(a)

the Economic Development department was a small service which ensured that policy frameworks were in place to support growth in the city;

(b)

the council’s aspirations for growth was reflected in key strategic documents and frameworks;

(c)

there was an emergence of new partnerships such as Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Economic Development Service;

(d)

the Growth Board was created to encourage and deliver growth and hold partners to account and was the successor to the Local Strategic Partnership’s Wealthy Theme Group; the Growth Board consisted of five themes (Business, Skills, Centres, Economic Inclusivity and Leadership) and each theme contained action plans to support growth and delivery;

(e)

Plymouth’s main economic issues included the over reliance on the public sector, the high proportion of claimants aged 18-24 and high rates of economic inactivity;

(f)

Plymouth had a pool of talent due to the large University and specialised in the marine sector, advanced engineering and medical and healthcare professions;

(g)

there were several successes for Plymouth’s economy including the overall downwards trend of employment in the city, securing of the America’s Cup and over 400 jobs to be created at Hemerdon Mine;

(h)

it was considered that the closure of Plymouth Airport would not have a major impact on the economy;

(i)

Plymouth City Council submitted a strong bid for the Enterprise Zone however Cornwall Council were successful in securing the bid;

(j)

key issues to focus upon in the future included job creation, productivity and economic inclusion;

(k)

worklessness in the city would be tackled by a worklessness plan; Plymouth City Council had two phases for tackling worklessness which included both internal and external processes; the internal process would consist of a Worklessness Officer Group and the Worklessness Plan, the external process would consist of consultation groups of external partners and a city-wide worklessness strategy;

(l)

the Growth Board was private sector led and some of its members consisted of members of the University, Plymouth City Council, Babcock, Sutton Harbour and the Federation of Small Businesses;

(m)

Plymouth City Council was not successful in its bid for the Enterprise Zone; officers were unable to specify why Cornwall Council had won the bid however formal feedback was awaited;

(n)

there were several different strands to the growth strategy; it was important that the strategy did not only focus upon high growth rates;

(o)

the Council were currently aiming to protect Plymouth airport land to see if some sort of aviation from the site was feasible in the future;

(p)

officers accepted that several longstanding Plymouth businesses had closed however it was highlighted that there were always shifts in the economy where businesses would shift and evolve; 

(q)

the business community was heavily involved in the analysis of Plymouth airport;

(r)

Plymouth had created its own local growth fund, which ring fenced the New Homes Bonus, in order to help create growth and support the economy;

(s)

there were a range of apprenticeships available to 16-24 year olds across the city from the Council and its partners;

(t)

the Waterfront Bid was currently in the consultation process however a business plan would be produced by February 2012;

(u)

officers had timetabled Councillor presentations into the consultation process for the Visitor Plan;