WLGA responds to BBC research on economic resilience
30 January 2012
A WLGA Spokesperson said:
“The findings of the research commissioned by the BBC underline the importance of ‘Convergence’ status for West Wales and the Valleys, whereas East Wales and areas identified as more resilient tend to have ‘competitiveness status’.”
“Although the ‘community’ heading suggests a town-versus-country split, there is a 20% weighting given to ‘deprivation’, for which they have used the Wales Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD). That index measures concentrations of deprivation and therefore picks up on urban rather than rural deprivation. The WLGA’s Rural Forum has highlighted there are some serious problems of deprivation in rural areas too. If anything, this could accentuate the findings given the rural nature of much of West and North Wales.”
“On the issue of local government support for small business, there is extensive support available from councils to Small and Medium Enterprises. A report we prepared some time ago gives details: http://www.wlga.gov.uk/english/waste-improvement-programme/”
“Work the WLGA has been doing under the Sustainable Development Framework would suggest there is more to resilience than the factors considered by this report. For example, we have looked at issues of energy security, food security, climate change, all of which are also critical to an areas’ long term resilience. On a positive note, parts of North and West Wales have opportunities in relation to local food and energy production, with associated economic and employment opportunities, that could help them in terms of developing their long term resilience.”
For more information contact: Lucy Sweet