Investing in high streets, providing job training for local people and helping small businesses with the cost of going green are at the heart of a new blueprint for creating Westminster’s fairer, inclusive and more sustainable economy.
The Fairer Economy plan aims to provide more opportunity through an ambitious set of commitments to reform the economy in centre of the nation’s capital.
From a £10m investment in high streets to helping local people get jobs in Westminster, the plan is designed to have a broad impact across the City.
Key elements include:
- A £10m investment fund to invest in high streets around Paddington and Bayswater
- Transforming Oxford Street from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch in partnership with NWEC
- A new education, employment and skills board bringing together employers, training providers, FE colleges, and HEIs and the Council to ensure young people can access the right jobs training and careers paths and advice
- Lobbying the Government to reinstate VAT free shopping - allowing the West End to compete with global capitals.
- A push to reform the outdated business rates system - helping bricks and mortar stores to compete with online retail giants
- The launch of the first ever social impact report as part of the council’s commitment to ensuring the companies which provide services to the City Hall also benefit Westminster’s wider community
Westminster generates £76bn a year across 750,000 jobs in its 53,000 businesses. While the West End supports one in eight jobs across the capital, the new plan recognises the importance of Westminster’s many small businesses – including those with less than ten employees - facing rising rents and online retail competitors.
Read the full Fairer Economy plan
Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development said:
Today’s announcement is the start of a conversation with Westminster’s employers, educational institutions, and our communities - those people who create wealth and the jobs we want to see. We have some of the world’s best-known companies within walking distance of areas with social challenges, but so many of them tell me they are crying out for young people with the right talents. This plan is about ensuring those two groups get connected.
We want this plan to do three things - keep the West End thriving, to support small businesses and local high streets, and to equip our residents with the skills needed to get fulfilling well-paid jobs with career prospects.
Cllr Barraclough launched the plan at an event at Somerset House, welcoming guests and outlining our economic plans for the next three years.
Published: 20 June 2023