The new ‘Driving Investment and Sustainable Growth for Oxfordshire’ (DISGO) report highlights the work of the organisation with the county’s business community, from April 2023 to March 2024.
With major impacts made right across the county’s businesses, wider communities and labour market, the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) have brought together its key achievements in its latest, interactive report ‘Driving Investment and Sustainable Growth for Oxfordshire (DISGO)’.
Looking back on significant outcomes delivered by OxLEP throughout the 2023/24 financial year – and brought to life by a host of case studies featuring those organisations and people benefiting from its programmes – the report highlights the role OxLEP has played in leveraging and enhancing the prospects of businesses and communities in Oxfordshire.
During the 12 months highlighted in the report, OxLEP announced that overall, it supported almost 1,800 businesses, provided over 2,800 hours of support and retained millions of pounds-worth of apprenticeship levy for the county –investment that would have otherwise been lost to Oxfordshire.
Currently, around £3.6million-worth of unused apprenticeship levy has been pledged to OxLEP’s Social Contract programme, via almost 300 large businesses, ready to be accessed by small businesses looking to create apprenticeship opportunities.
The report also highlights that, since its launch in 2011, OxLEP has now supported, monitored and completed a host of Local Growth Fund and Getting Building Fund projects, worth almost half a billion pounds.
In total, OxLEP – alongside key partners – have ensured businesses and communities alike have benefited from £441.7million of investment via the Local Growth Fund and Getting Building Fund
The report also offers an insight into how the Oxfordshire business landscape has functioned over the past year, acting as a ‘temperature-test’ as to the position and mindset of the businesses and communities that have sought support over that period.
It shows that of the businesses that filled out the Business Support Tool – OxLEP Business’ free business support diagnostic tool – over the period, 321 were start-ups, 178 were scale-ups (20%-plus growth per year), 122 were pre-start, 51 were growing businesses (10% growth per year), and 19 were established businesses.
DISGO also features how the development of skills, careers and employment within the county have been supported significantly over the period, with 35 Community Employment Plans developed over the past year by OxLEP Skills, working with some of the county’s largest and most reputable employers.
With a mission to ‘inspire and support business, secure investment and drive opportunities for economic prosperity across communities’, OxLEP operates across a series of teams – each with standout achievements highlighted with the report.
During 2023/24, OxLEP delivered:
- Almost 700 support plans via its online tool for businesses
- £842,000-worth of grants for over 50 visitor economy businesses
- Webinars to 750 plus businesses
- Support to over 20 Ukrainian nationals, helping them to start a business
- Through the annual CareersFest event, inspiration to over 3,250 students to discover exciting career paths
- Almost 500 devices to individuals to reduce digital poverty via the ‘No Limits’ programme
- Support to 429 people, helping them to move closer to the labour market via ‘No Limits’
- Via the Oxfordshire Careers Hub, support to 58 secondary schools and further education colleges in the county
- Major awareness for apprenticeships in the county, engaging dozens of businesses and apprentices alike, with 115 entries received for the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards
As a highly successful base for numerous key, global technologies and industries, OxLEP has also worked with central government to land 46 foreign direct investments for Oxfordshire over the period, generating just under 2,500 jobs for the county.
Nigel Tipple, OxLEP Chief Executive, said: “The last financial year has posed some significant changes for OxLEP as an organisation, with the government’s decision to end its sponsorship of Local Enterprise Partnerships, shaping our move to becoming an Oxfordshire County Council-owned entity.
“However – one thing that has remained consistent over the period is OxLEP’s commitment. Our commitment to the organisations we work alongside, as well as backing Oxfordshire businesses and communities through the work we do.
“With the standout achievements across our teams laid out within this new report, we now look to the future and will leverage ongoing partnerships, identifying opportunities, delivering positively for Oxfordshire.
“We are proud of the results we have achieved as an organisation but are clear that our role in championing Oxfordshire’s economic potential must continue and with similar momentum.”
OxLEP are now an Oxfordshire County Council-owned company with the completion of a new governance and operational arrangement to be in-place for 1 April next year.
