Are Brexit's ‘left-behind’ towns the consequence of too much focus on cities?

Simon Jeffrey and Rebecca McDonald of Centre for Cities discuss their Talk of the Town report and explain the economic interdependence of towns and cities.

As the concept of ‘left-behind’ towns like Grimsby and Walsall emerged from analysis of leave voting patterns in the EU referendum, some commentators suggested that such towns may have suffered from the recent policy and investment focus on cities.

Talk of the Town examines the economic relationship between towns and cities and concludes that in reality, successful cities also deliver benefits to their local towns, places where many of their workforce are resident.

Founded ten years ago to look understand the relative underperformance of UK cities compared with their counterparts elsewhere, Centre for CIties has been dedicated to understanding what policy and investments might make places like Manchester and Birmingham overcome the drag of their industrial past and their persistently high pockets of deprivation.

Talk of the Town suggests that ‘city-focussed’ policies like mayors and city deals that have been good for cities have also been good for local towns, even if cities continue to be where the majority of businesses and jobs are found.

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An Audience with CLGdotTV No.4 February 6th 2019 - This Smart Life

 

10.30 - Coffee and Registration

11:00-11:40 – The smart employment conundrum (Sponsored by Hammond Clarke)
Employees and their employers are re-thinking life-styles and life-choices and planning for improved work-life balance in This Smart Life. Work is now a state of mind not a place of labour. Working hours are changing. Every aspect of HR is affected by the smart revolution Recruiting and retaining employees is changing and will go on changing. There are both opportunities and threats as we consider how to manage the remote workforce. What are the implications for the working day in a world that no longer can afford commuting and the rush hour. Both employers and employees can look forward to greater flexibility in all aspects of employment but all will find it flexibility comes at a price. And how does the caring organisation care for a remote workforce? Flexibility in work practices will make diversity easier to achieve but will our attitudes need tuning up to make the most of these new opportunities. With guest panelist Karen Grave, President of the Public Services People Managers Association (PPMA), Nick Chenery, Head of Local Government Practice , Hammond Clarke

12:00-12:40 – Health & wellbeing – The Caring Home. (Sponsored by Pinacl Solutions)
Fitting IOT sensors to dwellings and so improving the health of the occupants not only improves the lives of citizens but can also save local authorities, social landlords, and health and social care services money. Retro-fitting the sensors can work and is worth the effort but getting the fibre into the ground at the start of new build developments is essential. Knowing what to do with the raw data once it starts to flow back up the pipeline is key. With guest panelists Roy Grant Head of super connected cities and digital innovation City of York, Mark Lowe, Strategic relations director Pinacl, Nick Hampson, CEO Karantis 360

13:00-13:40 – Being ‘smart’ about transformation (Sponsored by TBC)
How can you be ‘smart’ about transformation when you are one of many public sector players operating across a large footprint. With Jason Kitcat, Executive Director for Corporate Development, Essex County Council and formerly leader, Brighton & Hove City Council.

14:00-14:40 – The DroneZone - local Airspace Management (Sponsored by Dedrone)
This programme is being sponsored by Dedrone, with guest panelists Amit Samani of Dedrone and Elaine Whyte of PwC. Further details on content will be published in due course.

15:00-15:40 – This Smart Life (Sponsored by TBC)
With panelists Darren Capes Intelligent Transport Systems Policy Lead at Department for Transport; Linda Chandler Founder Hyperlocal Cities and formerly Microsoft Smart Cities Lead and Dr David Greenfield, founder of SOENECS, Chartered Waste Manager, Fellow of the CIWM, Fellow of the RSA, Associate Member of the ICE and Chartered Environmentalist.

1600 Close

All this takes place at 58 Victoria Embankment (the NESTA building) two minutes walk from London Blackfriars Station. Cameras are rolling by 11:00am and it's all over bar the handshakes by 3:40pm. Lunch and refreshments? Of course. But let’s be frank, it’s the quality of the brain food not the sandwiches that make this the single most useful ticket for those shaping the future of UK local public services.

An Audience with CLGdotTV is now running eight times a year. We invite a studio audience of around 50 to join us to make five CLGdotTV programmes. There are no power-points and the questions and interventions from the floor are valued as much as much as the panellists' contributions.

Some guests stay with us for just one programme and some stay for the lot. It’s a logistical nightmare but somehow we make it work. Each programme is broadcast on CLGdotTV. Plus we edit a 30-40 minute video summary of the day’s conversations with clips from all the debates.

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Got a theme for 'An Audience With' or a programme idea? Wish you could be a studio guest? Want to tell the world about something relevant to our themes or topics? A seat in the studio on panels or in the audience is by invitation. Contact Ben Webber b.webber@boilerhouse.co.uk  View a programme from An Audience With CLGdotTV No.2 (on local digital servcies) and from An Audience With CLGdotTV No.3 (health and social care)

 

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