Questionnaire for the Lincoln Business Community

What is the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative?

The Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) is a government initiative that aims to release the economic and productivity potential of the most deprived areas across the UK through enterprise and investment, to boost local incomes and employment opportunities, and to build sustainable communities.

This aim is supported by three outcomes:

• Increase total entrepreneurial activity among the population in deprived areas
• Support the sustainable growth and reduce the failure rate of locally-owned businesses in deprived areas
• Attract appropriate investment (including franchising) into deprived areas, making use of local labour resources.

These three outcomes reflect the contribution that business start-ups, growth businesses, and inward investors make to both national-level productivity growth and local economic development in deprived areas.  

LEGI will provide local authorities, in partnership with key stakeholders, with the freedom to best determine the needs, options and solutions for stimulating economic development in their area.

The City of Lincoln Council is going to apply for LEGI funding in the second round, with a deadline of 14 September 2006.  The development of the application is being managed by Amanda Spalding, the Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Enterprise, the Sub regional Strategic partnership for this area.

The partnership that is overseeing the bid is the Lincoln Local Strategic Partnership, through its Economy and Enterprise Theme Group and the Lincoln Employment Consortium, both of which include members of the Greater Lincoln business community, the Chamber of Commerce, and the .Federation of Small Businesses.

How much is LEGI worth?
Individual local authorities that are successful in applying for LEGI funding should expect to receive a significant sum of money, anything up to £10 million a year, depending on the amount of resources needed in different areas.

Which areas are covered?
The aim of LEGI is to benefit people and businesses in deprived communities.  Various parts of Lincoln are described as deprived in national indicators, and the areas that we shall target are in Abbey, Birchwood, Castle, Glebe, Park, Moorland and Minster wards.  However, projects can be located outside of the target areas to provide opportunities for people and businesses in those areas. A map is available.

What has it go to do with me/my business?
Lincoln has a very low level of registered business, a low self-employment rate and a low level of total entrepreneurial activity.  It also has high levels of deprivation, and low incomes.  So, if you run a business in Lincoln, you are relatively unusual and we want hear from you.

In developing this bid we want to hear from business people about the needs of businesses, and the barriers that they face in setting up, being successful and growing.

We would like to ask you to answer the following questions; tell us who else we should have asked, and give us any other comments you would like to make.

We would be grateful if you could reply to this questionnaire and send it back to Amanda Spalding at a.spalding@lincolnshire-enterprise.com before Monday 14th August.  All of your comments will be treated confidentially and we shall not identify businesses that have responded.

Questionnaire - Word format

Questionnaire - PDF document