Business and Economy

What else is the Council doing to help?

As the economy goes into recession, Hampshire County Council is looking to ease the pressure on residents and businesses with a series of measures to support them through this tough period.  We are also actively reviewing the way we do business in order to mitigate, where we can, against the short term effects on the Hampshire economy and quality of life.


Further information about specific intitiatives and work the Council is doing:


Better placed than most

Hampshire County Council is perhaps better placed than most to cope in difficult times, being one of the largest authorities in the country, with an impressive portfolio of land and property that has been built up and astutely managed over the years. The effective management of all its resources has resulted in our rating by the Audit Commission as a top performing local authority, with quality services and the lowest level of council tax of all County Councils in the South East. Our County Treasurer advises the LGA on financial matters and his team is in regular contact with other local authorities reassessing opportunities and options for the way ahead.


Credit crunch

Of immediate concern to us is managing the projected drop in our income due to falling land prices. Our three year capital programme budgeted for £100 million in capital receipts – generated from selling land and property so we could reinvest in providing extra care housing, extending school buildings and modernising our residential care homes. However, county wide, new house building has all but come to a stop with few developers now interested in buying residential land.

Effects of economic recession

Perhaps as much concern to us as the direct effects of the credit crunch on the County Council is the more pessimistic prospect of economic recession with the concomitant rise in unemployment and job losses that this might bring. A significant part of our resources are directed to providing social care for around 9,000 children and families each year. In addition we also help more than 90,000 adults and vulnerable older people, including support for 6,000 living independently in their own homes.

Added to the demographic time bomb, an economic recession would have a significant impact on the cost of providing some of our services due to increasing demand for free school meals and social care rose from families who can no longer afford to pay towards their care. It is against this prospective backdrop of increased demand – and falling income and fees - that county councils like ours are currently reassessing how they conduct some of their business to help support business and the wider economy in the short term during any recession.

The Hampshire Senate has an Economic Action Group dedicated to the task of reviewing the help available to business and residents in Hampshire and identifying more potential ways to help.



Business support

Not only does the Council work in partnership with a number of business support agencies, such as Business Link, the local Chambers of Commerce and Enterprise First, but we also run a number of key business support projects which can help businesses in this particularly challenging economic climate, such as:

  • the Sustainable Business Partnership which can help business manage their resources better and act more sustainably. There is a new fund which the SBP is helping promote and administer for local businesses aimed at helping them reduce energy costs. It offers £500 per businesses for energy-saving improvements (lighting upgrades, motion sensors etc). Further information can be found on the SBP website

  • eHampshire , which is here to help businesses utilise the internet and ecommerce more effectively and the MATiSSE project can help business to work smarter.  They are currently running "Beat the Credit Crunch" workshops, the next one being 23rd June. Further information on these events can be found on the eHampshire website.


You can also find a list of business support agencies on our Business Support web pages

Recession support projects

The Economic Development Office at Hampshire County Council has developed a number of projects to help businesses and individuals stay one step ahead in the recession:

  • support package for independant retailers

  • a network of Smarter Working Centres (SWCs)

  • support for increasing volunteering opportunities

  • support for business apprenticeships

Further details of these projects can be found on the EDO recession support page.


Discounts for days out

Residents (and visitors) are now able to download special offer vouchers that will help cut the cost of enjoying a day out in Hampshire.  Discount vouchers available from our Culture-All special offers page will get you into a host of attractions this year at reduced rates, making days out even better value and helping make your money last longer.


Employment Policy

We are currently in the process of revising our Hampshire Employment Strategy, along with key partners such as Jobcentre Plus,  to take account of the huge employment changes we have seen over the past few months.

Help for older people

There are several initiatives that we are involved with that will support older people to cope with the credit crunch. The older people's well-being strategy and action plan that can be accessed on www.hants.gov.uk/bettertime will also provide some more background information. Also we are working with the 11 district councils on the development of their own action plans.

Key pieces of work are:-

a)  Working with the Pension Service and the district benefit teams to run a benefits uptake campaign across the county to ensure older people get the benefits they are entitled to.

b) In the January Hampshire Now Special edition for Older People, which is delivered to all older people in the county over 75 years of age, there is:

  • an article on energy efficiency and sign posting them to ring the free phone Environment Centre number in Southampton for further individual advice,

  • an article on how their local Home Improvement Agency (HIA)  can assist them with minor repairs to keep the fabric of their home in good order and a leaflet inside which they can tick and return if they would like a benefits officer from the Pension service to phone them or visit them for individual advice.

70,000 copies of this magazine is produced.

Contact for further information:  Alex Burn,  Head of Older People's Well-Being Team, Chief Executive's Policy Unit Hampshire County Council, Tel 01962 847279, email alex.burn@hants.gov.uk



Payment of Invoices

In October the Prime Minister pledged that central government would aim to pay uncontested invoices within ten days of receipt. He, and other ministers, has urged local government to do the same. The LGA have pointed out that there were cash flow and administrative implications for local authorities and highlighted the package of measures councils are adopting to support their local communities, as set out in the LGA publication “Global Slowdown: Local Solutions”

Prompt payment will be discussed at a Ministerial level meeting in early January and the LGA are providing an update on what local government has been doing.  

Whilst Hampshire County Council cannot provide a guarantee to pay all invoices within 10 days, we are ensuring that we settle our bills as quickly as possible.


Procurement

Suppliers and service providers looking to the local authority sector for new business opportunities in the current economic climate can contact County Supplies for a copy of our practical guide on "How to do business" with Hampshire County Council and local schools. This guide is also available on our website along with details of our current tendering opportunities.

Organisations who are already trading in the public sector but wish to diversify can contact County Supplies for advice on current and future procurement requirements. We can also put you in touch with the appropriate buyer or commissioner within the County Council.

We can provide free and independent advice for organisations wishing to gauge the potential for new products and services and are happy to discuss such topics as market trends, best route to market, supply chain management, pricing and inflation.

If you feel County Supplies could help your organisation with any of the above then please contact Nigel Lacey, Purchasing Manager, on 01962 826912 or e-mail nigel.lacey@hants.gov.uk.   


Supporting our rural businesses

For Hampshire County Council it has never been more important that we fight to keep a strong heartbeat in our rural parishes, villages and towns and we are pleased by the number of small shops and businesses that are applying to our Village Community Grant Scheme, which offers up to £20,000 in funding to rural businesses to help increase the use of village shops and/or to create new community-led village stores, particularly in communities that are losing their post offices.

In the few months, shops in North Hampshire, mid-Hampshire and the New Forest have benefited from grants and we are currently looking at other requests that we have received.


Trading Standards

The County Council's Trading Standards Service is here to support good businesses and create a level paying field in the market place, so successful businesses thrive and the activities of rogue traders, who compete unfairly, are properly dealt with.  Trading Standards runs an independent business approval scheme 'Buy With Confidence', membership of which can give you a competitive edge.  Officers are also here to give free advice on legal compliance issues and to ensure the goods and services you buy as a business are of the correct quality, quantity and description.  More information is available by clicking on www.hants.gov.uk/beatthecrunch


Traffic

The economic downtown can have an impact on traffic growth as a reduction in some business and non-essential car journeys can be expected, which in turn can be expected to have specific impacts on local congestion.  These will be monitored to fully understand the impacts

The impacts of the economic situation on transport spending and highway maintenance have yet to be fully understood and will be assessed in light of the council's financial position.  For instance, the slowdown in development activity is reducing the flow of external funding and this may impact on spending decisions.

See our Environment department pages for general travel and transport advice.




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