
13
th
July: ‘Launch’ event (virtual) with Ian Meikle, Director for Clean Growth and
Infrastructure at Innovate UK and Johnathan Reynolds, Chair of the LEP's Innovation
Board, officially launching the project. Followed by several hub business showcasing
their innovative approaches to clean growth.
20
th
October: ½ day event hosted virtually by Tech East focusing on emerging
technologies underpinning innovation – with a Creative & Tech Focus– AI, Machine
Learning, AR/VR. The event aims to partner up hubs and support networks with
businesses and also showcase the technologies, innovation and support available.
Individual Hub Events e.g. EpiCentre (Haverhill) ‘Back to Business’
Capability Mapping – As part of the Connected Innovation project, there has been some
initial mapping of technology strengths and capabilities across our innovation centres in
order to better understand our collaboration opportunities and our ‘regional offer’.
Region’s Online Deal Platform goes live - The Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor (CNTC)
has been working alongside a company called Delio and partners at the Anglia Capital
Group (ACG), to develop an innovative online deal platform which will promote and facilitate
investment into local companies.
The digital platform acts a portal /’shop window’ for live business investment opportunities/
‘Deals’ in the Tech Corridor region, offering investors 24/7 access to potential opportunities,
from anywhere and at any time. The platform will be managed and owned by ACG who will
have a private version of the platform, tailored to their member needs.
Investment and Exits – Since the previous update, there have also been recent reports of a
number of tech related businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk scaling up and attracting new
investment or reporting successful exits. These include FX Home, EO Charging and e-
surgery, all presenting significant opportunities for future jobs growth in the area and a
positive sign of confidence in the sector and our region.
2. Policy influencing and advocacy
During the last 12 months the Council and its members have actively influenced UK
Government in developing new policies that respond to the needs of the ICT/digital sector in
the region as well as providing a showcase for major new programmes that attract the
interest of decision makers beyond the region.
10
The ongoing influencing of HM Government regarding the offer and ask of the UK and
regional ICT/digital sector has been a priority and has involved both direct influencing of
DCMS and via the UK Tech Cluster Group of which Tech East is a founding member. Our
region’s relationship with Tech Nation and UKRI (Innovate UK) is a positive one and we
continue to engage with national policy work and feed into national sector reports. Three
recent examples to reference are;
DCMS report (September 2021): Assessing the UK’s Regional Digital Ecosystems
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport: Assessing the UK’s Regional Digital
Ecosystems (publishing.service.gov.uk) – the East of England appears in the top
quartile for several indicators including digital sector’s share of enterprises, share of
digital occupations and 3-year survival rate of digital firms. The importance of ‘digital
incubators’ and facilitating networks to connect the tech community is highlighted.
Reference is also made to challenges such as insufficient access to growth finance
outside of London and the South-East and the varying role of the public sector across
the UK around leadership in developing high performing digital ecosystems.
Tech UK’s Digital Capital Index 2021 (September 2021) Local Digital Capital Index
(techuk.org) – new report and index describes the building blocks of strong place-
based digital technology ecosystems providing a tool for local leaders and policy
makers, potentially supporting the case for investing in regional digital economies as
part of the Levelling Up agenda. The East of England is ranked in second place (after
Greater London) and is ranked highly across some of the indices such as R&D,
digital adoption and skills. It scores low on digital infrastructure however.
UK Innovation Strategy (July 2021) UK’s Innovation Strategy – although wider than
just the digital tech sector, the new strategy highlights activities and programmes to
support businesses and create new talent as well as shining a spotlight on key
institutions and places for R&D and new technology. With respect to the latter, seven
‘technology families’ are identified for the UK with the majority mapping across to our
technology strengths within our innovation centres. Examples include AI, digital and
advanced computing, bioinformatics and genomics, energy and environmental
technologies, robotics and smart machines. The LEP has undertaken some initial
work around identifying opportunities for our region (as a result of the new strategy)
and has been discussed with the LEP’s Innovation Board and Innovate UK.
3. Enabling digital skills
Continuing to build capacity, capability and new pathways into the sector across multiple
partners, projects and programmes responding to the needs of industry to grow a skilled,
regional talent pool.
Several of the LEP funded capital projects aiming to address the region’s digital skills
shortage have now been launched (or soon to be launched): Digitech Centre (University of
Suffolk/BT), Digitech Factory (City College Norwich), Tech Campus (Suffolk New College)
and Productivity East (UEA). The CDT provides the scope for collaborative discussion for
these and other programmes as there is strong representation from the education sector and
skills is consistently highlighted as a major barrier to growth for regional digital tech firms.
The Skills Task Force is due to reconvene in Q4, supported by Tech East and the LEP and
Chaired by the Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. There are a number of
skills related initiatives, events and programmes currently in the marketplace and although
these opportunities are welcome, there is a risk of confusion to businesses and better
coordination and more joined up communication is required. There has also been a national
evaluation of Local Digital Skills Partnerships with a report released in September which is
under consideration and review and which explicitly references the informal partnership
model that operates in Norfolk and Suffolk (New Anglia LEP expressed interest in becoming
a LDSP in the previous round).
A new bid has been submitted to government for an Institute of Technology. This has been
coordinated by business and education partners and supported by CDT members.
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A successful bid for ESF funding for digital short courses at the University of Suffolk was
announced earlier in 2021 enabling ‘ICET short courses for SMEs’ to be rolled out.
4. Accelerating digital adoption
One of the most important challenges raised by COVID-19 has been how to effectively
support non-tech SMEs in adopting digital technology to help them restart and recover
working with trusted tech suppliers. A number of activities have been ongoing during the
period leading to increased awareness of digital opportunities within the region’s wider
business community. Each has been led by or supported by members of the Council for
Digital Tech and include activities such as;
Go Digital programme, led by Norfolk County Council;
Tech East led events/programmes such as AWS digital workshops and;
‘Talking Tech 2021’ event in Norwich (16
th
September), led by Norfolk Chamber of
Commerce, Tech East and the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor.
There are also a range of activities supported and promoted via the Cambridge Norwich
Tech Corridor such as the tech disruptors series of events.
5. Renewal Plan
The CDT meeting on 30
th
September involved a workshop discussion with CDT members
highlighting some new ideas and opportunities as well as challenges to address. These will
be fed into the new plan. An opportunity, previously highlighted, is a stronger focus on cross-
sector collaboration and identifying the key technologies underpinning growth across areas
such as agri-food and clean energy including offshore wind and nuclear. There is also
support from the CDT members to help address some of the challenges around net-zero
with some possible interventions to be considered for the Renewal Plan.
Looking Ahead – Role of the Council
The governance and delivery structure for the CDT is still under review to ensure that there
is full representation from across all parts of the sector with one of the challenges being
business engagement and attendance, fully recognising the competing priorities in a strong
commercial environment. One of the key aims will be to ensure continuing business
intelligence input from the sector into future reports and LEP feedback to Government.
Ongoing work is required to continue to develop closer ties with the other industry councils,
sector groups, innovation board and Skills Advisory Panel to ensure that we are fully
recognising the opportunity for digital adoption and innovation across industries as well as
understanding and responding to the needs of the sector with regards to future skills and
recruitment.
Finally, the CDT will continue to explore more opportunities for working with the Inward
Investment Team and is keen to further develop the Norfolk and Suffolk Unlimited
digital/ICT narrative. This builds on existing work with BT Adastral Park and DIT around
promoting the High potential Opportunity (HPO) for 5G and digitisation, as an example,
which has scope to benefit the wider area and help leverage international opportunities.
Recommendations
The Board is invited to:
Note the contents of the paper and progress update by the Industry Council for Digital Tech.
12
1
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Board
Wednesday 20
th
October 2021
Agenda Item 7
New Anglia LEP Programme Evaluation Board Report
Author: John Cornbill – The Insight Works Ltd
Summary
This paper provides a summary of an independent evaluation of the LEP’s portfolio of
programmes. The review, commissioned by the LEP executive and carried out by Insight
Works, looked in detail at three of the LEP’s most significant programmes – Growing Business
Fund, Growing Places Fund and the Eastern Agritech Initiative. It also examined seven other
programmes to provide a holistic picture of LEP programmes delivery.
Whilst the report is positive about the impact of the programmes, it makes a series of
recommendations for future programmes.
Report co-author John Cornbill will attend the LEP board meeting to present the main findings
and recommendations.
Board Recommendation
The board is invited to receive the recommendations of the evaluation report.
The board is also invited to ask for the executive to bring an action plan for the implementation
of the recommendations to the November meeting of the LEP Board.
Evaluation recommendations
1. Consider creating a more compelling “big picture” of the LEP role and achievements
2. Seek to improve the consistency and depth of impact evidence
3. Consider a greater differentiation with programme names
4. Consider a review of the capital grant management process
5. Consider how the Economic Strategy ambitions could be better reflected in intervention
initiation and reporting
6. Build the story of LEP delivery capability
7. Consider how process analysis skills would assist continuous improvement
8. Consider using the Competitiveness Model as an aid to decision-making in shaping
future support
The Brief
To provide a high-level review of the LEP Programme Portfolio* – with detailed examinations of
the:
Growing Business Fund
Growing Places Fund
and the Eastern Agri-tech Growth Initiative
Along with (specifically) the Business Resilience and Recovery Scheme
13
2
Further:
Ask if the programmes were delivering the aims of the Economic and Local Industrial
Strategies
Provide ideas to help shape future programmes
Consider how the LEP could achieve greater impact
The Growing Places Fund
The impact achieved by GPF is excellent. The programme has generated £311m of additional
investment, created 1,719 net additional jobs, safeguarded 149 jobs and stimulated £120.52m
of additional GVA. The programme is well aligned with the Economic Strategy, addressing a
large number of its objectives and contributing towards its strategic ambitions through the
creation of jobs, GVA, new housing, commercial floor space, new businesses and new
learners.
As a result, value for money is exceptional and given the recycling of the loan money – all of
which should come back into the LEP, jobs have been created at a cost of just £5,062, and
£15.19 of GVA has been created for every £1 invested.
The Growing Business Fund
As of April 2021, the programme had supported 275 SMEs, with £27.3m of grant payments
made, triggering £140.7m of private sector match. It had created 2,079 jobs and 51
apprenticeships. Net Additional Employment of 2,388 and Net Additional GVA of £146.5m has
been generated. The programme has also achieved Net Safeguarded Employment of 4,506.
In addition to the above, as part of the beneficiary survey we measured the potential wider
impact of the Growing Business Fund on beneficiaries. Support has led to increased sales of
£205.4m, safeguarded sales of £264.2m and increased export activity to a value of £24.8m.
There have also been a variety of soft impacts across the cohort such as; 75% of businesses
increased their growth potential by an average of 36%, over half of companies increased their
R&D activity and support has triggered further investment of £82.8m.
The Eastern Agri-Tech Initiative
The business focused approach of the project is to be applauded. It has been local, flexible,
fast and understanding of and sympathetic to the specific needs of agri-tech businesses and
any new initiative should have the same characteristics
Strategic Conclusions
It’s clear the portfolio actions are making major contributions to the aims of the
Economic Strategy, however, restricting the collection of impact evidence to that
required by funders means the LEP is not always getting credit for its achievements
The leadership team enjoys an untypically positive press amongst middle management
and junior staff. It is clear individuals work in an empowered environment which allows
personal styles to flourish. Everyone is clear about the LEP aspiration to be Best in
Class
The team has demonstrated its ability to respond efficiently and effectively to new HMG
requirements regardless of the nature, scale, urgency, timescales or policy directions
*The Programme Portfolio
The programmes reviewed were:
Growing Business Fund
Growing Places Fund
The Eastern Agri-tech Growth Initiative
The Business Growth Programme (including the work of the Growth Hub, the Small
Grants Scheme and start-up interventions)
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3
Growth through Innovation
The Capital Growth Programme
The Enterprise Zone Accelerator
The Innovative Projects Fund
The BEIS Peer-to-Peer network
The COVID responses:
Business Resilience and Recovery Grants scheme
Visitor Economy Grant Scheme
Wider Economy Grant Scheme
Board Recommendations
The board is invited to receive the recommendations of the evaluation report.
The board is also invited to ask for the executive to bring an action plan for the implementation
of the recommendations to the November meeting of the LEP Board.
15
1
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Board
Wednesday 20
th
October 2021
Agenda Item 9
Chief Executive’s Report
Summary
This report focuses on by exception reporting on key issues and information for the board’s
attention.
Regular reports on the performance of individual LEP programmes are provided via programme
performance reports and issues which require board input or decisions are tabled as agenda items
in their own right.
The report is grouped under four headings – 1) LEP managed projects and programmes, 2) LEP
Industry councils and Sub-groups, 3) External Partnership Activity and 4) Governance and
Finance. The communications dashboard is also attached.
Recommendation
The board is asked to:
Note the contents of the report
1) LEP Managed Projects and Programmes
Official launches of LEP funded flagship projects
Over the next few months a number of the key skills projects funded in part by the LEP are being
officially opened. The openings provide a timely boost to our ambition to increase the number of
skilled individuals in the workforce, as well as increase the collaboration between local businesses
and our academic institutions.
Digi-Tech Centre, Adastral Park
Representatives from the LEP’s Executive Team attended the official opening of the DigiTech
Centre at Adastral Park on 8th October.
The DigiTech Centre is a collaboration between the University of Suffolk and BT and combines
high quality academic capabilities coupled with the world-leading industrial research and
development. The Centre has been supported with £6.49m by New Anglia LEP and was officially
opened by the Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP.
Productivity East
C-J Green and Chris Starkie spoke at the official launches of the UEA’s Productivity East facility.
The project received £4.4m from the LEP and is a collaboration between the UEA’s Business
School and School of Computer Science together with the new School of Engineering, which is
now based in the building.
The facility houses a range of hi-tech equipment including robots and 3D printers and is focused on
tackling productivity issues faced by local engineering businesses.
Great Yarmouth Marina Centre – topping out
Chris Starkie spoke at the official topping out ceremony for the new Great Yarmouth Marina
Centre. This project is being supported with £2m from the LEP’s Getting Building Fund and will be
an impressive new sport and leisure facility on Great Yarmouth’s Golden Mile. The centre will be
16
2
aimed at residents and tourists and is expected to lead to further private investment in the area.
The project forms part of a wider regeneration plan for the town in which the LEP is a key partner.
Enterprise Zones – update on energy efficiency
The LEP Board previously requested more information on the energy efficiency of buildings on our
Enterprise Zone sites following an earlier presentation on the new 5-Year Strategy for Enterprise
Zones and a greater focus on clean growth.
The LEP has undertaken some analysis of data on Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings
across our Enterprise Zone (EZ) sites and buildings which helps give an indication of their green
credentials.
In summary, around 7% of the buildings on our EZ sites have an EPC rating of A, 34% are rated B
and 15% rated C, so in terms of energy efficiency, around 56% of the EZ building stock is in the
top 3 classifications.
In contrast, around 10% of the buildings are rated at the lowest level (G), 2% are rated F and 17%
rated E. This reflects the fact that some of the pre-existing older, industrial buildings are on EZ
sites such as Scottow which has a large stock of wartime hangars.
2) LEP Industry Councils and Sub-groups
All-Energy Industry Council
The LEP and All Energy Industry Council have written to BEIS Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng
regarding the impacts of the delay to consenting Vattenfall’s Norfolk Vanguard project is having
upon their Norfolk Boreas project as well and the knock-on impacts this is having for supply chain
businesses, education providers, and investor confidence.
The LEP has developed a wider energy campaign letter, which builds on some of the content
found in the Vattenfall letter, for the BEIS Secretary of State setting out the actions that are needed
across all forms of energy to ensure that we have a strategic approach to delivery.
We highlight the strategic importance of our region remaining at the forefront of delivering the
transition to net zero; supporting supply chain businesses, innovation and developing a skilled
workforce for the future; and ensuring we have a more holistic joined-up conversation between the
region’s energy sector and BEIS, covering all forms of generation.
With regards to the nuclear sector and Sizewell C, James Allen, Sectors and Innovation Manager
at New Anglia LEP is a presenter at the in-person Suffolk Chamber event ‘Fuelling the Workforce
of Sizewell C’ on 13
th
October at Trinity Park. The event highlights the supply chain opportunities
for catering businesses across Suffolk and the wider region. Growth Hub colleagues are supporting
and promoting the offer for businesses attending.
Agri-Food Industry Council
The LEP is coordinating a response to DEFRA’s consultation on labour shortages in the agri-food
sector working closely with members of the Agri-Food Industry Council and its skills sub-group.
The LEP has organised and James Allen will present at the virtual event on 8 November during
Agri-Tech Week to launch the publication of the Agri-Food Regional Narrative, which has been co-
designed with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and Greater Lincolnshire
LEP – ‘Growing together: Agri-Food in the East of England’.
3) Partnership Activity
Alternative Fuel Strategy and Action Plan for East Anglia - Element Energy has been
commissioned to develop the strategy, a project New Anglia LEP is working on with the
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
The key objectives of the Alternative Fuel Strategy and Accompanying Action Plan are to provide:
An understanding of the current policy and funding landscape for alternative fuels at local and
national level
17
3
An evidence base of likely alternative fuel uptake and best practice policy for supporting this
uptake
A costed and deliverable programme of measures to address barriers to uptake, which reflects
the specific challenges and opportunities of the region
The project has kicked off with an Inception Meeting which covered existing local work (Norfolk’s
EV Strategy, the Suffolk Climate Emergency Plan and Transport East’s draft Transport Strategy)
as well as their approach to delivering the brief and stakeholder engagement, including both the
public and private sector.
Updates will be received at the Transport Board and Clean Growth Taskforce as the project
develops. The Strategy is due for completion at the end of February 2022.
Inward investment activity steps up
Generate brand launched at the Global Offshore Wind event
Generate is the new brand for the region’s energy sector and was launched by the LEP and
partners in London on 29/30 September. This was the first time we have been able to showcase
the area and generate new inward investment leads for nearly two years.
The new branding was developed in partnership with the energy sector and is designed to give
Norfolk and Suffolk a far greater profile to business, Government and the local audience.
The launch event attracted well over 100 delegates. Peter Aldous MP was the main speaker,
together with updates from the main offshore developers as well as presentations from Great
Yarmouth and Lowestoft ports highlighting their new Operations & Maintenance (O&M) capabilities
and ambitions.
Offshore wind steel component manufacturer visit
The LEP hosted a visit from an offshore wind steel component manufacturer looking to invest in
new manufacturing capacity in Gt Yarmouth.
The company was impressed with the proposed location as well as the strength of the supply
chain. Commitment from local businesses, as well as winning a first order from one of the offshore
developers is critical to landing the investment and work continues on that front.
Delegation from the East Netherlands Development Agency (Oost NL) meet Norfolk and
Suffolk businesses
After over 12 months of postponements, the LEP was finally able to host a delegation from Oost
NL where NALEP has a long-standing relationship with several key officials.
Oost NL’s economy is a close fit with Norfolk and Suffolk with a strong focus on food, drink and
agritech, and is home to the Food Valley Wageningen in Gelderland. The visit was aligned with the
Local Flavours trade show, which the LEP sponsored this year.
Hundreds of local producers had the chance to meet local customers as well as major buyers such
as Tesco, Norse, Morrisons, Makro, Centreparcs and Vertas. The LEPs sponsorship enabled a
Dutch pavilion where Oost NL exhibited some of their producers.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/dutch-firms-exhibit-at-local-flavours-trade-show-8376136
The LEP took the Dutch delegation, which included the Dutch Agricultural Attache, and DEFRA
officials to the Goat Shed, Condimentum, Chet Valley Vineyard and the Food Enterprise Park.
A session was also held at the Norwich Research Park to look for links with our new Nutrition HPO.
The Oost NL Team are hoping to reciprocate with an invite to Oost NL in June 2022, which will
include a visit to Wageningen and their own Meet the Buyer event
Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor promoted in Manchester
Supporters of the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor (CNTC) hosted an event entitled ‘The
Corridor of Life’ on the 4
th
October to showcase the breadth of opportunities across the region.
18
4
The event was held in Manchester to coincide with the Conservative Party Conference and was
organised by the New Anglia LEP, CNTC team and local authority partners.
Business speakers at the session included Matt Windle, MD of Lotus Cars, Asa Burrows, founder
of Suffolk-based start-up games developer SKC Games, Babita Devi, Innovation Director at the
EpiCentre, Haverhill, and Ian Foley, MD of global electric drivetrain manufacturer, Equipmake,
based in Snetterton.
They were joined by Trevor Holden, MD South Norfolk and Broadland Councils and Nick Mettyear,
from the Private Equity Investment Management firm, Foresight Group. The session was hosted by
Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman.
Suffolk visit by Tourism Minister
The Minister for Sport and Tourism, Nigel Huddleston, was involved in a two-day visit to Suffolk in
September including key destinations such as the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket,
Bury St Edmunds Abbey Gardens, Southwold Pier, Snape Maltings, Sutton Hoo and Suffolk Food
Hall near Ipswich. This trip follows a visit to Norfolk by the Minister in Summer 2020.
The Minister was welcomed by Visit East of England, local authority and business representatives
and he acknowledged the strong and positive collaboration across the region.
He also received a copy of our new Tourism Destination Development Plan (previously approved
by the LEP Board). This visit comes at a critical time when Government (DCMS) is considering the
future role and scope of regional Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) as part of a
major national DMO review.
4) Governance, Operations and Finance
Governance
Our Mid-Year Conversation is due to take place 12
th
October. We completed a data collection form
for submission on 24
th
September. As well as the themes of governance, delivery and strategic
impact, the meeting with Government will also focus on core funding impacts.
The National Local Growth Assurance Framework has recently been updated and now requires
that all LEP Board Members and LEP officers sign up to a code of conduct based on the seven
Principles of Public Life. Board Members will shortly receive a statement to be signed and returned
to evidence compliance with the new requirement.
Norfolk County Council Scrutiny Committee
C-J Green and Chris Starkie participated in a meeting of the Norfolk County Council scrutiny
committee on September 22
nd
which was reviewing the work of the LEP.
The LEP has an arrangement with scrutiny committees at both Suffolk and Norfolk County
Councils to review the work of the LEP on an ongoing basis. This forms part of the LEP’s
accountability arrangements, enabling the work of the board and executive to be open to
democratic accountability.
Minutes of the meeting can be found here:
https://norfolkcc.cmis.uk.com/norfolkcc/CalendarofMeetings/tabid/128/ctl/ViewMeetingPubli
c/mid/496/Meeting/1855/Committee/168/Default.aspx
19
This dashboard sets out the outcomes and impact of our communications activities during
September 2021.
Media coverage
- 1 press release
- 24 pieces of coverage
- 7 reactive media enquiries
Top 3 stories
Eastern Daily Press
New Anglia LEP celebrate 10 years with £302.5m milestone
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/new-anglia-lep-ten-year-milestone-8357916
Great Yarmouth Mercury
‘It’s a marvellous day for Yarmouth’ – Marina Centre reaches milestone
https://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/topping-off-ceremony-great-yarmouth-marina-centre-
8359122
Eastern Daily Press
£11.4m innovation centre aims to kickstart food firms’ growth
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/broadland-food-innovation-centre-plans-revealed-8375198
Website
- 13,504 page views (up 446 on the previous month). Most visited pages included:
funding (5.86%), Growing Business Fund (3.58%), Clean Growth for Business
(3.45%) and Renewal Plan (2.61%).
- Continuing to add resources to the Clean Growth for Business page, as well as the
podcasts.
- Annual Review website page live for AGM, including new video content.
- New Plan for the Future East Suffolk grant page live.
- Still continuing to add jobs onto the job support programme.
Campaigns, events and other projects
• Our Clean Growth for Business support programme is live, including events, online
learning resources and a new podcast. To date, the website page has had 1,107 views
and we have hosted two events, attended by 59 businesses. Two episodes of the
podcast Sadie Lofthouse from Adnams and Ali Clabburn of Liftshare. Details about our
activities can be found here Clean Growth for business - New Anglia.
• We have continued to promote the LEP’s achievements with case studies, including The
Hold on Ipswich’s Waterfront and Productivity East at the University of East Anglia, which
were both officially opened this month.
Communications activity
during September 2021
20
• The 10
th
anniversary of the LEP was marked at our AGM with a video celebrating some
of our biggest achievements and a press resulted in some positive coverage from
Archant and Radio Norfolk. The video produced to accompany the launch can be seen
online here Annual Review 2020-21 - New Anglia
• Three Renewal Plan business engagement workshops took place this month, attended
by nearly 90 businesses and partners.
• Working with Hydrogen East, we have been awarded some funding to deliver a video as
part of the COP 26 green zone events for the region. We will be supporting the
production of a video about the potential for hydrogen energy and its importance for the
region.
• We continue to deliver comms and marketing for the New Anglia Growth Hub. This has
included final work on a new website (to be live in early October), direct mail campaigns
for the peer networks team and targeted campaigns for the Scale Up New Anglia
programme. We are also working on a campaign to increase awareness and take-up of
the Growth Through Innovation Fund.
• Managed design of new visitor economy sector action plan.
Coronavirus business support
• Three version of business support script issued.
• Two public health videos (funded by the Norfolk and Suffolk Control Outbreak
Management Funds) are now online, detailing the changes local businesses made to
limit the spread of Covid Coronavirus Support - New Anglia.
Social media and e-newsletters
Sept 2021
August 2021
New Anglia LEP
Number of Twitter followers
9,148
9,114
Average Twitter engagements per day (likes, retweets etc.)
23.9
26.6
Number of impressions (times a tweet showed in someone’s
timeline)
47K
75.4K
Number of LinkedIn followers
4,461
4,398
Number of impressions on LinkedIn
19.6K
23.4K
E-newsletter: open rate
31.37%
32.82%
E-newsletter: click-through rate
13.6%
15.3%
Norfolk & Suffolk Unlimited
Number of Twitter followers
810
788
Average Twitter engagements per day (likes, retweets etc.)
9.9
18.1
Number of impressions (number of times users saw our tweet)
14K
32K
Number of LinkedIn followers
1,450
1,401
21
1
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Board
Wednesday 20
th
October 2021
Agenda Item 10
October Programme Performance Report
Author: Programme leads; Presenter: Rosanne Wijnberg
Summary
The following reports follow for review by the LEP Board this month:
- Business Growth Programme; Jason Middleton
Recommendation
The board is asked to:
- Note the reports
22
BusinessGrowthProgrammePerformanceReport‐August2021
ProgrammeOverview‐WhatistheBusinessGrowthProgramme?
TheNewAngliaBusinessGrowthProgrammeistheLEP’sflagshipbusinesssupportprogrammeandsinceSeptember2020comprisesoffiveelements:
•NewAngliaGrowthHub(GH),offeringfreeandimpartialadvicetoindividualsandbusinessesaswellassignpostingthemtoarangeofadditionalsupport.
•NewAngliaSmallGrantScheme(SGS),providinggrantsbetween£1,000and£25,000toSMEstoenablegrowth,increasedproductivityandjobcreation.
•TheVisitorEconomyGrantScheme(VEG),providinggrantsbetween£1,000and£3,000toSMEsinthevisitoreconomyimpactedbyCovid‐19.
•TheWiderEconomyGrantScheme(WEG),providinggrantsbetween£1,000and£3,000toSMEsinthewidereconomyimpactedbyCovid‐19.
•Start‐upandEarlyStageSupportProgramme,providingspecialistsupporttohelppeoplesetupasuccessfulnewbusiness–deliveredbypartnersNWESandMENTA.
TheProgrammewasdevelopedfollowingareviewofbusinesssupportin2013,andisoverseenbytheGrowthProgrammePartnershipBoardandLEPBoard.
ProgrammeyearsrunfromSeptembertoAugust,however,thedataispresentedasthefinancialyear,ApriltoMarch.
AllelementsoftheProgrammewerebuiltintotheNorfolkandSuffolkEconomicPlan,withfundingforthecurrentprogrammecomingfromBEISandERDFfunding.
WhatistheoverallProgrammeStatus?
Finance
Green
Ontracktomeetthespendprofile.
Outputs
Green
Ontracktomeetitsoutputs(slightlybehindthejobtarget,3hoursand12hoursofsupport).
Delivery
Green
TheProgrammeisperformingwellintermsofdelivery.
Whatareourkeyupdates?
Todate,under£4.4mofSGSfundinghasbeenawarded,someprojectshavebeenwithdrawn,currentlythereisaround£5,000leftintheSGSbudget.
Thecurrent2021/22spendtargetoftheprogrammeis£4.501mwithaQ12021/22(Mar‐May)targetof£0.878m.
TheQ12021/22claim(Mar‐May)hasbeensubmittedtoMHCLG.CurrentlyworkingontheQ22021/22claim(Jun‐Aug).
AProjectChangeRequesttoextendGrowthHubandSGSactivitiesuntil30thJune2023andStartUpactivityuntil31stDecember2021hasbeenapprovedbyMHCLG.
Whatisourfinancialposition?
Financials(£million)
Year 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/22 Total
ProfileSpend £0.306 £1.301 £3.409 £7.672 £5.778 £5.092 £4.501 £28.059
ActualSpend £0.306 £1.301 £3.409 £7.672 £6.107 £4.707 £1.072 £24.574
RemainingSpend £0.000 £0.000 £0.000 £0.000 ‐£0.329 £0.385 £3.429 £3.485
*2019/2020actualspendwasupdatedfrom£6.055mto£6.107m
WhatisourcontributiontotheEconomicStrategy?
Target
Deliveredto
endofAugust
2021
Monthly
Change
Numberofapprovedgrants 360 440 1
Businessesreceiving‘in‐depth’support‐morethan12hours 1,138 919 7
Businessesstart‐upssupported 1,474 1,582 21
Valueofgrantsreceivedbybusinesses £3.507m £3,447m £34k
Privateinvestmentprovidedbybusinesses £14.029m £14,214m £138k
Employmentincreaseinsupportedbusinesses 1,676 1,585 13.42
Businessesintroducingnewproducts 69 74 0
BusinessesreceivingInformation/Diagnostic/Brokerage 4,260 3,190 4
Whatistheprojectstatus?
Overall:
Green→
GrowthHub
Amber→
Makinggoodprogresstowardsourtargets(slightlybehindthe3hoursand12hoursofsupporttargets).
SmallGrantScheme
Green→
Claiminggrantsisontarget.
Start‐Up(Nwes)
Green→
Performingwell,slightlybehindthejobtarget.
Start‐Up(Menta)
Green→
Performingwell,slightlybehindthejobtarget.
Whatarethenextsteps?
WorkwithpartnersandMHCLGtodeliveractivitythatmeetstheextendprogrammedeliveryperiod,untiltheendofJune2023.
Continuetoworkwithpartners,includinglocalauthoritiesandmembershiporganisations,toprovideongoingsupporttobusinessesaffectedbyCovid‐19.
WorkwithpartnerstoensurethatthenextprogrammeevaluationprovdiesthedetailsrequiredforMHCLG.
2021/2022ExpenditureProfile(£4.501million)
Ontracktomeettarget
Ontracktomeettarget
Workingwithpartnerstoensurethetargetismet
Targetexceeded
Workingwithpartnerstoensurethetargetismet
Outputs‐CumulativefromSeptember2015toNovember2021 Notes
Targetexceeded
Workingwithpartnerstoensurethetargetismet
Targetexceeded
Q1‐21/22 Q2‐21/22 Q3‐21/22 Q4‐21/22
QuarterlyForecast
£0.878 £1.125 £1.279 £1.219
QuarterlySpend
£1.072
Variance
‐£0.194 £1.125 £1.279 £1.219
‐1
0
1
2
3
4
Forecastand
ActualSpend
£Millions
23
New Anglia LEP Board Forward Plan – 2021
Date Presente
r
Strategic Operational
27
th
January Ian Whitehead
Lane Farm
2021 LEP Strategic Priorities
Agri-Food Industry Council
Report
Trade and Cooperation
Agreement Between the EU and
the UK
Connected Innovation
NAC Report
Growth Programme, EAN, Enterprise Zones
PPRs
Quarterly Management Accounts
24
th
February Helen Langton
University of Suffolk
Energy Sector Recovery Plan
Local Transport Board Report
Economic and Programme Dashboards
Growth Deal PPR
Capital G
r
owth Projects x 3
31
st
March Peter Brady
Stowmarket Hub
Enterprise Zones 5 Year
Strategic Plan
ICT Digital Industry Council
Report
LEP Governance
LEP Operating Budget 21/22
Delivery Plan 21/22
Large Company Grant Application
Getting Building Fund (Suffolk Broadband)
Future Role of LEPs
Enterprise Zones & EAN PPRs
CEO Pay Award
April No Board Meeting
26
th
May
Tim Green & David
Carlin
Cefas
New Anglia Innovation Board
Developing the Renewal Plan
Clean Growth Taskforce
Capital Budget 21/22
Quarterly Management Accounts
NAC Report
Growth Programme and Growth Deal PPRs
23
rd
June Christine Luxton
Carton Marshes
Skills Advisory Panel Report
Enterprise Zones & EAN PPRs
New Anglia Growth Hub
Operating & HR Policies including Gender Pay
Gap Report
21
st
July
Chris Graveling
The Grove
All Energy Industry Council
Report
Tourism Action Plan
Freeport East
Growth Programme PPR
Accounts Approval
Q2 Management Accounts
August No Board Meeting
22
nd
September
Agri-Food Industry Council
Report
GPF Application
Getting Building Fund, Growth Deal & EAN
PPRs
Economic and Programme Dashboards
22
nd
September
New Anglia LEP AGM
20
th
October
Cor
rienne Peasgood
Digiitech Factory
ICT Digital Industry Council
Report
Programmes Evaluation
Growth Programme PPR
Quarterly Management Accounts
24
th
November
Local Transport Board Report
Inward Investment
Programmes Evaluation - Workplan
Government Review of LEPs
Economic and Programme Dashboards
Growth Deal PPR
NAC Report
Decembe
r
No Board Meeting
30
Meetingsarevirtualunlessotherwisestated.
Standing Items (where relevant)
LEP Review
IAC recommendations
Chief Executive’s Report
Items to be Scheduled
CRF
Freeports
Towns Deals
CNTC
Sizewell C - February 2022
Transport East strategy endorsement –January 2022
Renewal Plan – January 2022
A
lternative Fuel Strate
gy
31
