Agenda item

Report of the Director of Placemaking and Housing.To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Council Housebuilding, Placemaking, and Local Economy.

Adoption by Cabinet of the Opportunity Haringey framework, a strategy for the delivery of the Council's Economic Development, Employment & Skills and Social Value activities.

The Cabinet Member for Council Housebuilding, Placemaking, and Local Economy introduced the report, which sought approval to the Opportunity Haringey Framework, the Council’s new inclusive economy policy framework. The framework set out the Council’s vision and ambition to work in collaboration with businesses, residents and local and strategic partners to drive forward a range of priority actions under 5 themes that will shape a fairer and greener economy with the ambition to reduce inequalities, unlock social value and secure prosperity for all.

In response to questions from: Cllr Hakata, Cllr Carlin, Cllr Jogee, and Cllr Cawley- Harrison, the following was noted:

-       The framework responded to the demand in retrofitting skills to support forthcoming building programmes in Council buildings, Council homes and homes in the private sector. There was recognition of the need to create a significant number of jobs in the borough responding to this demand and the need to have skills to support this borough wide programme. The Council had already started to work with CONEL on developing future ‘green skills’ and how their curriculum could respond to this future skill demand. The Council was also working with local businesses and further working on upskilling the existing supply chain to create real opportunities locally and at entry level for local residents to enter this industry and maximise future opportunities for employment.

-       The borough had 59 local town centres with varying successes and footfall. The team were always working on enlivening policies in the town centres to support and promote access and increase local spend. Local initiatives in Wood Green, Lymington Avenue, as well as ‘Made in Tottenham’ and ‘Made in Haringey’ were highlighted and officers emphasised that individual town centre strategies were continuing and were not awaiting the instigation of this framework. They were working in tandem and support of the framework.

-       The framework took forward learning and established joint work between the Council and businesses in the Wood Green Bid. There would be a business forum and various engagement networks to support continuing communication and joint work between the Council and businesses to support the framework and the work on the five themes.

-       The Council were working with businesses on the ground and had the synergies to make this work. The Council were taking forward a relational approach with businesses to ensure that they were better connected to utilise opportunities. It was noted that there would be a shift to business network model to facilitate this. In addition, this would help bring businesses together at a strategic level.

-       With regards to signposting businesses to forthcoming opportunities, the Council were already doing this through the described relational approach and they would hear more from the Council on how they can also connect to other wider opportunity networks. The rejuvenated business forum and networks would also support this.

-       Following agreement of the Framework, there would be service delivery plans to feed into the borough vision outlined in the report.

-       There would be increased communication on access to external funding and other London wide funding support opportunities

-       The ‘one Council’ approach undertaken in the pandemic, was being continued and developed with ongoing liaison with businesses.

-       In relation to supporting the physical changes to the town centres, connections would be made with highways initiatives and through other wider discussions with partners to identify opportunities for this. There were individual examples of cross Council and partner working on individual projects to improve the physical presence of town centres such as the Turnpike Lane initiative. Overall, this would be an iterative process with partner involvement.

RESOLVED

To note the contents of the Opportunity Haringey framework set out in paragraph 4.2 of this report and adopts the Opportunity Haringey framework attached as Appendix 1 as the Council’s strategy for creating an inclusive economy in Haringey.

Reasons for decision

To put in place a policy and delivery framework to underpin, support and drive an inclusive and circular economy for Haringey thereby supporting the Council’s ambition for being greener and fairer utilising local creativity to harness the strengths of our residents and businesses. Opportunity Haringey will help to build a more resilient local economy and ensure investment delivers benefit for our residents and businesses.Opportunity Haringey will address current inequalities and embed social value by unlocking the borough’s potential through:

• Attracting new well-paid quality jobs
• Connecting residents to opportunities from investment locally and in the London Labour market
• Equipping residents with skills levels to secure Good Work and ensure business growth delivers benefits for our residents
• Providing targeted business support to assist businesses in reducing their carbon footprint and encouraging growth of the circular economy
• Increasing the supply of modern workspace to keep up with demand
• Reimagining high streets and town centres as destinations and community hubs and a focus for a range of commerce and social activity
• Attracting inward investment including a significant higher education footprint
• The Council leading by example as a major employer and procurer of services
• Building local business networks and business to business opportunities
• Aligning Council services behind the local economy

Opportunity Haringey is attached as Appendix 1 of this report and contains five themes supported by priority actions under each theme:

• ~Theme 1: Job Creation

This theme recognises the role Haringey's businesses play in creating tens of thousands of jobs and other business opportunities for local people. It responds to what residents and businesses told us in particular around the Council developing a relational approach with our business community promoting business-to-business networking opportunities; more targeted business support, loan funds and signposting and focusing on our sectoral strengths such as creative.

Our priority actions focus on creating and supporting a Haringey Business Forum, supporting and signposting our businesses, a renewed offer on low–cost finance to support business growth/entrepreneurship and launching a Haringey Business Charter

• Theme 2: Investment

This theme speaks to Haringey’s geographical, cultural and infrastructure strengths setting out our aspiration to bring new investment into Haringey, which can deliver jobs and wider economic opportunities, such as a university, college or a significant health or leisure facility. Bringing employment, skills, training opportunities, and increased local spend in the area as well as help to boost the profile of the Borough on a global stage.

Our businesses share our ambition and told us that there was amazing potential in the borough, and we needed to be better at collectively telling that story at a local, national and international level. We heard that businesses want to be part of that story putting Haringey on the map and celebrating the strengths of our growing sectors such as the Creative Industries and building on successes like our ‘Made by Tottenham’ brand and promoting our role around Net Zero.

Our priority actions focus on bringing new investment to borough and developing our visitor economy.

• Theme 3: Good Work & Skills

This theme recognises that while many Haringey workers are in good employment, significant economic inequality exists in the borough, with relatively high numbers of unemployed and in-work poor and disproportionate employment challenges faced by specific groups experiencing structural disadvantage.

Residents told us they want us to focus support on those most disadvantaged in the labour market and in work poverty with a focus on Good Work at London Living Wage levels and with opportunities for progression.

Our priority actions focus on reshaping Haringey Works and Haringey Learns to focus on those facing the greatest barriers into work and those in in-work poverty, meeting employer and future skills demand, with a focus on employer and sector demand and transferable skills development to support residents into local and London wider job opportunities (April 2024) We will develop sector plans that play to our strengths with a focus on job growth and future skills (from Winter 2023 onwards). Using as an employer we will adopt a Social Value approach to create job and training opportunities for residents through our procurement, create skills and training opportunities and focus on the opportunities of retrofit for local residents and businesses

• Theme 4: High Streets and Industrial Estates

This theme recognises the role our high streets, town centres, local parades and industrial estates play as essential sources of trade and employment and the special role our high streets play in instilling pride in a local community. It recognises our high streets as destinations supporting creativity, entrepreneurship and diversity.

Businesses tell us that they see first-hand the continued impact of online retail on shopping habits and that ‘the challenge is to make the high street relevant again’.

Our priority actions include adopting a Markets Strategy, championing the creative economy and promoting the vibrancy of our town centres and high streets and industrial estates.

• Theme 5: Work places and spaces

This theme recognises the challenges we face in borough in supply of high quality affordable workspace and the pressure this places on the ability of businesses to be as resilient and productive as they could be and grow their workforce.

Our priority actions include convening a workspace provider’s forum, co-ordinating a workspace providers list and supporting workspace policy in the new local plan as well as working through our corporate and strategic partners to unlock and achieve new workspaces.

Alternative options considered

Keep working through existing economic policy framework – The Good Economy Recovery Plan, Skills and Employment Recovery Action Plan and Town Centres Recovery Action Plan. These were established as response to the pandemic and associated economic shocks and therefore are not relevant to current economic conditions and associated challenges and opportunities. There is need for a more agile approach that enables policy and action to pivot to meet and support changing needs, demands and ambitions.

Produce traditional economic development strategy with detailed action plan – This would be too rigid in the current emerging economic climate which demands a more agile and responsive approach as detailed in 5.1 above. Economic Development Strategies are often very lengthy and are therefore not as flexible as a framework approach. They also tend to prioritise economic growth above other considerations, whereas a framework focussed on inclusive growth shifts this towards deriving the greatest benefits for the widest range of residents and businesses as possible and tackling disadvantage.