Our 'Offers and Asks' are intended to provide consistent and clear messages to Government and Whitehall about what matters to Plymouth, both in terms of growing our economy and transforming public services. We expect this to change over time as we secure agreement on some 'Asks' and identify new ones. We're keen to establish an ongoing dialogue with Government where we clearly set out our offers, and the potential benefits. These benefits will be for the City first and foremost; the wider South West Peninsula; and for the Government.
We know that Plymouth's economy has yet to achieve its full potential as the main driver for economic growth in the Peninsula. Some of our key challenges include low productivity; poor connectivity within the region and beyond, particularly with London and the rest of the UK; an over-dependency on public sector jobs; and matching the right skills within the workforce with employers' needs. Our 'Asks' form part of our proposed solutions to these challenges, identifying the specific support that we require from Government.
We also recognise that the City faces significant challenges in terms of poor health outcomes, and securing sustainable funding for our public services and institutions. We're offering credible solutions to our challenges and only asking the Government for assistance on issues that we genuinely need support to unlock. We want to demonstrate to the Government that Plymouth is united in working together to tackle our challenges, and to create confidence that we have the right structures and relationships in place to manage our own affairs.
Principles
Our ‘Asks’ should be based on the following principles:
- They must be something that we cannot do just by ourselves locally.
- They must require something that only Government can change e.g. unlocking centrally held assets, changing legislation, devolving increased funding, or granting legal freedoms and flexibilities.
- They must have a sound business case with a clear offer to Government, and demonstrable benefits in return - a ‘something for something’ agenda.
They must link with our overall long term ambitions for the City in terms of the vision for Plymouth as set out in the Plymouth Plan.