A STRONGER, FAIRER ECONOMY
BUILDING A PLACE BASED INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
1
C ONTENTS
Foreword ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Growing Productivity, Raising Living Standards: .................................................................................................... 4
The Core Cities Offer To The UK ............................................................................................................................. 4
B U I L D I N G A P L A C E - B A S E D I N D U S T R I A L S T R A T E G Y ...................................................................................... 5
The 10 Pillars........................................................................................................................................................... 6
Investing in science, research and innovation .................................................................................................... 7
Case study ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
Case study ....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Upgrading infrastructure .................................................................................................................................. 10
Case study ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
Supporting businesses to start and grow ......................................................................................................... 12
Case study ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
Improving procurement ................................................................................................................................... 14
Case study ..................................................................................................................................................... 14
Encouraging trade and inward investment ...................................................................................................... 15
Case study ..................................................................................................................................................... 16
Delivering affordable energy and clean growth ............................................................................................... 16
Case study ..................................................................................................................................................... 17
Cultivating world-leading sectors ..................................................................................................................... 18
Case study ..................................................................................................................................................... 18
Driving growth across the country ................................................................................................................... 19
Case study ..................................................................................................................................................... 19
Creating the right institutions to bring together sectors and places ................................................................ 20
Case study ..................................................................................................................................................... 20
Appendix 1. Core Cities housing offer ................................................................................................................. 22
Appendix Two: Core Cities Education, Skills and Employment Proposal.............................................................. 23
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F OREWORD
I am delighted to be introducing the Core Cities collective response to the Industrial Strategy Green Paper
consultation and the Core Cities welcome the opportunity to continue to engage with Government on the
development of this very important policy area.
With the recent triggering of Article 50 whether we like it or not, the UK will be leaving the European Union in
just under two years. This means the requirement for a sound industrial strategy, with buy-in from both
central and local government, has never been greater. Post-Brexit it is vital that investment currently coming
from the EU to Britain is maintained, that we address the skills shortages holding back the economy and the
prospects of local people, and maintain investment in our transport infrastructure and new homes.
To achieve this it is important that strategic decisions are taken locally, at a level where councils and business
leaders know what is best for their local communities and can react swiftly to trading opportunities as they
arise. Devolution of budgets and powers from Whitehall has to be far more than just a sound-bite if this is to
be achieved. Furthermore, I welcome the Green Paper’s recognition of the importance of individual councils
and combined authorities as key local institutions but again this will require a stronger commitment to
devolution to enable us to deliver.
The Government must ensure that governance at a local and regional level, whether through cities, combined
authorities, local enterprise partnerships, or mayors, should be able to work with development bodies that can
intervene more widely and strategically at a regional level, and do smart specialisation through regional level
industrial policies.
On behalf of the Core Cities I look forward to developing the offer made jointly in this submission with
Government over the coming months. This will ensure that our major cities are best placed to drive growth
across the UK.
Councillor John Clancy
Leader, Birmingham City Council
Core Cities Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Industrial Strategy, Productivity, Innovation and Growth
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G ROWING P RODUCTIVITY , R AISING L IVING S TANDARDS :
T HE C ORE C ITIES O FFER T O T HE UK
The Core Cities offer to the UK is to close the productivity gap between their cities as a whole and the national
average, which will put £66 billion a year more into the national economy. In doing so they will focus their
efforts on creating Inclusive Growth and raising living standards to build a stronger, fairer economy that works
for all their citizens. Outside London, the Core Cities are Britain’s best bet for securing economic success.
Core Cities are committed to making this process work, and propose an Urban Industrial Strategy Task and
Finish Group, across relevant departments and with which we will work to take our proposals forward.
Unlocking Urban Productivity
The Core Cities make a massive contribution to the UK, delivering 25% of its economy from their urban areas.
Yet the UK has the widest regional economic disparity in Western Europe, and UK urban productivity is low by
international standards. Compared to the Core Cities’ average, productivity per person is 88% higher in
Munich, 80.7% in Frankfurt, 42.8% in Rotterdam and 26.7% in Barcelona.
Just over 60% of this productivity gap is due to in-work factors like poor infrastructure and digital connections,
skills in the labour market and joined-up support to grow business, R&D and commercialise innovation.
However, almost 40% of that gap is due to high levels of deprivation, and because too many people are not
properly engaged with the labour market. Therefore, low productivity cannot be solved by focusing on
industry alone, and solutions to all these issues rely on high quality, sustainable public services working hand in
hand with the private sector.
Key Components of the Core Cities Offer
Core Cities have the combined scale, capacity, institutions and local assets to create a step change in building
the future UK economy, but require specific kinds of support from Government in order to achieve this
potential. The investment flowing from the Industrial Strategy, including the future use of monies currently
directed through the EU, is critical to this, but as we set out below, the solution is also often about freedoms
and flexibilities, different more efficient ways of working and commissioning at the level of place.
Core Cities are able to make a unique offer to Government to add significant value to the delivery of the
Industrial Strategy, including the following components which are set out in further detail under each of the
‘Ten Pillars’.

Empowering local people. Continuing to devolve power to people who know their places best and
that have voiced a desire for more control over their localities and their lives.

A networked set of industry and labour market intelligence hubs. Utilising existing networks and
institutions, joining up data and intelligence to support the Strategy.

Bringing forward key projects and investable propositions. Collectively present the top proposals for
economic projects that will make the greatest gains for employment and local economies.

Increasing international investment. Work collectively to identify and bring forward the biggest
opportunities, supported by co-design of an EU Funding successor programme,
4

Growing the UK’s urban balance of trade, Post Brexit. A collective trade and investment model
based on city-to city links, designed to support growth and the rebalancing of the national economy.

Defining infrastructure needs. A collective vision of the infrastructure needs required to connect up
cities and boost their economic flows, including Broadband and High Speed Rail.

Place and sector deals. Working with industry on the development of ‘place and sector deals’
informed by a joint analysis of the sectoral strengths of Core Cities and their city-regions.

Demand led, whole system skills and education. Developing a model for a systems wide approach to
education and skills to be delivered at the local level.

Housing Deals. Work together and with Government on bespoke Housing Deals with common core
components to support housing and economic growth.

Public Sector Reform. Implement Reform models embodying the principles of Whole Place
leadership, for services that grow living standards and productivity, including Health and Social Care.

UniverCities project. Bring together policy and research capacity across all our Universities to solve
specific real-time problems and improve the commercialisation of research.

Air Quality. Core Cities have developed detailed proposals which have been submitted to DEFRA on a
defining issue of our age which will impact on the future of our economy (see Annex 3).
The primary principle that underpins all the above proposals is that of developing a place-based Industrial
Strategy, the case and components for which we set out below.
B UILDING A P LACE -B ASED I NDUSTRIAL S TRATEGY
A place-based Industrial Strategy is fundamental to the Government’s aim to grow and rebalance the national
economy, delivering productivity and living standard gains. Previous approaches have had different impacts,
but none have succeeded in fully tackling these issues, largely because they have not understood the different
characteristics of each place. Understanding what connects businesses to places, and supports their mutual
development is fundamental to sound public investment in industry. The green paper recognises that the
Mayoral Combined Authorities (including four of the ten Core City regions plus two other areas) provide a
strong institutional model for the delivery of place based industrial strategy and this is welcome. However, all
the Core Cities and their city regions now have strong leadership in place and the development of the
Industrial Strategy needs to be taken forward in parallel with the further development of governance and
devolved powers in all of them.
A place-based industrial strategy must therefore be built in such a way as to maximise the potential of the
assets of each place for job creation, to ensure that people have the skills to access those jobs, and that
prosperity is leveraged to reduce long term and persistent deprivation in some areas. This needs to build on
an assessment of the following.
Assets: How to exploit local assets, sectoral potential and anchor institutions, including Universities, to create
economic and employment opportunity.
People: Understanding the skills requirements of business, creating a demand led skills system that
strengthens the labour market and engages more people with it through learning.
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Place: Ensuring that place-making, of which housing is a core component, happens in a way that matches local
aspiration, creating liveable places where people want to remain.
The Core Cities consider cities and city-regions to be the most suitable level for implementing many aspects of
the Industrial Strategy (although the role of Core Cities and their centres within regional economies is quite
distinctive) as they offer the appropriate scale to undertake strategic interventions, and in many cases, we can
work together across several or all of our cities at the same time. Furthermore, they represent functional
economic market areas; this is of particular importance to successful delivery of the labour market and
economic cluster related aspects of the Industrial Strategy. However, the diversity of sectors important to the
local economies of individual members of the Core Cities also demonstrates why interventions cannot always
be delivered at the national level1. Equally, each member’s city-region has different strengths and weaknesses
that mean opportunities for future growth and the development of new and emerging sectors differ from
place to place. This spatial diversity means that there are many cases where greater devolution of powers to a
more local level would be beneficial to the success of the UK economy as it would allow locally appropriate
responses to issues identified in the green paper. We have set out specific examples of these under the ‘Ten
Pillars’.
T HE 10 P ILLARS
Overview
The Core Cities broadly welcome the proposals set out in the Building our Industrial Strategy green paper. In
particular, the Government’s emphasis on the importance of place in delivering the national Industrial
Strategy, which must be a core component. Likewise, the proposal to utilise investment in infrastructure to
help rebalance the national economy is something Core Cities have long argued for. Disparities in
infrastructure investment particularly between the regions and the South east have historically added to the
unbalanced nature of the UK economy, and themselves need rebalancing going forward. This is not however
as simple as a redistribution of ever-reducing resources, and should include local financial freedoms and
innovative investment models like Tax Increment Financing and Land Value Capture, on which Core Cities have
worked jointly with London over a number of years. It is not therefore a simple ‘either or’ argument that pits
one part of the country against another, but a comprehensive and strategic approach to giving places the
freedoms they need to level up, and benefit the whole of the UK.
Nevertheless, a number of important components are missing or given insufficient emphasis. Housing, Air
Quality, the importance of public services in shaping local economies and labour markets, and the role of cities
more broadly in the economy are all examples. The Core Cities collectively wish to help develop the Industrial
Strategy with Government and are uniquely placed to drive growth in the nation’s productivity. Specifically, we
believe that a closer working connection between the UK’s urban economic hubs is fundamental to a
successful, place-based industrial strategy.
We are committed to putting effort and resource into getting this right, and propose a cross-departmental
Urban Industrial Strategy Task and Finish Group with which we will work to implement our proposals.
1
Comparing the identified priority sectors for the WMCA and GMCA shows that while there are broad sectoral
similarities between the two combined authorities such as a focus on manufacturing there are distinct
specialisms within these broad sectors with limited overlap. WMCA have a particular specialism in the
automotive sector, whereas GMCA have specialisms around advanced materials and textiles among others.
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As set out above, collectively the Core Cities and their wider city-regions account for a quarter of the national
economy and are home to approximately 19 million people. They each act as large international business and
trading hubs and have strong links with trading partners across the globe. However, overall the Core Cities
underperform when compared to the UK national average in terms of productivity with the gap estimated to
be worth £66 billion a year. Furthermore, comparisons with Germany and France show that rather than
lagging behind the wider nation in terms of productivity regional cities can outperform the national average
for productivity and boost the national economy. If the UK is take advantage of the opportunities created by
Brexit and minimise the potential negative impacts our cities need to be empowered to support our nations
industries. Cities drive economies for nations, not the other way around.
The following sections discuss each of the 10 pillars of the Industrial Strategy in turn and make suggestions
where Core Cities feel improvements could be made to the proposals in the green paper. There are also case
studies given of work undertaken by the members of the Core Cities which may be helpful to Government as it
develops the Industrial Strategy further.
I NVESTING
IN SCIENCE , RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
The commitments in the green paper to substantially increase R&D funding and the establishment of UKRI to
develop and deliver a clear strategy to support research, development and innovation at all stages are
welcomed. The Core Cities are particularly supportive of the proposal to capitalise on local strengths across the
UK and the acknowledgment that the current Research Partnerships Investment Fund arrangements are
restrictive in their operation. Collectively the Core Cities also support the establishment of the Industrial
Strategy Challenge Fund and the criteria set out in the green paper for establishing the areas that the fund will
focus upon. Finally, the announcement that Government will commission research into best practice around
the growth and survival of university spin-outs is supported.
The announcement of a further wave of Science and Innovation Audits (SIAs) is welcomed; however the green
paper does not acknowledge the outcomes of already completed SIAs and it does not set out how they will be
used to inform future resource allocation decisions. A more explicit linkage between SIAs and their role in
influencing the prioritisation of funding such as the increased commitment to R&D funding and the Industrial
Strategy Challenge Fund would be helpful.
Whilst the green paper’s clear thrust towards fostering innovation is fully supported by the Core Cities, there is
also a need to recognise that not all businesses are naturally innovative. Targeted support to facilitate
innovation in such businesses would help to drive growth. This could take the form both of direct support
through mentoring and as noted elsewhere in the green paper by the creation of new institutions to facilitate
knowledge transfer between businesses.
The availability of suitable accommodation for new businesses is widely acknowledged as a key factor in
facilitating innovation, however while the green paper recognises the importance of place elsewhere this is not
identified within this pillar.
Proposals
Core Cities are developing a collaboration between their ten cities and 23 Universities and would welcome
some modest Government support for this work. The ‘UniverCities’ project will build upon the existing strong
relationships between member cities and their local universities by bringing together policy and research
capacity in a more collective and mutually beneficial manner, improving our joint ability to solve real-time
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problems. As part of this approach work collectively to improve the commercialisation of research by
identifying and removing existing barriers and sharing best practice.
As part of this work, Government should also give fuller consideration to the way in which innovation and R&D
resources are used, building on excellence, but also factoring in a consideration of how funds can be utilised to
impact on rebalancing the economy. Currently, almost one third of Research Council funds go to the ‘Golden
Triangle’. Whilst we must not undermine the work of these institutions, we should recognise the wider role of
research funding and the fact that the combined Research Power Score of the Core Cities Universities is
actually greater than that of all the Golden Triangle universities put together. We should avoid an ‘either or’
approach to these kinds of investment decisions, and a more collaborative relationship between universities at
the strategic economic level will, in our view, help.
CASE
ST U DY
Science Central, Newcastle http://www.newcastlesciencecentral.com/
Science Central is the UKs newest science and innovation hub. Set in the heart of Newcastle city centre the site
offers businesses a unique place in which to locate, innovate and grow. Spanning 24 acres of mixed-use prime
city-centre development land, it is the largest development of its kind in the UK. Phase 1 is complete and fully
occupied with phase 2 underway. Phase 2 will include three national centres of excellence, which will lead
pioneering research in to integrated energy systems, smart data and, ageing innovation and technology
building upon existing local research strengths. Phase 2 will also bring forward 200,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office
space, state-of-the art laboratories and grow on space. Combining cutting-edge architecture with new public
spaces, world-renowned scientific expertise and leading-edge companies, Newcastle Science Central is a hub
where investors, businesses, entrepreneurs, students, scientists and citizens can collaborate, innovate and
develop solutions for tomorrow’s cities. Occupiers benefit from access to two leading universities, three
national centres of excellence, advanced digital connectivity, parking, and office and lab space up to 500,000
sq. ft.
DEVELOPING SKILLS
The Core Cities are supportive of the recognition that poor performance in basic and technical skills is limiting
productivity and broadly welcome the focus on establishing a new system of technical education. The proposal
to establish new Institutes of Technology is seen as a particularly positive step and the Core Cities would
welcome working with Government to facilitate their delivery. The acknowledgement that the higher
education sector needs to be able to meet the currently unmet demand for graduates with science,
technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills is also welcomed. The proposal to work towards a single
authoritative view of sector-specific skills gaps is supported, as is the proposal to test new approaches to
lifelong learning.
There is a need to recognise that local leadership is required to ensure that skills activity and investment
operates in a coordinated manner. For the Industrial Strategy to be effective it is important that we are able to
ensure that there is an availability of the right workforce at the right time with the right skills and behaviours.
The mismatch between skills and current/future job opportunities suggests that all agencies, FE and schools
need to have clear sight of the opportunities that will be created from future economic growth in their region.
Further devolution is required to enable local leaders to have a clear role in coordinating the activity of FE and
adult skills aligned to economic growth proposals. Furthermore, while the broad general approach and sector
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level consideration of skills gaps is welcomed it is important to acknowledge that there are also differing skills
gaps in different places within the country and that any national approach needs to allow flexibility in its
implementation at a local level if it is to be successful.
To be successful the proposed Institutes of Technology need to be easily accessible to as many people as
possible and the Core Cities would welcome engagement with Government to identify the most appropriate
locations within their individual city-regions to ensure this.
The Core Cities proposals below (in more detail at Annex 1) are intended to stimulate systems change at every
stage of lifelong learning and form the basis of a renewed dialogue between government and core cities as to
how locally-led reform of education and skills can help deliver the Industrial Strategy and inclusive growth.
There is a clear role for local leadership in addressing issues around skills both in terms of addressing skills gaps
and in terms of the anticipated skills gaps that may arise as a result of restrictions on immigration as a result of
Brexit.
Local leaders are well placed to align local investment and development decisions with education and training
provision at all levels so that economic growth is not stifled by a lack of appropriately skilled workers within
their city-regions.
Core Cities have developed a pragmatic model to create a demand-led skills system, connected more fully to
education and to employment services, which we believe should be trialled and then rolled out across all our
cities. It is built around a place-based commissioning model, where organisations can maintain their integrity
and budgets – where this is required – but commission in to an intelligence and evidence led strategy for the
place, based and delivering specific improved outcomes (see Developing Skills below).
Support needs to be provided by Government in the short term to ensure that cities with local strengths in
sectors that rely upon a high proportion of migrant labour are able to train up residents so that the potential
skills gaps that may be created by Brexit are mitigated.
On a longer term basis consideration could be given to enabling local control and sponsorship of visas to
ensure that immigrants have the skills to match the opportunities within particular places.
Proposals
Apprenticeship Levy Deal: Government should, without delay, allocate a percentage of the currently unspent
Apprenticeship Levy to Core Cities, in return for a guaranteed increase in delivering apprenticeships across
their localities.
Integrated Education, Skills and Employment System. Core Cities are developing detailed proposals for a
demand led and integrated system, which operates on a place based commissioning model. It builds on the
recommendations from the recent RSA Inclusive Growth Commission, chaired by Stephanie Flanders. This
recognizes that local authorities do not have direct responsibility for or control over important elements of the
system, and whilst such control might in some cases be desirable, it begins from a more pragmatic starting
point than a total rewire of the whole system. Building on models like the Greater Manchester Health and
Social Care model, it focuses of creating aligned local partnerships, that are then incentivized to commission
into a strategic, place based framework, which has the overarching aim of improving specific outcomes. An
overview of this is set out at Appendix 2.
CASE
ST U DY
9
No Silver Bullet, Leeds http://www.westyorksca.gov.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/News/Articles/LPWC_Draft%20Report_v8_FINAL%20POST%20LEADERS.PDF
No Silver Bullet was a report prepared by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Low Paid Workers’ Group in
March 2015 that sets out through a charter what more can be done to help those in low paid work. It includes
a charter seeking to address three key dimensions: The pay dimension, non-pay dimension and Council’s in
society. Since this work was undertaken Leeds City Region have been seeking to progress it including
undertaking a recent review and making recommendations to further improve their efforts. These include
working to improve community entrepreneurialism, fashioning a new relationship between citizen and state,
recognising that inclusive growth is a term with varied meanings and that the worst excesses of poverty need
tackling in order for inclusive growth to be able to address poverty. More details are available at
https://medium.com/citizens-and-inclusive-growth/how-inclusive-can-inclusive-growth-be-847b73a8c0c2
U PGRADING
INFRAS TRUCT URE
The commitment in the green paper to utilise infrastructure to support rebalancing of the economy is
particularly welcome as are the announcements for higher rates of public infrastructure investment to
improve physical and digital connectivity. The recognition of the need to better match infrastructure to local
plans and to use infrastructure to support local growth is also strongly supported.
Infrastructure investment and quality – including transport and digital – has a particularly high impact on
productivity, yet the overall quality of infrastructure in the UK is ranked second worst in the G7. The processes
for transport investment are overly complex and transport maintenance funds are also not always deployed in
a way that best supports the economic role of cities. On the current trajectory, congestion will cost the UK
economy more in 2030 than the entire transport budget for 2014.
The UK’s digital infrastructure is improving but we need to do more to counter increased international
competition. Investment in information and communication technology is the main driving force behind
accelerated productivity for the US and Canada since 1996. In recognition of this relationship other emerging
economies are investing hugely in digital infrastructure, threatening to leave the UK behind. Cities need
Government support in removing barriers to investment in and take up of digital infrastructure, addressing
issues such as state aid, which currently make it easier to put broadband into rural rather than urban areas.
Further detail is on how infrastructure spending will be used to support rebalancing is required and the green
paper does not highlight the need to evaluate how new funding streams can be developed to link investment
with value capture- and the links between spend and taxation - which will be critical if this commitment is to
fundamentally alter the balance of spending.
As well as the very important work currently been undertaken by the National Infrastructure Commission in
producing its National Infrastructure Assessment there is a need for a further stage of work with city-regions
to develop infrastructure plans at a sub-regional level.
Proposals
Infrastructure requirements and innovative financing. Core Cities want to work directly with Government to
identify the infrastructure requirements of each of their cities - and also of the connections between their
cities - that will add greatest value to UK PLC, and also to an effective rebalancing of the economy. This work
10
should include innovative financing models, including for Land Value Capture, which provide investment
without necessarily calling on the public purse, or that pay for themselves over the longer term.
Housing Deals. The green paper only makes limited mention of the links between housing and Industrial
Strategy and this has been continued in the Housing White Paper. It is crucial that this is addressed to ensure
the success of the Industrial Strategy.
The Industrial Strategy needs to recognise that not only is housing itself an industry, but also the important
role that housing supply and quality of life play in economic growth. Employment growth requires an
appropriate supply of labour and the people that provide that labour supply require good quality homes in
which to live. Failure to provide enough homes leads to overcrowding which impacts on individual’s ability to
work, as does poor quality housing. Furthermore, places with a high quality of life attract greater levels of
inward investment and are more likely to both retain existing businesses and for those businesses to invest in
their long-term futures through both equipment and training of their workforce.
Core Cities have developed a pragmatic, deal-based proposal to accelerate housing growth across their cities,
and are currently in discussion with DCLG regarding its implementation (see Appendix 1). We would urge BEIS
to support this approach as part of its Industrial Strategy and get behind our deals.
To achieve the ambitious economic growth targets set by members of the Core Cities there is a need to ensure
that the delivery of new housing and the supply of suitable sites for such housing are not constrained. The
current Duty-to-Cooperate is failing to facilitate effective strategic planning in many cases and while there are
some examples of both statutory and non-statutory strategic planning taking place these are limited. Local
level decision making is required to align the spatial locations in which housing, employment and
infrastructure are delivered at a strategic level. Furthermore, decision making on public investment to support
this broader agenda of placemaking should also take place at the local level to maximise the synergies arising
from coordinated delivery.
Bringing forward key projects and investable propositions. Collectively Core Cities can present the top
proposals for economic projects that will make the greatest gains for employment and local economies. We
will identify a range of complimentary key projects across the Core Cities informed by the development of
‘place and sector deals’ that maximise the scope of overall economic growth. Such projects would include a
range of proposals including both short-term ‘shovel ready’ schemes and longer term proposals to be
developed collectively.
CASE
ST U DY
Sheffield City Region Integrated Infrastructure Plan, Sheffield https://sheffieldcityregion.org.uk/scrintegrated-infrastructure-plan/
Sheffield City Region’s Strategic Economic Plan sets out an ambitious programme of economic growth.
Facilitating that growth will require up to £28bn of public and private investment in major infrastructure
schemes. The Sheffield City Region’s Integrated Infrastructure Plan (SCR IIP), the first outside of London, sets
out the plan for ensuring that investment is secured and to manage the Region’s infrastructure needs over the
coming decades; be they distinct spatial packages such as the further development of the Advanced
Manufacturing Innovation District around the already successful Advanced Manufacturing Park
(https://www.attheamp.com/ ) or cross-regional investment in energy infrastructure. In particular the SCR IIP
proposes an innovative commissioning approach to ensure that proposals are brought forward in a
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coordinated manner and that consideration is given to the integration of individual schemes as part of an
overall investment. The commissioning approach will not be a mechanism for evaluating and assessing
individual schemes. Instead it will evaluate integrated packages of infrastructure interventions, defined
through a framework approach.
S UPPORTING
BUSINESSES TO START AND GROW
The green papers proposals for supporting businesses to start and grow are welcomed. In particular the Core
Cities support the proposal for the Government to work with the British Business Bank to build understanding
of the obstacles to firms accessing capital outside of London and the South East and the supply and demand
side causes of lower rates of equity deals. The proposals to improve support for start-ups and entrepreneurs
are also supported particularly the creation of the role of ‘Scale-up Champion’ for the Minister of Small
Business. The utilisation of data held by Government to facilitate the earlier identification of scale-up
businesses so that they can provide earlier support is also welcome.
Proposals
Reinvigorate Growth Hubs. Core Cities have worked jointly with Whitehall previously on the simplification
and localisation of a range of business support services, delivering a ‘single front door’ approach, through their
Growth Hubs. These Hubs initially received some additional funding, which has subsequently been reduced.
We propose that this work is revisited. Core Cities Business Growth Hubs represent a significant opportunity
for Government to deliver a coordinated approach to business support, with local, national and blended
programmes operating in a seamless way from the point of view of the customer. Historically, businesses have
found the national / local support offer overly complex, and have often not taken advantage as a result
Build a networked set of industry and labour market intelligence hubs. Utilising existing networks and
institutions, joining up data and intelligence to support the Strategy. We have access to a wealth of data and
intelligence that can inform the ongoing development of the Industrial Strategy relating to a number of the
issues and topics identified within the green paper as meriting further investigation and research. We also
have an established track record of policy development and expertise that can be drawn upon including the
related work undertaken by the Core Cities policy hubs which intersect with the various pillars of the industrial
strategy. This understanding has been further developed through both collective and individual projects that
directly align with a number of the proposals set out in the green paper enabling us to offer advice on both
best practice and potential obstacles. Business Growth Hubs already have intelligence functions which could
be better networked across the Core Cities – and indeed with other urban areas – creating a valuable data
resource for central and local government, and for the private sector as a whole.
CASE
ST U DY
SETsquared Centre, Bristol http://www.setsquared.co.uk/start-support/innovation-centres/setsquared-bristol
Part of the wider SETsquared partnership which is an enterprise partnership collaboration between the
universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey which was rated global number 1 University
Business Incubator by UBI Global in November 2015. The SETsquared Centre in Bristol is the largest of the
SETsquared Centres and is home to around 65 innovative ventures. It is based with Engine Shed
(http://www.engine-shed.co.uk/), in the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, which is a collaboration between
Bristol City Council, the University of Bristol, and the University of the West of England. The Bristol SETsquared
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Centre has also previously won the prestigious Established Business Incubator of the Year and Best Designed
Business Incubator award from the industry trade body, UKBI.
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I MPROVING
PROCUREMENT
The Core Cities welcome the commitments made in the green paper to stimulate innovation through
Government Procurement. The proposals to establish better procurement practices are also welcome as are
the ongoing improvements being made to digital procurement.
The green paper fails to acknowledge the potential of coordinated place based procurement. Core Cities
members have established locally led procurement portals and facilitated local procurement both in the public
and private sectors. This approach has significant benefits as not only does it support local economies, but it
also has associated benefits such as reducing the distance that goods and providers of services travel with the
related benefits in reducing both cost and carbon emissions. Procurement at scale across the Core Cities could
also drive very significant innovation in the market, and even create markets for specific kinds of services and
products. However, to date such activity has mainly resulted from promoting local opportunities to local
companies. It is suggested that this approach could be applied more widely.
Procurement is often seen simply as the purchasing of goods and services, but in the context of Core Cities also
applies to a much more complex set of procedures, including commissioning of a wide range of public services,
which often have a local and a national component, which are not always fully joined up.
Proposals
Procurement guidelines. Government, Core Cities, National Audit Office and others to review the role of
procurement at the local and national level in rebalancing the economy and encouraging innovation at scale,
exploring a broader definition of Value for Money.
Place Based Commissioning. Government and Core Cities to work on extending the models for Place Based
Commissioning, seen for example in the Greater Manchester Health Social care model, to other cities and to
other public service systems, e.g. skills, education and employment. This requires a further shift toward place
based budgeting, placing as much responsibility as possible at the local level for the totality of relevant public
finances, and allowing budgeting periods to extend to at least the parliamentary period. This will provide the
certainty and flexibility needed to deliver the step changes required in specific service areas, particularly
Health Social Care and Skills and Employment.
Health and Social Care Integration. Interlinked with the proposals set out above to undertake a holistic
approach to education and skills at the local level there is a need to ensure that health and social care policy is
aligned with the Industrial Strategy. As is the case with housing, health and social care are both industries in
their own right that will require appropriate support through the Industrial Strategy. However, policy in this
area also directly impacts on labour supply. The adoption of a ‘whole person’ approach that integrates health,
housing, social care, employment and skills delivered at a local level would be better able to meet the multifaceted needs of jobseekers with complex needs and support more people into the workforce helping to
address both unemployment and potential skills gaps. A combination of a reformed and integrated system,
and a sustainable funding solution are required, and Core Cities are actively developing proposals we would
want to work on with Government.
CASE
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Remourban Nottingham http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/community/remourban/
14
Remourban is a European smart cities project developing a model for sustainability which can be integrated
into regeneration of our cities. In Nottingham, a key part of this project includes delivering deep retrofits on
over 400 homes in a one deprived area, Sneinton, which will fundamentally change the look and feel for the
area, drastically reduce the energy bills of fuel poor residents and improve air quality. The most innovative
part is a block of terraced houses which will be brought to zero net energy using the “energiesprong” model,
delivered via an innovative procurement.
The innovative procurement involves giving the market an energy outcome target, a short delivery window
and the requirement of a performance guarantee. This drives smart design to ensure the outcome can be
reached and offsite manufacture to deliver in the short window (which with scale would bring the cost down).
There is a competitive dialogue process with bidders who pass a first stage, ensuring a better design overall
and enabling SMEs to participate. We anticipate that reaching the ambitious energy outcome target will
require very high specification external wall insulation, LED lighting, solar PV and batteries at the least.
Residents will then pay a “energy plan”, changing the model for energy from utility supply to more of an
energy service, so they pay towards the works from savings achieved to their bills. The overall aim is to test a
model for deep retrofitting buildings which can deliver very low energy solutions in a subsidy-free way.
E NCOURAGING
TRADE A ND INWARD INVESTMENT
The ongoing work to join up trade and inward investment promotion with local areas set out in the Green
Paper is welcomed, as is the commitment to develop a more strategic approach to inward investment. The
Core Cities also support the commitment to building future trading relationships, particularly in light of the
potential impacts of the EU referendum result.
The different sectoral strengths or different places means that trade deals will have differing impacts upon
places. Given this it is proposed that when Government are negotiating trade deals that have the potential to
have a significant impact on a city-region due to their sectoral strengths that there is a need to ensure that the
city-region is represented in discussions. While it is likely that this would be the mayor in city-regions that have
decided to pursue a devolution deal, consideration should also be given to ensuring that appropriate
individuals from city-regions that have not agreed a devolution deal are also included.
Proposals
Equip UK cities to compete. The productivity of UK cities remains low by EU standards, with continental
counterparts having much more local control. In a post-EU world, the UK needs to equip its cities to compete
on a level playing field. Only a strongly devolved approach will deliver this, continuing with the deal-based
approach already begun.
Increasing the Urban Balance of Trade. Current programmes and funding, e.g. from DIT, should ensure they
flex as much as possible to support the individual needs of each Core City – a place based approach, but also
consider how a collective programme across all our cities (and potentially other urban areas) might operate,
utilising the many strong international city to city connections that we enjoy, which transcend national
boundaries. This can be used as the basis for an intelligence led trade and investment strategy, with a stronger
voice for Core Cities and a stronger presence, for example in trade missions.
Internationalising the UK’s urban economic base. It is important that the ongoing international role of the
Core Cities is recognised and supported by Government, particularly as we move towards Brexit. There is a
need to ensure that cities are empowered by Government to continue the positive work that is currently
undertaken in attracting international investment by individual cities both in terms of attracting new occupiers
15
and in supporting existing businesses to invest and grow. Given that the importance of some, but not all,
sectors vary between city-regions local leaders should be involved in trade agreement discussions with nations
that act either as key markets or key suppliers for sectors that are important to their local economies.
Core Cities each have powerful international links, where city to city relationships often transcend national
boundaries and barriers. We are working to map these and propose that Government uses that mapping as
part of the basis for designing a post-Brexit trade and investment strategy.
Core Cities voice in post-EU proposals. Related to the above given that collectively they represent a greater
proportion of the population than the devolved nations combined the voice and interests of the Core Cities
should be represented as the terms of withdrawal are negotiated with the European Union given this will
significantly affect future trading relations. A successor programme to current EU funding streams is needed
and the Core Cities are currently developing proposals around how this might operate. It is critical that
Government engages with these.
CASE
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Liverpool International Festival of Business, Liverpool http://www.internationalbusinessfestival.com/
The International Business Festival is the world’s biggest business festival. Hosted every 2 years in Liverpool
the festival captures and celebrates the dynamism and diversity of the global marketplace
Since 2014 the festival has been giving businesses the space, support and expertise they need to make
connections, to do deals and realise their potential. The wide ranging multifaceted nature of the business
world is reflected in the broad and varied audience of the festival which ranges from representatives of major
corporates to CEOS of SMEs to leaders of new start –ups.
An interim evaluation of the 2016 festival has found that more than 500 UK businesses have secured or expect
to secure export scales with a total value estimate of £87m. Furthermore 13% of UK participants are now
exploring exporting for the first time and a further 17% are exploring new export markets. Further details
available at http://www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/news/latest-news/ifb-2016-interim-evaluation/
D ELIVERING
AFFORDABLE ENERGY AND CLEAN GRO WTH
The proposals to set out a long-term road map to minimise business energy costs are welcomed as is the
proposed review of opportunities to reduce the cost of achieving decarbonisation goals in the power and
industrial sectors. Furthermore the core cities welcome the recognition of the industrial opportunities that
new energy technologies will bring.
However, confidence amongst the business sector that national government is likely to improve energy
infrastructure to the necessary levels is very low, with some surveys showing over 60% of companies surveyed
expecting it to worsen over the next five years.
Several Core Cities are already delivering highly successful local energy generation and supply Companies, and
have demonstrated competence and value for money in doing so. Further flexibilities and freedoms for
example around tariff arrangements and the retention of fiscal proceeds to reinvest into cleaner energy and
reducing fuel poverty would strengthen this approach.
16
Proposals
More resilient infrastructure, supporting Core City Energy Companies. Infrastructure that is resilient to a
range of shocks and stresses helps productivity and lends confidence in inward investment. Between 1995 and
2011, 455,000 customer minutes of electricity supply were lost due to extreme weather.
Fiscal and financial flexibility for energy. Greater freedom to deliver local energy solutions, including
devolution of carbon levies, retention of taxes from revenues generated and more ability to coordinate
infrastructure planning, will deliver a more resilient economy. More stability in national energy policy would
also help to resolve these issues.
Core Cities Collective Air Quality programme. One of the defining urban issues of our age, poor air quality will
be detrimental to the UKs industry – as well as the health of individuals and attendant costs - if not dealt with.
Core Cities have developed detailed proposals which have been submitted to DEFRA, and are keen to begin
collective implementation as quickly as possible (see Appendix 3).
CASE
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Glasgow Future City, Glasgow http://futurecity.glasgow.gov.uk/
In 2013, Glasgow beat a host of other UK cities to win funding worth £24m from the Technology Strategy
Board (now known as Innovate UK) to explore innovative ways to use technology and data to make life in the
city safer, smarter and more sustainable. Cutting emissions, reducing overheads and addressing fuel poverty,
challenges faced by cities worldwide. As part of the wider Future City work being undertaken, Glasgow's
Energy Efficiency demonstrator explores these areas and investigates potential data based solutions - using
rich data to create a detailed portrait of the city’s energy consumption and act upon factors that change
energy behaviours throughout the city.
Developed in collaboration with Glasgow Company, Integrated Environmental Solutions, the Glasgow City
Energy Model will map in 2D & 3D the energy consumption of residents and businesses across Glasgow.
Through either the web portal, accessible via a standard web browser, or the app developed as part of the
demonstrator, users will be able to enter information relating to the property they live or work in, which will
run a simulation to calculate the anticipated energy consumption of their property. The simulated results will
be compared against their actual energy consumption and the consumption of residents/businesses residing in
similar properties across Glasgow, allowing the User to understand if they are energy efficient or not.
The simulation will also suggest retrofit options for the property, based on the information supplied by the
User, that could reduce their energy consumption. Illustrative payback times for the incorporation of these
retrofit measures will be supplied. Residents will be able to find registered/approved service and technology
providers who can install the suggested retrofit solutions for them.
The results of both the simulation and the actual consumption figures entered will feed into a 3D energy
model of the City that will show: What the estimated energy use across the City is, what the actual energy use
is (where available), and the impact of retrofit measures on the energy consumption
In order to protect the privacy of Users, the results will be averaged across a geographical area, preventing
people comparing their consumption against that of their neighbours. The average consumption displayed,
however, will let Users know if they over-or under-consume energy compared with the people living in their
local area.
17
C ULTIVATING
WORLD - LEADING SECTORS
The announcement of Government’s intention to develop sector deals is welcomed by the Core Cities,
particularly the recognition that while sector deals should be led by businesses that there is a role for local
leaders and other stakeholders to collaborate with businesses on sector deals. This is particularly important
given that clustering of related businesses is seen in many sectors. The proposals to support new emerging
sectors around regulatory issues are also supported as is the recognition that existing positive relationships
between sectors and Government should be built upon.
There is a danger that negotiations around sector deals for some sectors will be dominated by London based
businesses which could have unintended consequences for emerging clusters in other city-regions and
undermine the positive proposals elsewhere in the green paper to rebalance the national economy. There is a
need to ensure that when sector deals are being negotiated that businesses within the sector located outside
of London are engaged and included.
It should also be noted that there will be a need to ensure that companies of all sizes are engaged when sector
deals are being negotiated to ensure that they work for companies at all stages of the supply chain.
Proposals
Place and Sector Deals. Core Cities view is that greatest prominence should be given to deals where sectors
are working together with one or more localities, utilising a place based approach as described above in this
document. Core Cities plan to work with a number of sector representative bodies following this consultation
response to set out common components of such an approach.
Whole Place Leadership and local growth. It should be recognised that for some sectors that there may be a
need for local leaders to go a step further than just collaborating with businesses on sector deals and to
proactively facilitate discussions between businesses in their areas in sectors that are important to the local
economy. While businesses should take the lead whenever possible, some sectors may require initial support
to enable them to self-organise.
CASE
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Life Sciences Hub Wales, Cardiff https://www.lifescienceshubwales.com/
Life Sciences Hub Wales is the ‘nerve centre’ for the life sciences eco-system in Wales – connecting, inspiring,
and accelerating businesses and organisations. Making the link between ideas and commercialisation a reality,
from research and entrepreneurs through to healthcare professionals and multinational corporations, the Hub
provides a commercially-driven resource for the sector. Whether an organisation is a start-up with big
ambitions or an established firm looking for further growth, the Hub’s partnership model provides access to
funding, support mechanisms, and viable prospects that will help businesses grow. Life Sciences Hub Wales
supports and showcases the diverse range of expertise Wales has to offer, bringing the dynamic Welsh Life
Sciences sector to the world stage, creating commercial opportunities and developing key partnerships.
Bringing together all facets of the network in Wales including academic, business, clinical, government,
professional services and funding organisations, the Hub provides a commercially-driven resource for the
sector.
18
D RIVING
GROWTH ACROSS THE COUNTRY
The proposals set out in the green paper to support growth across the country are welcomed by the Core
Cities. In the particular the acknowledgement that infrastructure needs and opportunities vary and will be
taken account of is strongly supported. The proposal to work with local areas to test approaches to closing the
skills gap is also welcome as is the recognition that skills issues vary and different measures may be required in
different locations. The creation of competitive new funding streams to back the clusters of innovative
businesses across the country is also supported.
While the place based approach set out in this pillar is welcomed the Core Cities suggest that this aspect of the
Industrial Strategy could and should go further. For the Industrial Strategy to be successful the place based
aspect of it needs to be central to the delivery of the strategy. City-regions are at the right scale to actively
deliver the national Industrial Strategy and ensure the continued growth of the national economy while
ensuring that solutions to the issues outlined in the green paper are appropriate to their local area.
There is no single proposal that achieve this, and rather each of the proposals we have already set out in this
document have to work together to achieve an overarching ambition to see a rebalancing of the UK’s
economy. The Core Cities suggest that for the Industrial Strategy to be successful that as well as the areas
identified in the green paper there is a need to ensure greater coordination with other critical policy areas
such as health and social care, employment, education and housing. As well as closer linkages at the level of
Government on these areas there are elements of these policy areas that would benefit from being devolved
to a local level to support the effective delivery of the industrial strategy. This is particularly pertinent where
aspects of these policy areas have differential impacts across the country that could be mitigated by greater
local shaping of how they operate.
But the real power of devolution will come from joining up these discreet new powers and flexibilities into an
integrated overall approach to city government and place based industrial strategy. At its heart such an
approach must give local leaders greater power to manage local assets, to borrow and to invest in
infrastructure. Business rates is a start, but there is a need to retain and influence much more of the overall
public revenues in our cities. We need to work towards a position of much greater autonomy, common in
cities across the world, so that growth-supporting investments can be taken forward more quickly without the
need to seek government funding approval. Local decision making of this sort will lead to better targeted,
more efficient investment and significantly greater leverage of local private capital.
The government also needs to recognise that public sector finance plays an important role in the local
economies and inclusive growth. Public sector reforms designed to support wider opportunity and a fairer
society also support business through better skills provision, increased productivity, a safer and more
attractive environment and a more prosperous consumer market. To achieve this, devolution must include
reforms to public services and a more sustainable approach to their funding, supporting integration across
central and local silos and a transformation of public service outcomes.
CASE
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Midlands HS2 Growth Strategy, Birmingham http://centreofenterprise.com/hs2-growth-strategy/
The approach being taken in Birmingham and the wider Midlands to maximise the benefits of HS2 shows how
large scale infrastructure projects can be utilised to have benefits across multiple tiers. At the local level
projects such as the Curzon Investment Plan
19
(https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/downloads/file/5174/curzon_investment_plan) and the development of
proposals for UK Central (http://centreofenterprise.com/m42-economic-gateway/) both show how the
benefits of large scale infrastructure projects can be utilised to unlock local growth. At the next tier up the
Midlands HS2 Growth Strategy and the HS2 Connectivity Package (https://www.tfwm.org.uk/strategy/hs2local-connectivity/) being led by TfWM both show how the impact of these benefits can be widened through
improved local and regional connectivity. Finally, the broader national benefits of HS2 on national connectivity
and rebalancing the economy are strengthened by these regional and local level packages of work.
C REATING
THE RIGHT IN STITUTIONS TO BRING TOGETHER SECTORS AND
PLACES
The Core Cities welcome the recognition that different clusters and places need different types of support and
that local institutions have a particularly important role. The support for further devolution is also welcome as
is the review of the location of Government agencies and arms-length bodies and the proposal to consider
relocation where this could help to reinforce existing local clusters and support growth. The suggestion of new
policies to support the growth of supply chains is also welcomed. It should however be recognised that the
benefits of a place-based industrial strategy will benefit the country as a whole and consideration should be
given as to how this can be achieved in city-regions that have not yet agreed a devolution deal.
There is an argument for creating new institutions, but there is a stronger argument for enhancing the role of
exiting institutions, not least of which are city and combined authorities, which have an instrumental role in
leadership and stewardship of place and of local economies.
Proposals.
Sub national investment vehicles. Proposals have previously been made for regional banks, or for existing
banks to take a more localised and place based approach to investment. Whilst there are different views on
the effectiveness of such institutions, there are a number of principles underpinning them that are worthy of
further investigation. Access to finance for business, and the support to create investable propositions and
then use it, is critical to economic success overall, and particularly for rebalancing. Investment that
understands the nature and character of each place is important. Institutional bias can quickly occur when
decisions are taken remotely from an area.
Collective Institutional Spaces. An alternative to entirely new institutions is to understand how existing
institutions might, between them, create a shared institutional space to understand the needs of a place and
its sectors collectively. Bringing together the democratic mandate of city and combined authorities through
their convening role with universities, providers, universities, sector representative bodies and industry
leaders would be an effective and cost efficient way to begin. This may or may not lead to new institutions,
but would in itself have value and could be initiated for a very low cost, with Government providing a small
resource for national networking between such groupings to share capacity and ideas.
CASE
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MediaCityUK, Manchester http://www.mediacityuk.co.uk/
One of the most successful approaches to developing networks of highly skilled jobs in Greater Manchester
has been the development of MediaCityUK, and the growth cluster it has driven in Greater Manchester. This is
20
now established as a leading European centre of digital and creative industries with international brands such
as BBC and ITV and over 100 specialist media and production companies.
One the main catalysts for the development of the cluster has been the relocation by the BBC of its flagship
digital products and some of its leading brands to Salford in 2011. The BBC now employs 3,000 people at the
site, 700 of whom were recruited when it was set up, and a further 900 since. However, its impact goes well
beyond the immediate employment. Around a third of the BBC roles are in digital and technology, and as an
anchor institution it has helped to drive a much bigger cluster of media, broadcast, digital and creative
industries at Salford Quays. Other subsequent developments included the arrival of ITV Studios, the opening of
the Landing - a 53,000ft2 digital enterprise hub that provides space where companies can unlock innovation,
growth and collaboration – and Tomorrow Building – a creative and tech workspace that incorporates coworking space and six floors of flexible floorplates that can cater for the needs of expanding and incoming
businesses.
The cluster now comprises more than 250 innovative firms, with 30,000 jobs at the Quays by 2014, and has
expanded across the city region. The International Screen School Manchester, led by Manchester Metropolitan
University, is being set up which will develop interdisciplinary talent to support Greater Manchester’s creative
and digital industries. The Sharp Project has developed as a home to over 60 digital entrepreneurs and
production companies specialising in digital content production, digital media and TV and film production,
while the Space Project has been established as a purpose built production stage complex for the North of
England.
These opportunities have been unlocked through investment by the authorities in Greater Manchester in the
infrastructure needed by the cluster, such as an extension in the Metrolink and high frequency bus services.
The residential community is also growing as housing is integrated within developments.
21
A PPENDIX O NE : C ORE C ITIES HOUSING OFFER
Summary of core cities housing proposal – the offer
The aim is for Core Cities to work with government to explore the art of the possible and jointly develop
creative solutions that will boost housing supply and address other national and local aspects of the housing
crisis such as the decline in ownership, affordability and homelessness.
There are three specific elements to the proposal:
1.
Core Cities offer is to collectively increase new build housing supply by 25% over a five year period,
compared with the average for completions over the previous 3 years. The final target will need to be
redefined depending upon the content of the deals that are negotiated. At city region level the uplift
would equate to an additional 47,087 units over 5 years, at city scale it would deliver an additional
14,246 units.
2.
The “ask” to deliver this uplift is for a series of Housing City Deals to be negotiated between CLG, HCA
and individual cities, these deals will be combined into a joint Housing Prospectus and Agreement.
3.
The housing white paper discusses the potential for Land Value Capture (LVC) models to accelerate
the delivery of housing and help to fund infrastructure and the March Budget announced pilot
schemes in London. Core Cities wish to offer government an opportunity to test LVC models in a nonLondon context.
Summary of core cities proposals - the asks
The aim is to provide a menu of potential options that cities could consider within their Housing Deal
negotiations:
The content of the deals will vary between cities;
Some cities will choose to implement their Deals at local authority level, whilst others may prefer to work at
combined authority/city region level;
Core Cities consider that there is also potential for agglomeration and economies of scale by developing joint
proposals between cities, where appropriate. Such proposals would form part of individual city Housing Deals
that would be agreed jointly between participating cities.
In summary, the menu of proposed options includes:

Land value capture models and associated local powers;

HCA/Core City Partnerships to flex and better align policy, capacity and resources so as to better
match local challenges and opportunities;

Regeneration funding and policy tools (land development fund, brownfield policy incentives, fiscal
policies and regulatory changes and/or targets to improve housing quality), and

Direct and indirect Council delivery of new homes to buy and rent via support for traditional Council
Housing, Almos, new local authority housing companies and through partnerships with developers
and social landlords.
22
A PPENDIX T WO : C ORE C ITIES E DUCATION , S KILLS AND
E MPLOYMENT P ROPOSAL
Priority 1: Early Years
Proposals

Government to work with and invest in core cities, where more citizens suffer the consequences of
inequality gaps, to tackle the attainment issue at its root in the Early Years.

Core cities to work with DfE and NHS to create a single child development performance framework
covering all relevant outcomes.

Core cities to work with NHS to create streamlined and integrated Family Support teams operating
under a single management structure that are better able to intervene early, with consistency and
with the right intensity to address issues affecting child development, including emotional health and
wellbeing, speech and language, SEND and parenting support.
Priority 2: Careers Guidance
Proposals

Government to work with core cities in the design and delivery of its new Careers Strategy and to
pilot, through them, the creation of a single, all-age careers service within their boundaries with a
view to improving the penetration, impartiality, coherence and efficiency of careers guidance. If
successful, this can be rolled out nationally.

Core cities and city-regions to be charged with leading, through their learning and skills partnerships,
the implementation of the national Careers Strategy by overseeing the creation of a locally-organised,
all-age careers service and establishing the local accountability framework to which schools, colleges
and providers will be expected to commit.

The role of CEC and NCS to be redefined as guarantors of national policy, quality and value for money
whilst, in turn, local learning and skills partnerships are charged with shaping and commissioning
delivery that reflects local economic conditions and takes advantage of local opportunities.

The CEC and the NCS to franchise the commissioning of their programmes and services to local
learning and skills partnerships in support of the above and to make available to core cities the
notional CEC and NCS resource allocations that can be attributed to the core cities and city-regions.

Core cities and city-regions to trial an all-age ‘UCAS style’ information and application system for the
technical pathways announced in DfE’s Post-16 Plan.
Priority 3: 16+Technical Education
Proposals

Core cities and city-regions to be adopted by government as fast track, pilot areas for the
development of coherent, all-age technical routes in support of the Industrial Strategy.

Each core city and city-region, through its local learning and skills partnership, to be required to draw
up a credible, all-age education and skills plan with stretching targets and timescales in support of the
Industrial Strategy.
23

Government to agree with core cities and city-regions a Skills Investment Fund for the commissioning
of their local education and skills plans.

Core cities and city-regions to make available their Adult Education Budgets and devolved FE capital
as part of this investment fund, where applicable.

Government to devolve funding for 16-18 technical education and training to the investment fund in
each core city and city-region.

Core cities and city-regions to be allowed to retain any unspent apprenticeship levy attributable to
the area as part of this investment fund agreement.

Core cities to be at liberty to use the levy underspend flexibly to achieve stretch targets, agreed with
government, in those skills priority areas set out in their education and skills plans.
Priority 4: Higher Education
Proposals

Core cities to work with their universities and with the newly established Office for Students to draw
up local HE strategies setting out practical solutions to the challenges of widening participation,
creating end to end technical pathways, improving graduate retention and ramping up the
commercialisation of research and opportunities for spin-outs.

The National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP is responsible for widening participation in
HE) to collaborate with core cities and city-regions in using data sets that local authorities hold in
targeting vulnerable and disadvantaged learners capable of progressing to HE.

The NCOP consortium in each core city to align its funding within the local Investment Fund in support
of local Education and Skills Plan priorities

Local learning and skills partnerships to be charged by government with reversing the growth,
productivity and income disparities between the capital and core cities and government to make
available to each local Skills Investment Fund a contribution from Higher Education Innovation
Funding and the new Industrial Challenge Strategy Fund and in support of this.

Government to charge core cities with creating a network of Institutes of Technology, aligned to the
15 technical pathways, that act as systems leaders for schools, colleges and universities in establishing
end to end routes, reversing local skills deficits, promoting employer engagement within the skills
system and improving the quality of technical education.
Priority 5: Employment
Proposals

Core cities and city-regions to pilot, through their learning and skills partnerships, the creation of
localised employment services that integrate JCP, health and local authority provision (employment,
skills, housing, advice, social care) in support of a ‘whole person’ approach that is better able to meet
the multi-faceted requirements of jobseekers with complex needs. This would build on learning from
GM’s Working Well programme and represent the core cities response to the work, health and
disability green paper.
24

Core cities to pioneer new approaches to both in-work progression and sickness and absence as part
of the above.

Government to make available a single investment package in support of these proposals, linked to
stretch targets and with a view to making inroads into long term worklessness and sickness and
absence at work.The single investment package to combine:

-
DWP devolution pilot funds
-
Work and Health Unit Innovation funding
-
Work and Health Unit social impact bond funding for those core cities that seek to move and
further and faster towards the goal of service integration.
DWP and core cities to prioritise the co-location of local employment services as part of the One
Public Estate initiative.
25
A PPENDIX T HREE : T HE C ORE C ITIES V IEW ON A IR Q UALITY
Air quality is a critical issue that must be resolved in the UK’s Core Cities where much of the nations’ air
pollution problems are focused. 28.3% of roads identified as being in exceedance of the UK’s air quality limit
value in 2013 were located in the air quality urban areas that the Core Cities belong to. The estimated impact
of air quality on mortality in the Core Cities is 15,000 early attributable deaths per year. The impacts of air
pollution on our health and cognitive function accumulate through our lives – from cradle to grave, including
an increasing number of early years and lifelong incidences of bronchial disease – this can result in years of
poor quality of life and lost productivity for affected individuals. The cumulative impact of the effect of air
quality on individuals threatens the Core Cities’ economic and social success given the implications for quality
of living within cities, strain on health and welfare services and lowered productivity.
In the short term, the Core Cities recognise that there is a need to achieve compliance with UK and EU air
quality laws. However, the Core Cities have an ambition to continue to improve air quality beyond current
standards in the future given that achieving current standards will not eliminate the impact of air pollution on
health. This has also been recognised in many of our major global cities through international commitments
and we welcome the recent commitment by the Mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens to stop the
use of all diesel-powered cars and trucks by the middle of the next decade and give further incentives for
alternative vehicle use and promote walking and cycling.
As much as there is a need to tackle the problems that poor air quality brings to Core Cities, there are also
emerging opportunities to develop new businesses within the Core Cities that will support the development
and export of new products using new technologies related to the improvement of air quality (such as ULEVs).
It is clear that Core Cities must not stand alone on this matter and must seek to collaborate with local and
national partners in order to better understand the effect of Air Quality and to explore solutions that will lower
air pollution sustainably as well as making the most of opportunities to develop related emerging markets.
Particularly there is a need to work closely with Government, including the devolved Governments of Scotland
and Wales in order to ensure that a strong UK joint stance on tackling air pollution can be established and so
that strategy is coherent and compatible with national and local priorities.
Core Cities Cabinet would like to propose an approach where we work together and with existing pilot CAZ
authorities (rather than through a competitive process which undermines the benefits of collective action) to
review air quality across all the UK Core Cities simultaneously and collaboratively. This will enable us to
develop robust evidence bases which in turn can be used to develop the most appropriate measures to ensure
concentrations are reduced to compliant levels and beyond. This could include where appropriate CAZs but
there is a broad tool kit of measures available and the solutions must be tailored to individual city’s needs.
Core Cities would like to understand if Government would be willing to make a collective award to each city
(including to fellow Core Cities Glasgow and Cardiff) to enable this approach to be progressed.
In addition, Core Cities are developing an emerging Work Programme and associated Work Plan Actions to
strengthen collaboration between key Core City stakeholders and Government focused on improving insight,
supporting innovation and enabling cities to lead the way in improving air quality supported by a balanced
national UK agenda for action. We would welcome a dialogue and joint work on this.
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Core Cities’ Vulnerability
The UK is currently in breach of air quality limits so it must plan and take action to become compliant as
quickly as possible. The European Union has already started infraction proceedings and should the UK not
respond to its air quality problem effectively then the UK could face fines from the European Union.
Government has reminded local authorities “of the discretionary power in Part 2 of the Localism Act under
where the Government could require responsible authorities to pay all or part of an infraction fine” if the
country fails to effectively address its obligation to improve air quality according to legislation. Core Cities
understands that it is in the best interest of city local authorities to work together and with Government to
implement national plans to address air quality then; not only to improve health and economic prosperity in
cities, but also to avoid fines that would threaten local service provision. In order to avoid this, national plans
must be robust and Government must be committed to providing the necessary support to deliver them.
It is therefore a significant cause for concern for Core Cities that the two most recent attempts to produce
statutory national plans to achieve compliance with air quality legislation have been successfully challenged
and labelled insufficient in UK courts. The respective rulings on these challenges have shown that Government
has consistently failed to adequately assess the air quality challenge facing the nation and produce the much
needed plans to ensure that the UK will achieve compliance.
It is vital for Core Cities that the refresh of the national air quality plan is produced as quickly as possible. Given
that the most recent plan was criticised for systematically underestimating emissions from diesel vehicles and
not focusing on meeting compliance as soon as possible, Core Cities expects that the agreed challenge to be
met in the Core Cities themselves will increase as a result of the plan refresh. The Core Cities therefore need to
be engaged closely to understand how the Government proposes to address this heightened challenge
through additional national and/or local action (such as any requirement for additional Clean Air Zones).
Overall, Core Cities are concerned that the Government has focused too much on local actions to improve air
quality and has shown insufficient appetite for greater national support and action to guarantee air quality
compliance. An overall national framework will also help address the risk of inconsistency, whilst enabling the
degree of local flexibility required to deliver more successful solutions.
Core Cities National Asks
Brexit:
Successful management of Air Quality is often discussed in terms of “achieving compliance” with national and
European laws and standards. The Core Cities believe that success in managing Air Quality is achieved when
the damaging impact of air pollution on our citizens is minimised and therefore the productivity of our
workforce and the educational attainment of our children is improved; this will make our cities attractive
places to live, work, visit and do business.
The role of Air Quality law is to ensure that decision makers are made accountable for their impact in cities,
whilst standards effectively set a minimum pace for a minimum level of ambition. In the wake of the EU
referendum there have been concerns that progress towards achieving air quality management success is
threatened. UK citizens and organisations fear that “Brexit” will weaken the mechanisms to hold decision
makers to account through law, and Government may be tempted to slow down the pace of progress set
through the UK’s air quality standards.

Government and its agencies should recognise that the impact of air pollution on UK citizens is
unchanged by our membership status of the European Union and therefore remains just as
important.
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o

We believe that there would be huge value in discussing and developing a joint/aligned
political statement(s) that makes it clear to stakeholders across the UK (and abroad) that
air quality continues to be a high priority for a “post-Brexit UK” and that there is a united
front between the local and national level.
Government should commence work with Core Cities - and other major cities - (where air pollution
effects are most acutely experienced) to develop proposals for how the UK will ensure that the
impacts of air pollution continue to be reduced when the UK leaves the EU.
o
This includes Clean Air for Scotland (CAFS) and informing current air quality actions being
considered by the Welsh Government to further support the Wellbeing of Future
Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Additionally, we would like to work together to discuss
proposals for how emissions and air quality standards should be developed in the short to
medium term to set the right pace of progress – in line with a strong reaffirmed national
ambition – towards improving air quality.
Righting Wrongs:
Despite a strong current European and UK legal framework that provides a clear mandate for air quality to be
improved, as a nation we are a staggering 15 years late on our original national commitment to improve air
quality in line with existing standards. The Core Cities believe that the primary reasons that the UK has
struggled to improve air pollution at the right pace are;
Air Quality has lacked the prioritisation that it deserves considering the threat that it poses to individuals and
the economic and social success of our Core Cities.
The increase in funding given to local areas through competitive bidding primarily assessed on a narrow set of
economic benefits (e.g. houses, jobs created, GVA etc.) has made it difficult to tailor investment sufficiently to
account for other local priorities in Core Cities such as air quality.
It is essential that the Government ensures there are robust mechanisms in place for understanding the
effectiveness of interventions to tackle poor air quality, including those undertaken as part of Clean Air Zones.
A handful of cities outside of London have been identified as being at risk of exceeding air quality standards
beyond 2020 using the PCM model. This benchmark has been used to determine which cities would be
mandated and receive financial support to implement Clean Air Zones (CAZs). Core Cities have identified that
there are other cities with significant air quality concerns that have not received the same mandate or support.
The National Planning Policy Framework, which was introduced to simplify planning, has failed to sufficiently
support local decision makers to curb air quality impacts caused by new development. Whilst the NPPF offers
an approach for assessing and mitigating air quality impacts, it is rare for major developments to be stopped
because of air quality concerns and mitigations are rarely guaranteed to have a definite effect where it is
needed. Also there is a lack of confidence in the national planning inspectorate’s support for local decision
making based on local priorities that may deviate from the broader priorities of Government.
Government should enter into immediate dialogue with Core Cities to explore:

Ways to prioritise public investment (including OLEV grants) in new technologies, such as ULEVs, in
cities where it can be demonstrated that the investment would help to alleviate the country’s worst
air pollution problems;
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

How collective approaches to devolution – avoiding competitive bidding – could further empower
local decision makers working with partners to invest in cities more sustainably;
o
Steps to monitor, evaluate and understand “what works” in terms of air quality
interventions.
o
An appropriate body to lead a strong national campaign to raise awareness of the impacts
and causes of air pollution. This should aim to help UK citizens and organisations to
understand how air pollution effects them and the choices they can make to reduce their
exposure to and creation of air pollution; and
o
Identify cities that are predicted to be compliant with Air Quality standards by 2020 by
only a narrow margin in national models (and therefore at risk of being non-compliant in
the air quality plan refresh). Core Cities and Government should develop proposals for
further prioritising support (beyond the existing “CAZ Cities”) to improve air quality in
other “at risk cities”. This may include extended support for the use of bold policy
instruments such as CAZs where there is a significant locally identified air quality concern
and improving air quality is a core feature of the city’s ambition.
o
Collectively identifying and championing ways of strengthening planning policy in relation
to air quality such that decisions to protect air quality will not risk being overturned.
Work with Core Cities to develop wider air quality policy that ensures a sustainable and consistent
approach can be delivered including on energy for homes and business.
Unbalanced Government policies have encouraged the proliferation of diesel amongst car owners. Given that
diesel engines produce more air pollutants than other power-train options; this has significantly slowed
progress in improving air quality.
Government and Core Cities to explore:

How immediate action could be developed to curb the continued use and purchase of diesel
vehicles, particularly cars. We strongly encourage Government to consider rebalancing formulae for
calculating VED and fuel tax. This would require consideration of the way that different fuels impact
on the environment in a more holistic way.

Working with other stakeholders (such as TfL) to develop ideas for a diesel scrappage scheme(s)
that could be targeted at helping the right people; those who heavily rely on the most polluting
vehicles, who do not have the means to upgrade or use alternative transport, and who may need to
drive regularly through CAZs;

Development of the Modern Transport Bill. This will allow for the development of further powers
to ensure minimum technical specifications for electric vehicle (EV) charge point infrastructure with
a view to ensuring all EVs, regardless of connector type, can use public charging networks and can
continue to do so as technologies develop.
There has been a lack of commitment to create policy and investment that prioritises sufficiently
transformational development and uptake of more sustainable forms of transport in major cities (including
public transport, cycling and walking). This has resulted in escalating congestion problems – that are a major
cause of air pollution – in cities where the increase in car usage due to significant population increase has
overshadowed the decrease in average car use per person.
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Increased investment into improving sustainable transport will help bring our Core Cities into line with other
major international cities where successful air quality improvement has been underpinned by a modal shift
from cars to more sustainable travel. The investment will also have benefits beyond air quality as road space
would be used more efficiently, thereby reducing congestion, and the public would be more active, thereby
improving health outcomes.
In addition, local authorities currently lack some key traffic management powers that would help address air
quality concerns. Whilst English local authorities outside of London have civil enforcement powers for certain
provisions under the Traffic Management Act 2004, they are still unable to enforce moving traffic offenses
(despite these powers being within the gift of local authorities in London and Wales) As well as the safety
benefits of effective enforcement, evidence suggests that activating these provisions would reduce congestion,
thereby improving traffic flow and air quality. When the provisions were initially piloted in London, ‘traffic flow
was increased in a six month period by 73% at those junctions enforced’. Also Highway authorities lack the
ability to implement temporary traffic regulation orders rapidly enough to protect the public from episodes of
exceptionally poor air quality that could endanger the public, particularly those with existing respiratory
conditions. The current procedure requires local authorities to give at least seven days’ notice before making a
temporary TRO, making it impossible to respond rapidly to ‘bad air days’.
Government and Core Cities to explore:

Government developing and passing the necessary secondary legislation to give local authorities
the power to enforce against moving traffic offences which, from an air quality point of view, has
the potential to improve traffic flow and therefore reduce emissions.

Government to enable local authorities to swiftly implement a temporary Traffic Regulation Order
(TRO) to respond quickly in the event of a poor air quality episode.

Core Cities wish to emphasise the importance of strengthening national and local policy to support
local sustainable transport and to increase investment in sustainable transport in our Core Cities.

Ensure that mayoral devolution deals, the Buses Bill, and rail and bus franchising and powers in
relation to taxi’s offer the right suite of opportunities for cities to provide high quality, low emission
public transport (and that these opportunities are available without unreasonable difficulty).
Implementation of Clean Air Zones in England – CAZ Framework
Core Cities believe that a national Clean Air Zone framework will help bring consistency to the way that CAZs
are implemented across England. However, given that local priorities differ across England’s local authorities
(depending on local needs, values and strengths) the framework will need to be flexible.
Clean Air Zones are at the core of Government’s approach to achieving compliance with air quality legislation.
As such the measures and contents of the Clean Air Zone framework need to be sufficient enough to enable
cities to achieve compliance through targeted action.
We believe that the draft Clean Air Zone framework outlined for the consultation misses wider opportunities
to improve air quality. It provides local authorities with little in the way of new measures with which to combat
air pollution. Core Cities believe that Clean Air Zones should not simply focus on local action driven by local
authorities; it should also include details of how national schemes will be prioritised in areas with Clean Air
Zones (e.g. national diesel scrappage/retrofit schemes) and work with devolved Governments on related
programmes within Wales and Scotland.
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In addition, the current approach being developed to implement CAZs identifies private car owners as a last
option (through the proposed CAZ classes). Whilst it is recognised that inconveniencing private car owners is a
politically hot topic, Core Cities believe that the decision on which vehicles to bring within scope with a CAZ
should be a local decision based on local evidence; there may be circumstances where a city believes that the
best application of a CAZ in their area may focus on reducing unnecessary car journeys in an area where car
traffic accounts for the vast majority of pollution and the city may not wish apply charges to all other vehicle
types.
This includes consideration of economic impact for businesses with depots within a potential CAZ. Core Cities
are asking Government to allow cities to use CAZs to target vehicle categories more flexibly (without the need
for a CAZ class system) in line with local evidence and policy.
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