Both the Mayor of London and the LDA say they have no money, so what does it mean for enterprise support providers in London. Capital Enterprise hopes to find out when it meets with senior LDA personnel on the 7th of October. This much re-aaranged meeting was initially called to discuss the consultation exercise Capital Enterprise carried out on the Business Link Successor Service and the impact of the “Solution for Business” Agenda on present and future service delivery. We now hope to use the same meeting to find out more about the LDA plans and the impact of their present budget crisis on their funding for enterprise support programmes in London.
Capital Enterprise sources suggest that enterprise support programmes may have avoided “savage” budget cuts with only the planned “Rapid Response to Redundancy” programme (outlined in the Mayorof London Economic Recovery Plan ) facing the axe. However, the future of the Business London contract remains in doubt with every indication that it’s future, and the future funding of any intensive support programme for start-ups, is now very dependent on the LDA’s plans for Business Link for London.
Also affecting the level and type of support for the London economy and London’s businesses is the new Mayor of London Economic Development Strategy that is due out in the next two months. Although the strategy is still being debated, Capital Enterprise and its members have been warned to expect:
A: A big overall reduction in the funding of the LDA for measures that support enterprise. The Mayor and the LDA are looking for measures other than funding to demonstrate their “commitment” to enterprise.
B: A redirection of priorities and resources towards supporting establish businesses to “innovate”, and moving away from backing programmes that generically support business start-ups or business growth.
C: A greater emphasis diversifying London’s economy away from dependency on the City by supporting (in a mainly non- financial ways) London’s growth business sectors.
In short, the Mayor of London and LDA future strategy for supporting enterprise will be driven by a lack of money.
In consequence, I fully expect the funding criteria of European Regional Development Fund will be very closely aligned with the next London Economic Development Strategy, for the simple reason that it is a reliable source of revenue for LDA enterprise support programmes.
Furthermore, I expect that the Mayor of London and the LDA will be more interested in working with Capital Enterprise members and partmers who are able to co-finance (or deliver without LDA funding) solutions for business products. I suggest all members and partners take a good look at Solution for Business products to see if they are in a position to become the LDA’s co-finacier or self-funding delivery partner,
I will find out more on the 7th of October but if you have an issue or question you want me to raise with the LDA or Mayor of London office please let me know.
