Lanarkshire Business Gateway Services

Tender description

Business Gateway is a publicly funded, nationally branded service that provides free business support and impartial advice for start-up and existing businesses based in Scotland. Following changes to the delivery of local economic regeneration agreed in 2007, the delivery of the Business Gateway service across Scotland was be transferred to local government on 01 April 2008 in order to align more closely with local priorities and economic development. In Lanarkshire the lead local authority North Lanarkshire Council, works in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council to manage the delivery across North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire. For the region, the Business Gateway Service is outsourced and delivered by a third party provider. Since the transfer to Local Authorities in 2008, service in Lanarkshire has been outsourced and delivered by a third party provider. The current contract was procured in 2017 and ran for a 24 month period, plus two optional 12 month extensions. The current contract will run up to the 28th February 2021 with the new delivery commencing on 01 March 2021. Annually since 2017 Business Gateway in Lanarkshire was targeted to start up 1000 new businesses and provide support and advice to over 500 companies who have shown growth potential in terms of increased turnover and employment. Services required shall enable Lanarkshire based business adequate access and guidance for support to within the following areas: -Business Start-Up Service -Existing and Growing Business Service; and -Local Business Services The strategic objectives and most importantly the results the Councils wish to achieve through the Contract have been outlined below. These are wide ranging and may be subject to change throughout the Contract, the importance of each will change and be flexed throughout the Contract period, depending on the local economic environment: The strategic objectives the Councils wish to achieve through the next generation of contract have been outlined below: -To Stimulate and Support an Entrepreneurial Culture within Lanarkshire -To ensure all Businesses are able to -Access Appropriate Business Support -To Support Employment Opportunities and Inclusive Growth -To Support the Growth and Development of Key Priority Sectors and Areas of Local Economic Importance, including (but not limited to: Tourism, Food & Drink, Life Sciences, Creative Industries, Logistics / Transport, Energy (including Renewables and Low Carbon), Manufacturing / Engineering, Construction, inclusive growth, Low Carbon, Digitisation and Internationalisation -Deliver an Agile Service, responsive to Business Needs that joins seamlessly with other Local Authority and Partner Services -To Support the Economic Recovery of Lanarkshire The results the Councils wish to achieve through the next generation of contract have been outlined below: -New Jobs -New Business Relocating to the Area -Increase in Business Starts to Support an Increase in Total Number of Businesses per 10,000 of Adult Population -Increase in Business Starts Meeting the VAT Threshold within 12 months -Increase in Business Survivability -Increase in Sales -Safeguarded Jobs -Reduction in Unemployment -Increase in Equitable Opportunities, those from Areas of Deprivation, Women, BME, Disabled Persons and Young People -Increase in the Skills of the Lanarkshire Working Population with Skills Meeting the Demands of the Job Market -Increase in Locally Important Sectors -Increase in Internationalisation of Businesses -Increase in the Digital Capability of Businesses -Demonstrable Increase in New Business Support Initiatives and Partnership Working -Increased Number of Existing Business Supported, New to the Business Gateway Service -Support and Develop Supply Chains To support these objectives and results a local service specification and deliverables have been designed. There are three (3) key service areas which together form the subject of the local service specification. The Service Provider will be expected to deliver the whole of the Services covering each of the three areas which are: a) Start-up Advisory Service; b) Existing and Growing Business Service; and c) Business Gateway Local Services. Further information is located within the ITT document available within the PCS-T System.