Freedom of information response
Economic Development Team
I am writing to request information regarding the activities of the council's Economic Development / Business Support (ED) team.
1. Does the council have an Economic Development (ED) team that provides business support to local companies?
2. If so, please provide the email address and telephone number of the Economic Development team.
3. If the council does not have an ED team, please provide the contact details of the organisation responsible for offering business support in your council area.
4. Does the ED team use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system?
5. If a CRM system is in use, what is the name of the CRM system being used by the ED team?
6. If the ED team does not currently use a CRM system, does the ED team maintain a list of the companies that it supports?
7. And if the list is maintained on a spreadsheet, please share a blank copy of the spreadsheet, including the column headings indicating the information collected (no companies data is required).
8. Additionally, if the information requested is already publicly available, I kindly request detailed guidance on where I can find it. Specifically, please provide instructions on how to locate expenditure on a CRM related to the Economic Development team, including:
9. The name and location of the document or webpage where expenditure data is published.
10. Any specific filters or search terms I should apply to focus on expenditure related to the ED team and their subscription to a CRM.
11. Does the ED team report the number of business support request that they receive to anyone?
12. And if so, who does the ED team report to – i.e. who are the ED team’s key stakeholders?
This might include for example: own management team, councillors, Department for Business and Trade, Department for Levelling Up, others – please specify.
13. Kindly provide an example copy of the business support activity report the ED team gives its stakeholders.
1. Does the council have an Economic Development (ED) team that provides business support to local companies? No.
2. If so, please provide the email address and telephone number of the Economic Development team. n/a
3. If the council does not have an ED team, please provide the contact details of the organisation responsible for offering business support in your council area. Business support is currently provided by: The BEST Growth Hub Home - Best for business solutions : Best for business solutions (bestgrowthhub.org.uk); NWES Property Services: Nwes | Workspace, Funding and Free Business Support; Social Enterprise Network Thurrock delivered by BASES Basildon Social Enterprise Support (basildon-socialenterprise.co.uk). The Council is also subsidising membership of the Federation of Small Business: FSB | The Federation of Small Businesses
4. Does the ED team use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system? No
5. If a CRM system is in use, what is the name of the CRM system being used by the ED team? n/a
6. If the ED team does not currently use a CRM system, does the ED team maintain a list of the companies that it supports? Yes – in relation to UKSPF-funded projects commissioned by the Council (BEST Growth Hub is not UKSPF-funded and is commissioned via Essex County Council)
7. And if the list is maintained on a spreadsheet, please share a blank copy of the spreadsheet, including the column headings indicating the information collected (no companies data is required).
|
Contact Details |
Company Details (if applicable) |
Output Details |
Outcome Details |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Ref |
Business Name |
Contact Name |
Position within Company |
Email Address |
Phone Number |
Address Line 1 |
Address Line 2 |
Town |
County |
Postcode |
Company Number |
Business Start Date |
Age of Business When First Engaged (years) |
SIC Code |
Date of Initial Engagement |
Engagement Officer |
Output |
Type of Engagement |
Details of Engagement |
Date Outcome Achieved |
Type of Outcome |
Details of Outcome |
8. Additionally, if the information requested is already publicly available, I kindly request detailed guidance on where I can find it. Specifically, please provide instructions on how to locate expenditure on a CRM related to the Economic Development team, including: n/a
9. The name and location of the document or webpage where expenditure data is published. n/a
10. Any specific filters or search terms I should apply to focus on expenditure related to the ED team and their subscription to a CRM. n/a
11. Does the ED team report the number of business support request that they receive to anyone? Yes (for UKSPF-funded projects)
12. And if so, who does the ED team report to – i.e. who are the ED team’s key stakeholders?
This might include for example: own management team, councillors, Department for Business and Trade, Department for Levelling Up, others – please specify. Business support funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is reported to MHCLG. A local stakeholder group receives updates on Thurrock’s UKSPF programme. Internal reporting takes place via line management arrangements.
13. Kindly provide an example copy of the business support activity report the ED team gives its stakeholders.
The table below is provided to Thurrock’s local stakeholder group for all UKSPF-funded projects, including business support:
|
Ref |
Programme/Project |
Project Lead |
Progress Update (including outputs/outcomes) |
Risk Status |
Previous |
Actions for next period |
|
UKSPF intervention |
Project title and funding |
Short narrative including outputs and outcomes delivered |
Red/ Amber/ Green |
Red/ Amber/ Green |
Details of UKSPF reporting to MHCLG can be found at UK Shared Prosperity Fund: reporting, monitoring and performance management (3) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)