Business friendly blueprint will be examined by industry chiefs

Concerns have been raised that an over-reliance on public sector jobs means that not enough emphasis has been placed on encouraging private enterprise, a problem local authorities are keen to address.

All four of South Yorkshire’s councils have announced that they are to make heavy job losses as a result of Government austerity cuts, making a drive towards the growth of the private sector more urgent.

Earlier this year, Sheffield Council’s new Labour cabinet launched a corporate plan, which pledged to make Sheffield “business friendly” and to “stand up for Sheffield” raising the region’s profile.

But members of the authority’s all-party Economic and Environment Scrutiny Committee ordered a review detailing what action was being taken, which will be presented to tomorrow’s meeting in the city.

In the report, Edward Highfield, Sheffield Council’s director of economy, enterprise and skills, admits that Sheffield has much work to do to ensure that it makes its presence felt in world markets.

Mr Highfield says that while Gross Value Added, a measure of the value of goods and services produced in a region, had increased from £6.3bn in 2000 to £9.2bn in 2007, the recession had now hit hard.

He adds: “Sheffield is one of the UK’s major city economies and therefore has a crucial role in the economic future of the country.

“While we have many highly competitive and productive sectors such as advanced manufacturing, creative and digital industries, overall growth has been overly-reliant on public sector services.

“The majority of new jobs were in the public sector between 2000 and 2009.

“As with other major cities, the recession has made life tough for many communities and businesses and despite the pre-2008 growth, Sheffield has not caught up with other regions.

“We know that business will be the key driver for creating a more balanced UK economy that is not so dependent on a narrow range of sectors.

“It is vital that council support for the key sectors forms part of a broader strategy designed to encourage growth across the whole private sector economy.”

According to the report, some progress has already been made on working with businesses including the launch of Sheffield Council’s £1m scheme to provide 100 apprenticeships across industry.

A series of visits by senior councillors and officers to local business has also taken place, with plans for those to continue at companies like BSkyB, which has just moved into central Sheffield.

Much more emphasis should also be placed on developing international links, along with improved communication between business and authorities, which has been lacking in the past.

The report adds: “The development of international markets for companies is a key element of ensuring Sheffield’s economic future.

“For a city of its size, it currently does not operate in as many international markets as might be expected.

“In order to ensure long-term prosperity, companies need to engage in economies such as Brazil, Russia, China and India.

“Communication has been identified by businesses as key to realising our business friendly ambition. We need to communicate what we do well and listen when businesses tell us things could be improved.

“It is important to be clear that being business friendly is not about saying yes to everything. It is about providing clear, fair and timely explanations about decisions, even when businesses might be looking for a different answer.”