EE007 - Proposal to Review and Reduce Economic Affairs Operational Budgets

Overview

Outline of Proposal

The saving proposal is 50% of the Business Start Up budget, 44% of the Skills budget and 50% of the Business Growth budget within the Council’s Economic Affairs Team. 

General Impact

The Council’s reduced capacity in this area could impact on reputation and economic growth if the Council’s business support offer is less than neighbouring and other GM borough’s, or if we are unable to fund training for a vulnerable group that is not able to be funded by other means.

Impact on Service Users

Approximately 93% of the skills budget in 2013/14 was used to commission activity from the Voluntary Sector

If the activity that is funded stops and there is no other funder to plug the gap, then residents would see a difference in provision, particularly as the Council’s skills budget is used when no other funder is available. The Council is often the funder of last resort on skills activity that we judge to be vital in improving employability for local residents.

Savings Total: £195,000 on-going saving in 2015/16

The Council is assessing the potential equality impact which the proposals may have and are undertaking full Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) where this is appropriate.The EIAs are draft working documents which are to be developed over time.

This means that as further detail becomes available through the consultation process the EIAs will be updated and finalised before a final decision is reached.

You can find the full proposal document, which includes the Equality Impact Assessment, below in the related documents section.