Welcome to a bumper issue of Enterprise Insights, where we deliver the most interesting enterprise developments and stories to you fortnightly.

Like many of the organisations who receive our Enterprise Insights newsletter, Enterprise UK is currently going through change. This will be the last newsletter in its current form as we assess our communications across the organisation.

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We launched the Enterprise Insights newsletter two years ago to help share knowledge around enterprise, entrepreneurship and education. We are thankful that it has been so well received – judging by the ever-growing number of subscribers and positive comments – thanks for reading and we hope that you have found it useful.
 

Now

Unlocking investment to deliver Britain’s low carbon future (Green Investment Bank Commission – PDF: 8.1 MB)

A significant investment in supply chains and infrastructure would be required to meet UK climate change and renewable energy targets by 2020, according to a report by the independent Green Investment Bank (GIB) Commission. The Commission highlights a number of barriers to financing low carbon infrastructure, including perceived risk around policy support frameworks and difficulties with financing large numbers of smaller projects. It proposes that the primary focus of the GIB should be on lowering risk for investors, rather than simply providing capital and that green bonds and green ISAs are created to reach institutional and retail investors.

Green and Decent Jobs: The case for local action (IPPR – PDF: 444 KB)

Greater partnerships action is required at the local level to make viable green jobs a reality, according to a scoping paper by the IPPR. It argues that rising levels of unemployment, labour market exclusion and high levels of in-work poverty can be reduced by stimulating well-paid green jobs, using innovative approaches modelled on schemes in the US. Based on these case studies, IPPR suggest several principles for developing green jobs programmes at a local level, including working in partnerships and linking unemployment schemes to training.

Future

Opening doors to Apprenticeships (Young Foundation – PDF: 1.66 MB)

Young people with potentially the most to gain from apprenticeships are often those who experience the greatest barriers to access, according to the second of a series of reports on reaching young people who are disadvantaged and disengaged from apprenticeships. The new report looks at nine local authority case studies and considers the practical next steps that need to be taken in order to raise awareness, create more effective pre-Apprenticeship routes, and improve employer engagement.

Local

The importance of being local (LSIS – PDF: 460KB)

A local and cross-public sector approach to delivery allows public services to respond flexibly to the particular needs of individuals and communities, according to a report summarising the discussions from a series of policy seminars in the learning and skills sector. It argues however, that at present devolution is undermined by national accountability arrangements and that customers and citizens need to be empowered to co-design services and define quality.

Now

High Performance Working (UKCES – PDF: 840 KB)

Strategies to match employees’ skills to business demands and better skills utilisation can have an impact on productivity and business performance, according to a policy review by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. Working practices to stimulate more effective employee involvement, known collectively as ‘high performance working’, have been identified as crucial to improving skills utilisation. These are often delivered through decentralised organisational structures based on team working, job rotation and project work. A series of case studies presented alongside the review demonstrates the benefits of high performance working for both the organisation and its employees.

Investing for Public Good: Creating social value through social impact bonds (The Tomorrow Project – PDF: 940 KB)

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) could be a way to reduce the cost of public services without compromising their quality, according to a new report by the Tomorrow Project. They work by identifying savings government can make from addressing social problems at their roots and raising capital from private investors who receive a portion of the savings. The report demonstrates that early interventions through SIBs can make a social difference by preventing social problems before they arise while paying for themselves.
 

Budget

June Budget 2010: Briefing Paper (Enterprise UK – PDF: 64 KB)

Enterprise UK has prepared a briefing paper on the Coalition Government’s ‘Emergency’ Budget which, the Chancellor said, would lead to a ‘strong, enterprise-led recovery’. Announcements included abolishing the RDAs, reducing the headline rate of corporation tax to 24 percent over four years, extending the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, a new £1 billion Regional Growth Fund and a new national insurance exemption scheme for new businesses in the UK’s poorest regions. The Budget was generally welcomed by business organisations, with the Institute of Directors calling it ‘an important step on the road to fiscal common sense’.

News

The Coalition Government’s first Budget announced that, to tackle the country’s fiscal deficit, Government Departments’ public spending would face real cuts of around 25 percent in the next four years. To help identify potential savings before the final figures are presented in the Spending Review on 20 October, the Government has called on public sector workers to share their suggestions on a dedicated Spending Challenge website by 8 July.

The Government has set out plans for new Local Enterprise Partnerships between local councils and business that will replace the current Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).
In a joint letter, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles have asked councils and business leaders to consider coming together to provide strategic leadership in their areas to set out local economic priorities and create the right environment for business and growth by tackling issues such as planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure priorities, employment and enterprise. A White Paper on local and regional growth will be published in July.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has launched a £1 billion Regional Growth Fund, which will operate in 2011/12 and 2012/13, to help areas most dependent on public sector employment. Private bodies and public-private partnerships will be able to bid for the funding of projects that would bring in private investment and support sustainable increases in private sector jobs and growth in their area.

The Small Business Finance Forum is to continue its meetings under Business Secretary Vince Cable’s chairmanship and Small Business minister Mark Prisk’s leadership. The committee, attended by senior figures from high street banks such as HSBC, Santander, Lloyds, Barclays and The Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as representatives from the Institute of Directors, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Bank of England and the CBI, aims to encourage the banks to lend to small businesses.

Advice from customers has the biggest positive impact on small business growth, yet 44 per cent of SMEs are not tapping into the knowledge of their customers, according to a new study by the Small Business Research Centre at Kingston University. The report, commissioned by Royal Mail, also suggests that the SMEs could accelerate their growth potential by nearly four times by making better use of available advice and support services, in particular by tapping into valuable informal networks. Businesses heeding advice from accountants are 2.6 times as likely to grow compared with those that do not, yet 33 per cent of businesses are failing to do so.

Richard Lambert has stepped down as Director General of the CBI. He has stepped down early to allow time to appoint a successor before their new President joins next summer. 

The proportion of 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) has decreased from 10.3% at end 2008 to 9.2% at end 2009, according to figures released by the Department for Education. The number of young people choosing to stay on in education has also risen from 64.7% in 2008 to 68% in 2009.

The 2010 First Women Awards were announced at a ceremony last week, attended by First Women Awards patron Sarah Brown and Home Secretary/Minister for Women and Equality Theresa May, who expressed her commitment to creating more women entrepreneurs. Dame Mary Perkins was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her business acumen and contribution to the opticians industry.