News Archives - Page 4 of 68 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Colin Bell, Business and Sector Growth Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP), responds to today’s Budget, delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt.

“Although the North East LEP welcomes the news that the UK is likely to avoid a technical recession, we also recognise that the pattern of low growth and low productivity will remain over the forecast period and that more needs to be done to stimulate the economy.

“We believe that continued and strengthened devolution is central to breaking this pattern and welcome the emphasis placed on devolution including the announcement of a third round of the Levelling Up Fund, the creation of a Levelling Up Partnership in South Tyneside and the intention to continue to extend devolved responsibilities, including the local retention of business rates.

“One of the greatest pressures on businesses is access to talent and skills and the introduction of ‘returneeships’ for those over 50, and the provision of 30 hours of free childcare for children over nine months old, will help provide businesses greater access to the skills that they are crying out for and support the transition of parents back to work after parental leave.

“We welcome the focus on growth, industrial strategy and a package of measures that will support the continued growth of the North East’s sectoral strengths in life science, tech and renewable energy, including the creation of, and £80million of investment into, a North East Investment Zone.

“And although the continued access to R&D tax credits for research-intensive businesses, where research and development-related activities account for 40% or more of expenditure, is welcome – particularly for businesses in sectors such as life sciences – we need to ensure that this doesn’t disincentivise innovation across the wider business community.

“The signalling that inflationary pressures have eased and are forecast to drop, alongside the introduction of full capital expensing and investment allowance increases to £1million for SMEs, should help in bringing forward investment decisions that have been on hold. The lack of further measures to support businesses to offset the cost of energy may however continue to suppress investment, particularly in advanced manufacturing where targeted measures were less evident.

“And finally, in the North East, the mentioned transition of Local Enterprise Partnership functions is already underway under the region’s devolution deal and we look forward to working with stakeholders across the region to transfer the LEP’s functions into the new North East Mayoral Combined Authority and to represent and strengthen the North East’s business voice locally and nationally.”

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Chief Executive, Helen Golightly OBE, has commented on today’s regional labour market statistics, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The release includes quarterly data for the North East region for the three-month period November 2022 to January 2023. The region includes the North East LEP area and Tees Valley.

Helen Golightly OBE, Chief Executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP), said: “The data released today shows encouraging signs of progress in the region’s labour market over the past 12 months. The latest regional employment total is over 25,000 higher than a year ago and the employment rate has increased by more than the England equivalent. In addition, the unemployment rate has fallen by more than in any other region.

“However, there is work to be done to close the gap further as the North East still has the lowest regional employment rate and the highest working age economic inactivity rate, where people are neither employed nor seeking work. It is a concern that the number of economically inactive people has only fallen slightly in the last year despite the increased employment total.

“Additionally, we need to ensure that employment increases across the entire North East workforce. Experimental ONS data suggests that the rise in employment in the last year in the North East has been concentrated among older females and younger males.”

See further labour market analysis on the North East Evidence Hub.

Three new members have been appointed to the Board of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP) bringing expertise from automotive, finance, and health and life sciences.

Alan Johnson, Vice President and Managing Director of Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK), Sunderland Plant, Sam Whitehouse, Executive Chairman and former CEO of High Force Research Ltd, and Emily Cox MBE, Group Ambassador for the North and Group Head of Colleague Relations & Policy at Lloyds Banking Group join the Board, replacing outgoing members, Gillian Hall, Kate Medcalf and Erika Leadbeater.

Lucy Winskell OBE, Chair of the North East LEP, said: “Our Board members support the North East LEP’s work of bringing more and better jobs into the North East economy and they also have the important role of representing the voice of businesses, ensuring that North East business’s views are heard on a regional and national scale.

“Emily, Alan and Sam bring with them exceptional skills and knowledge which will be invaluable to the North East LEP as we build a brighter, more sustainable future for our region.”

Alan Johnson has been with Nissan since 1991, when he joined as a graduate engineer. He has since worked with Nissan in Spain, Russia and France, and is now based in Sunderland, overseeing the operation of one of Europe’s most productive car plants.

“The North East has a global reach when it comes to advanced manufacturing and this gives us a solid base on which to build an even stronger regional economy,” commented Alan. “I’m looking forward to getting started in my new role as a member of the North East LEP board and helping to make our region the best place to live, work and invest,” he added.

Sam Whitehouse brings with him extensive experience in health and life sciences and is currently Executive Chairman at High Force Research, a chemical R&D specialist which manufactures advanced pharmaceutical ingredients.

“Health and life sciences is a sector which presents huge opportunities for the North East and I’m excited to be able to help maximise these. I’ll be acting as an ambassador for our region and working with the North East LEP team and partners to achieve our goals of doubling the number of jobs and the number of businesses operating in this fast-growing area by 2030,” said Sam.

Currently Group Head of Colleague Relations and Policy as well as Group Ambassador for the North at Lloyds Banking Group, and the Chair of Gentoo in Sunderland, Emily Cox MBE, said: “The business community here in the North East is innovative, collaborative and ambitious and I’m looking forward to working with the executive team and my fellow board members to help create more opportunities to grow the regional economy in an inclusive way, ultimately creating more and better jobs for our residents.”

The three new Board members join senior leaders from the private, public, education and voluntary and community sectors, chaired by Lucy Winskell, OBE.

The Board supports the North East LEP’s revised role, which is to represent the business voice; collaborating and engaging with, listening to and feeding business views into national and regional policy and investment decision-making.

The North East LEP also leads strategic economic planning by taking the regional lead to develop and coordinate research and economic evidence around the North East economy to inform regional strategy and decision-making.

“Driving the growth of the North East economy, and influencing regional and national decision-making, is something we achieve by working in partnership. Ensuring our Board has people like Emily, Alan and Sam present, who have extensive knowledge of doing business here, helps make the voice of businesses central to everything we do,” added Lucy Winskell OBE.

Find more information about the North East LEP’s Boards here.

Today’s release includes quarterly data for the North East region (for the period October to December 2022). The region includes the North East LEP area and Tees Valley.

Helen Golightly OBE, Chief Executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP), said: “The data released today takes us to the end of 2022, and shows there was rapid slowing in the labour market in the North East in the three months before Christmas, after previous progress across the year. The North East was not alone in this trend, with other regions seeing similar patterns. A distinctive feature of this data is the relative decline in the position of men, with many leaving the labour force over the year, whilst women’s employment increased.

“We remained at the bottom of the table for overall employment and unemployment rates. Although the formal unemployment rate fell, our ongoing concern about people leaving the labour force altogether was reinforced as we saw the third highest increase in the working age inactivity rate over the year amongst the nine English regions.

“This is likely an indication of the ongoing pressures in the economy given the impact of higher costs of living, and follows on from the data we reported in the previous month’s figures showing a drop off in demand for goods and services amongst consumers, and for labour amongst smaller businesses.

“Looking at some of the key points of detail, compared with the same period in 2021, total North East employment increased by 9,400 and unemployment was 14,600 lower. However, working age economic inactivity in the region was about 16,600 higher. Much of the increase in employment was amongst people aged over 65.

“Other experimental regional labour market estimates by age group suggest that in the North East, compared to a year earlier, the largest increases in employment have been among women aged 25 to 34 and 50 to 64, whilst the largest decreases have been among males aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 49. Meanwhile, the largest increases in inactivity have been among men aged 35 to 49 and 50 to 64, and among women aged 16 to 24, while there has been a large increase in unemployment among males aged 25 to 34.”

Today’s release includes quarterly data for the North East region (for the period September to November 2022). The region includes the North East LEP area and Tees Valley.

Helen Golightly OBE, Chief Executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP), said: “The data released today shows that there has been an annual growth in employment of 1% and quarter increase of 0.4%. Whilst the North East remained at the bottom of the tables for overall employment and unemployment rates, we saw the second largest annual improvement in both these indicators amongst the nine English regions.

“We are seeing more people coming out of economic inactivity and into the labour market, with similar numbers finding work and moving to unemployed status, and actively seeking employment.

“This is probably an indication of the impact of higher costs of living with inflation at its highest level in recent years and people feeling the need to find ways of increasing their income.

“We can also see a drop off in demand for goods and services and for labour amongst businesses, particularly in smaller businesses. The latest regional vacancies data shows that online job adverts in the North East are only 5% higher than their pre-COVID benchmark, compared to 31% higher in November 2022. This indicates a declining confidence amongst businesses in the recruitment of new staff and will likely have contributed to an increase in those claiming out of work benefits in December.

“At this time, when people and businesses are focused on the cost of living and costs of doing business, it is notable that PAYE data released today saw pay rises averaging 6.4%. This was failing to keep pace with inflation caused by price increases in products including food and energy, which in real life terms sees a further net drop in incomes of 2.6% for the third quarter in a row. Private sector pay growth nationally was running at 7.2% compared with just 3.3% in the public sector.

“As we progress through the winter, the cost of living will continue to be an issue of concern for residents and employers and is likely to continue to impact on sectors of the economy which rely on discretionary spending. For example, entertainment and transport were the sectors which had seen the largest decline in employment in this quarter.”

Access all the latest labour market information on the North East Evidence Hub.

Passengers visiting Newcastle International Airport this year will be greeted with a refreshed suite of imagery celebrating why the North East is a great place to work, learn, live, visit and invest.

The advertising banners feature in prominent areas throughout Newcastle International Airport, including:

Domestic arrivals
International arrivals
All departures

Working with local partners, we’ve produced an impactful and inspiring advertising campaign that showcases images of the North East LEP area (Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Sunderland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Northumberland, County Durham) and highlights some of our region’s strengths – from stargazing and science to energy and events.

The advertisements are designed to encourage more businesses to locate or invest in the North East, creating more and better jobs and boosting our economy. They also aim to inspire more people to live and work in the region, and contribute to the growth of our sector strengths, which include energy, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and digital.

Helen Golightly OBE, Chief Executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We know the North East is great place to do live, work and do business. The imagery used at the airport is about showcasing our strengths to the world, and inviting people to contribute to our region’s success.

“From the innovations being developed in our digital sector, to the pioneering research and development happening in our health and life sciences sector, we highlight why there are great opportunities for businesses in our region.

“And we all know a healthy work life balance is important, which is why the imagery celebrates some of the amazing things people can see and do across the North East as well – from riding the Coast to Coast, to running the Great North Run.

Guy Currey, Director of Invest North East England, said: “In the 2021/22 financial year, our region created over 8,000 new jobs from inward investment projects, and we were the leading UK region for job creation when compared with our working-age population.

“We want to build on that success and tell our region’s story, which is why visitors to the North East will be greeted with the refreshed advertisments at Newcastle International Airport which not only demonstrate why North East England is great place to do business, but also show why North East England is a great place to call home.

“The airport advertising compliments the ongoing work that Invest North East England, the North East LEP and local authorities are doing, and encourages more businesses to become part of our region’s success story and contribute to our bright future.”

Graeme Mason, Chief Sustainability and Communications Officer at Newcastle International Airport, said: “Millions of people travel through our Airport every year, and for many we are their first introduction to the North East.

“The imagery is an amazing showcase of the talent, skills and expertise in our region, as well as the many unrivalled events and experiences people can enjoy here.

“Whether people are visiting us on business, or enjoying a holiday, this campaign is a bold reminder of why the North East is thriving destination with a huge amount to offer anyone that chooses to work, learn, live, visit or invest here.”

Commenting on today’s announcement of a devolution deal for North East, Lucy Winskell OBE, Chair North East Local Enterprise Partnership said: “This devolution deal is a hugely positive move for the region and marks a step change in our levelling up journey. The region has come together and is committed to seeing the North East succeed.

“The development heralds new funding and decision-making powers that will unlock the creation of more and better jobs, allow us to seize new opportunities, address issues that are holding us back and critically, to compete where we have strengths on a national, sectoral and global stage, and most importantly to do this in partnership.

“As things progress, the North East LEP will come together with the new mayoral combined authority, allowing for a co-ordinated approach with one strong voice and a laser focus on delivery of everything this proud region and its diverse communities need to thrive.”

Plans to bring billions of pounds and more power to the North East have progressed, with Government today releasing a press notice outlining a deal on the table for the seven local authorities in the North East.

Local Leaders and Mayors have been in positive discussions with Government in recent months and following successful talks have now been offered a provisional deal which would unlock over billions of pounds of investment and see additional powers transferred from Whitehall to local people.

Negotiations with government over the devolution deal have now reached the stage where all councils and combined authorities can consider the details, before a final decision is made.

The new deal would see the formation of a new combined authority, headed by an elected ‘Metro’ mayor and cover the LA7 area of Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, Sunderland, South Tyneside, County Durham and Northumberland.

The deal, which is subject to a governance review and public consultation, offers a potential £4.2bn of investment into the region, made up of elements including:

An investment fund of £1.4bn, or £48m a year, to support inclusive economic growth and support our regeneration priorities
An indicative budget of around £1.8bn, or £60m a year, for adult education and skills – to meet local skills priorities and improve opportunities for residents
A £900m package of investment to transform our transport system, with £563m from the City Regional Sustainable Transport Fund, on top of funding already announced for our buses and metro system
£69m of investment in housing and regeneration, unlocking sites to bring forward new housing and commercial development

It is expected to create 17,500 extra jobs, create 50,000 courses to give people the skills to get good jobs and leverage £3.7 billion of private sector investment.

Once established the new authority, covering an area which is home to around 2 million people, will have the power to make decisions on areas such as transport, skills, housing, finance and economic development. The potential deal does not involve any changes to existing councils.

A public consultation will take place from early 2023 on the new arrangements which the government have confirmed they are ‘minded to’ approve.

It is expected a Mayoral election would take place in May 2024 and a new authority formed.

The North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA), which was set up in 2019 covering Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland, and the separate North East Combined Authority (NECA) covering Sunderland, South Tyneside, Gateshead and Durham would no longer exist.

Local Leaders and Mayors today welcomed the news in a joint statement. They said:

“This is a significant step towards securing important decision-making powers and investment for our region.

“This would allow us to make decisions that reflect local needs and invest wisely into projects that will make a difference for all our residents, communities and local economy.

“There remains a process for all councils and combined authorities to consider the details and a public consultation before a final decision is made.

“We are pleased that we have successfully negotiated a proposed deal which is a step towards reaching our ambition for this region.

“This is an important milestone in our journey and we will now engage with stakeholders to move the deal to the next stage.”

See the North East LEP statement on the announcement here.

2022 has been a busy year for the region’s energy sector, with new investments, major events, and progress towards achieving the North East’s net zero goals. David Lynch, Energy Innovation Partnership Manager at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, takes a look back.

The energy sector in North East England is one of the region’s biggest growth industries and has a pivotal role to play in delivering the government’s Green Industrial Revolution, which aims to create and support up to 250,000 highly skilled green jobs in the UK, many of which will be here in the North East.

Against this backdrop, during 2022 the North East Energy Catalyst has continued to move forward at pace and at scale, with two new partners, University of Sunderland and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), offering technical expertise and materials analysis capabilities to the Energy Catalyst partnership. With these additions, we continued to showcase the region as the go-to place to develop and showcase new energy solutions that are changing the world.

Energy Catalyst Summit

In March 2022, we hosted a North East Energy Catalyst Summit. The event provided a platform for some of our regional SMEs assisted via the North East Energy Innovation Challenge Programme. Power Roll Solar Ltd showcased their lightweight solar film with patented ‘microgroove technology’ first developed on our patch. With its low-cost, efficiency, lightweight and application credentials, I genuinely believe this technology could be a gamechanger to decarbonise urban and rural communities. Look out for Power Roll appearing on rooftops or building facias soon! CrowdHouse Energy (a new entrant to the region), also showcased their solar canopy and car charging solution designed for business parks, transport hubs, public and/or private carparks. What emerged from the Energy Summit was the pull both companies experienced in coming to the North East and a sense of drive-to-thrive here!

In support of the Energy Catalyst Summit, board partners also opened their doors showcasing world leading research laboratories and test facilities – a welcome opportunity post COVID-19 for partners to get out and learn more about our assets. Our summit was supported by a communications campaign enhancing exposure and reach of our capabilities.

Clean Maritime Success

In April, the North East Energy Catalyst was part of a consortium showcasing the outcomes from a successful UKRI bid into the UKRI Clean Maritime Demonstrator competition alongside Port of Tyne, Siemens, Newcastle University, and the Connected Places Catapult. The North East Energy Catalyst played an important role bringing partners together at the Port of Tyne’s 2050 Maritime Innovation Hub to share outcomes and lessons learnt from the project. Our core message was that The Clean Tyne project is a great example of what can be achieved when multi-disciplinary partners unite towards a common goal. The project installed a smart digital infrastructure to inform the future direction of decarbonisation at the Port of Tyne. The success of this project has seen the consortium widen with another programme due to commence on a second UKRI funded programme of activity in 2023. More to follow on that soon!

Strategic investment at core sites

We have seen some great regional announcements recently, setting a tone of optimism as we look forward to 2023 and beyond. Strategic investment in employment sites and port infrastructure are yielding returns. In October, I was able to see this for myself, attending the launch of the Bates Clean Energy Terminal at Port of Blyth. The terminal offers enhanced facilities for companies in the renewables and offshore energy sector, a regional asset which will undoubtedly attract further investment from those involved in low carbon and innovation. Very recently we heard Rolls-Royce has shortlisted the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) spanning Sunderland and South Tyneside as a potential site for its new factory building Small Modular Reactors. Huge credit to our colleagues and friends at Invest North East England for these positive developments.

An Energy Catalyst warm welcome

2022 has also seen some new entrants investing into the region. French company Lhyfe, a Green Hydrogen project development company set up its UK Headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne. The North East Energy Catalyst is supporting Lhyfe to make connections to our regional energy ecosystem and supporting plans for regional green hydrogen production facilities. In January 2023 the Catalyst will be co-hosting a regional spotlight event on green hydrogen with support from Newcastle University and Sunderland City Council. Register for that here.

Accelerating our offshore offer

Our offshore capabilities continue to grow, bolstered by supply chain support programmes like the Technology, Innovation and Green Growth for Offshore Renewables (TIGGOR) Programme, now in its second phase. This is a regional North of Tyne programme to accelerate technology and service development and new product entry into the offshore wind supply chain. I believe it offers an excellent entry point for those to seeking to pivot into the offshore renewables sector in areas of novel robotics for subsea inspection, AI, digital twins, machine learning techniques, sub-components or materials for offshore application.

New regional test and demonstration facilities opening 2023

Our innovation and demonstration facilities continue to grow. Nationally important renewable energy technology and testing facilities are planned to open in 2023 at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult in Blyth and at Northern Gas Networks, Transport Gas and Electricity Research Laboratory (InTEGReL), which will see development of a Customer Energy Village in Gateshead, building a series of dwellings from different generations to replicate the UK housing stock. The energy village will be highly digitalised, providing world class research capacity to support the testing and commercialisation of new and renewable domestic energy technologies. 2022 has been a difficult and turbulent year for domestic energy consumers, plunging many households into fuel poverty this winter, and the role of this energy village will be of the utmost importance to help achieve equity for all in low carbon transition.

North East Energy Catalyst within Net Zero North East England

On this note, the North East LEP, along with many other bodies, is supporting Net Zero North East England. The partnership unites leaders from across the public sector, business and VCSE sector and education organisations to work together to support the net zero transition. In 2023, the partnership will explore common opportunities and challenges and identify areas to accelerate the region’s net zero transition. The North East Energy Catalyst will play an important role within this partnership to ensure investment continues in our regional energy assets and capabilities.

New pastures for me in 2023…

At the end of January 2023, I will be leaving the North East LEP to join Northern Gas Networks (NGN) as their Strategy Manager – Energy Systems Transition. I have enjoyed my time with North East LEP immensely but am excited by the challenge of a new role and future with NGN. Having led the North East Energy Catalyst for just over three years, I am proud of the level of investment made to bolster our regional energy assets and capabilities. I have particularly enjoyed working with regional SMEs across the energy sector to help drive growth and development via the North East Energy Innovation Challenge Programme, delivering grants to the value of £200,000 with support from our partners, Innovation SuperNetwork. I also enjoyed working with our skills team and external contractors to strengthen the evidence base around the skills required to achieve net zero in our domestic sector. Net Zero targets are irrelevant without the skills required to deliver them! I’m proud of the evidence base our team and partners have collated on this important issue.

It has been a privilege to take a front seat alongside great people doing great things; the level of innovation within the region is simply incredible. Across heat, power and transport, there are game-changing energy materials, digital technology, and products in development with some launching in 2023. The North East Energy Catalyst has made real difference to our regional energy landscape, catalysing strategic partnerships via working groups and government-funded projects.

I’d like to personally thank all those who have engaged with the North East Energy Catalyst over the last three years or so, it has been an incredible journey.

Find out more about the North East Energy Catalyst here.

The North East Energy Catalyst is supported by ERDF.

Category: News

North East LEP response to today’s Budget

North East LEP reaction to ONS regional labour market statistics

Strong line up set to join the North East LEP Board

North East LEP reaction to ONS regional labour market statistics

North East LEP reaction to ONS regional labour market statistics

Photography celebrates region at airport

North East LEP comment on today’s devolution deal announcement

Devolution deal for North East England announced

Showcasing our regional innovation and demonstration capabilities