Staff shortages and supply problems are having an impact on Warwickshire businesses

Staff shortages and problems with supply are having an impact on Warwickshire businesses according to a county council report.

But although the latest economic development update said further issues could result when the furlough scheme ends, it also highlighted a number of schemes aimed at boosting the region.

David Ayton-Hill, the council’s assistant director for communities, told the meeting of the communities overview and scrutiny meeting on Wednesday (September 22): “We are getting that perfect storm with supply chain and labour shortage problems starting to bite.

“It is potentially slightly worse in Warwickshire because of our sectorial make-up - we have a lot of distribution companies in the north of the county and they are facing that labour supply shortage, and we have a lot of tourism and hospitality businesses in the south and they are struggling with getting people back into work.”

His report added: “The level of job vacancies has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but many businesses continue to report difficulties in recruiting, including significant shortages in staff affecting our hospitality and tourism businesses.

“The full impact of the end of the furlough scheme is also uncertain with recent surveys suggesting fewer redundancies than previously expected but, nonetheless, further increases in unemployment towards the end of the year are expected.”

Among the schemes aimed at boosting the region’s economy, Mr Ayton-Hill outlined one that would help the tourism and leisure sector.

In his report he explained that Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce would deliver a new, dedicated business support programme.

He said: “The programme – which is funded by £513,622 from WCC’s place shaping and economic recovery fund – will offer industry-specific support to tourism businesses and complement the Visit Warwickshire campaign.

“The Chamber, who will be subcontracting aspects of the delivery to Shakespeare’s England and also working with North Warwickshire Tourism, is already seeing a good level of interest without any significant marketing and promotion. The programme will be formally launched once their delivery team is in place.

“A marketing campaign and a series of events are planned for the autumn after the busy summer season for tourism businesses.”

He added that while figures showed a difficult 18 months for many parts of the economy, Coventry and Warwickshire continued to be a leading location for foreign investment.