Public performance reports

Economic development

The Council Plan Connect outlines our priorities and outcomes for 2022-27. Connect Outcomes should not be seen in isolation, they interact with each other and as we achieve success in one, we move closer to success in others. In delivering our vision to ‘improve the lives and prospects of everyone in South Lanarkshire’ our priorities show how our work links with our partners including our Community Planning Partners.

For daily updates, stories and what’s going on in your area, visit our information and news website South Lanarkshire View.

Each year we produce Annual Performance Spotlights which summarise how we have performed in achieving our Connect Outcomes. To complement these we have created a suite of individual Public Performance Reports which focus on key areas of council business. This report outlines our performance in relation to our Economic Development Service and how this links to our Economy outcome for thriving business, fair jobs and vibrant town centres.

The South Lanarkshire Economic Strategy 2022-27 focusses on the three key themes of sustainable economic development; People, Place and Business

People - South Lanarkshire's greatest asset is our people
Place - South Lanarkshire is a great place to start, grow and locate a business
Business - South Lanarkshire's many and diverse businesses are resilient and continue to thrive.

In partnership with local communities, voluntary agencies, the private sector and other public organisations, the council aims to promote employment creation, social inclusion, physical development and sustainability.

Number of businesses assisted by our Economic Development team (via grants, loans or property advice) Target - 1,500 businesses
What this means	The council provides a range of advice and financial help for businesses based in the South Lanarkshire area. Financial help is provided through the Business Support Grant and Business Loans Scotland. The council also provides advice to businesses through Business Gateway and the Lanarkshire Property Advice Service. This indicator identifies the number of businesses assisted by the council via these grants, loans or property advice.
Why this matters	The council has a key role in ensuring that there is an environment that is as supportive as possible to the circa 10,000 active businesses that are located within South Lanarkshire as well as new start up and micro businesses. As in most areas across Scotland, small businesses are the bedrock of the economy of South Lanarkshire and the council recognises that it needs to focus its efforts on the development of these businesses. Early intervention, preventative advice and pre-start care are all important in helping companies achieve a stable financial position.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	3,075	2,679	1,615	No, but exceeded target
	Scotland	N/A	N/A	N/A	No, but exceeded target
How we have performed in improving this public service	The target figure for this measure is 1,500 and so with 1,615 the target was exceeded, and it should also be noted that new business start-ups are recorded separately. Economic Development continue to work with the Lanarkshire Business Gateway to increase business start-up and sustainability. The revised Business gateway management arrangements from March 2024 should further enhance delivery and efficiency for businesses. A review of targets under the new management arrangements is ongoing.

Number of jobs created or sustained as a direct result of our Economic Development team’s intervention. Target - 350 jobs
What this means	This indicator identifies the number of jobs being created or sustained (saved) per year as a direct result of the above intervention by the council.
Why this matters	The council recognises that it needs to focus its efforts on the development of those businesses which have growth potential. For this reason, council assistance provided in the way of grants, loans or property advice is directed towards helping businesses invest and employ more people, increase turnover and develop new products and markets.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	-	1,095	1,256	Yes
	Scotland	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	This was an abnormally high year of grant allocations due to the catch up as a result of delays caused by Covid-19, and the European Regional Development Fund programme ending. Higher grants have a direct correlation with increases in jobs created or sustained.

Value of sales generated by businesses as a direct result of our Economic Development team’s intervention. Target - £5 million
What this means	This indicator identifies the value of sales generated by businesses as a direct result of the above intervention by the council.
Why this matters	The council recognises that it needs to focus its efforts on the development of those businesses which have growth potential. For this reason, council assistance provided in the way of grants, loans or property advice is directed towards helping businesses be more competitive and increase turnover and profit.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	-	£22.11 million	£13.11 million	No, but exceeded target
	Scotland	N/A	N/A	N/A	No, but exceeded target
How we have performed in improving this public service	This was an abnormally high year of grant allocations due to the catch up as a result of delays caused by Covid-19, and the European Regional Development Fund programme ending. Higher grants have a direct correlation with increases in the value of sales generated by businesses as a direct result of Economic Development intervention.

Number of business gateway start-ups per 10,000 population
What this means	This indicator provides the rate of business gateway start-ups per 10,000 population.
Why this matters	This high-level indicator is important because new business formation is a good indicator of how conducive we are to entrepreneurship in the business environment. Small businesses make up 92.5% of the business base and 40.2% of employment in South Lanarkshire. They are the lifeblood of local town centres and communities, and a fundamental aim of the council is to improve the business creation and growth of small businesses in the area.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	8.95	15.71	16.20	Yes
	Scotland	11.19	14.41	14.30	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	The number of business gateway start-ups per 10,000 population has increased from 8.95 in 2020-21 to 15.71 in 2021-22 and 16.20 in 2022/23. This is higher (better than) the Scottish Average of 14.30. Economic Development continue to work with the Lanarkshire Business Gateway to increase business start-up and sustainability. The revised Business gateway management arrangements from March 2024 should further enhance delivery and efficiency for businesses. A review of targets under the new management arrangements is ongoing.

Immediately available employment land as a % of total land allocated for employment purposes in the local development plan
What this means	Available employment land is undeveloped land allocated for employment use (Class 4, Class 5 and Class 6) in Local Plans or which has valid planning consent.
Why this matters	The availability of land for development is a significant factor that affects local economic growth, and it falls within the councils’ local development planning powers to influence this. This measure shows how ‘investor ready’ and competitive the council is in providing infrastructure to do business.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	37.47%	12.73%	12.1%	Yes
	Scotland	38.91%	27.19%	22.8%	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	The Employment Land Audit annually surveys availability and take up of land within South Lanarkshire. The Local Development Plan 2 (LDP2) was adopted in 2021 and is now three years into the five year cycle. It is being reviewed and a new LDP3 is being prepared under Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. As part of this process, a comprehensive review of available land use provision is being undertaken. Availability reduction can be a positive indication of take up or a requirement to identify and provide more serviced land within the council area. The LDP Evidence Report will provide an updated position in the final quarter of 2024.

We will take forward the following key areas for improvement:

Work with the Business Gateway contractor, Elevator, to increase numbers of new business starts
Deliver programmes, services, and events to businesses around key sectors, locations, and themes (such as food and drink, tourism, construction, low carbon, innovation, internationalisation, collaboration, and young enterprise)
Implement a suite of key strategies and plans, all of which are inherently linked to the key themes of sustainable economic development, including:
- South Lanarkshire Economic Strategy
- Tourism Strategy
- Social Enterprise Strategy
Complete the South Lanarkshire wide town centre visioning strategy
Progress action to further understand the factors that influence the level of local spend and identify further opportunities for local spend.

Resource Plans are prepared each year by all council Resources to outline the key developments they intend to take forward in the year. Performance and actions relating to economic development can be found in the Community and Enterprise Resource Plan.

Twice a year, performance reports are presented to council committees on progress against the Resource Plans. In addition, reports detailing progress against the Council Plan Connect Priorities are prepared - see Quarter 2 (September) for performance reports for further information.

More information on our outcomes can be found in the Council Plan Connect and also the Annual Performance Spotlights.

Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) allows councils to work together, to use performance information in a way which will help understand variations, share knowledge, expertise and good practice, with a view to making improvements. For more information and links relating to this framework go to the 'Benchmarking' paragraph on the Improvement and how we compare page on our website.

The information contained within this report reflects the position based on the data available at the time of publication (March 2024)