Posted on Tuesday 16th June 2020
An economic recovery plan set to be approved this week details range of support schemes to combat COVID-19 job losses and the impact on business.
With out-of-work claimants in the county increasing, the county council’s five-year recovery plan includes initiatives already up and running. It includes an £870,000 investment in two enterprise centres for small businesses, a support programme for start-up businesses and a redundancy and recruitment triage service.
Together with the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership it is ensuring people and businesses know where to go to access essential support.
The out-of-work claimant count figure for Staffordshire rose to 5.1 per cent of the local population in May. The regional figure is 7.3 per cent whilst the national stands at 6.5 per cent.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, the county council has put in place several support programmes. Last month it launched the Staffordshire Start-up Programme for people looking to start their own business. Its aim is to see the creation of 200 start-up businesses in key sectors each year, over the next three years. A micro-business grant scheme enabled companies with nine employees or less to apply for grants of up to £1,000 thanks to a £500,000 investment by the county council. The Local Enterprise Partnership also launched its Redundancy and Recruitment Triage Service to support those who have been made redundant or who are at risk.
Tomorrow a live webinar is being hosted by the Redundancy and Recruitment Triage Service. People can find out more by visiting www.stokestaffsgrowthhub.co.uk or calling 0300 111 8002.
The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub has all the latest information on both national and localised initiatives.
Staffordshire County Council’s economic growth leader Mark Winnington said:
We are set to approve our five-year economic recovery plan which details the numerous measures the county council and our partners have put in place to support people and business through these incredibly difficult times.
We acted as quickly as possible to ensure people could access the right type of support and we know it has made a difference. We want people to know how they can benefit from these schemes now.
We anticipate tough times ahead for businesses and our economy, especially as the Job Retention Scheme draws to a close in the autumn. We are preparing for this and doing all we can, working with partners and central government, to mitigate the impact of the crisis. We are signposting people to the growth hub to seek advice and support in the first instance.”