Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram Announces ₤214,000 Funding for Racial Equality Projects

AS part of its recently launched Race Equality Programme, Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, has announced ₤214,000 for pre-development funding towards 3 projects that will help tackle racial inequality in the City Region. The funding will enable the 3 projects to get started on important work that will contribute towards identifying and tackling the barriers that negatively impact on the economic position of BAME Communities.

The 3 projects approved for funding are:-

► Nia Black Business Hub Pilot:- ₤93,573 for the Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre to run a pilot to develop the concept and delivery plan for a project which aims to create the City Region's 1st business incubation and support hub specifically for Black led businesses.

► Positive Action and Employment Support Programme:- ₤65,000 for the design of an LCR wide positive action infrastructure and employment support programme, to deliver significant benefits both to individuals and to business and economic performance across Liverpool City Region.

► International Slavery Museum:- ₤55,000 to take forward the 1st stage of pre-development funding for the International Slavery Museum, including enhanced virtual classroom resources; making the existing transatlantic slavery programme more accessible and providing a new legacies programme; and a pop up exhibition exploring ways of using the Martin Luther King Jnr Building (the former Dock Traffic Office), in connection with the International Slavery Museum.

Speaking about the pre-development funding, Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "Events over the past year have bought into sharp focus the deep seated and structural inequalities that exist in our society and, as Mayor, I have Committed our City Region to taking meaningful action to address this. In October we launched our Race Equality Programme and pledged to listen honestly to the issues facing the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities within our City Region and work together to drive change. This funding marks and an important 1st step and I'm delighted we've been able to help projects that support BAME businesses, address inequalities and underrepresentation in our economy, and face up to the legacy of slavery in our City Region"

Michelle Charters, CEO, from Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre, said:- "We are delighted with this financial support and Commitment from Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram and the Combined Authority. It will allow us to work in collaboration with the Women's Organisation and build on the work of L8 A Better Place in order to pilot and develop the Nia Black Business Hub, which will offer support to people of African, Caribbean, Asian and Arab descent in order to develop new ideas, initiatives and businesses in the LCR Region."

Claire Benjamin, Head of Learning and Participation, at National Museums Liverpool, said:- "Our Legacies virtual classroom will explore the importance of Black representation and cultural identity prior to transatlantic slavery, as well as current day issues and campaigns. Support from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will help us to create digital resources for Schools, a bursary programme, and professional development opportunities for Teachers and educators in how to meaningfully engage children and young people with these important themes and subjects."

A boom in manufacturers selling direct to consumer (D2C) will provide a ₤4.3bn boost to the North West industry's coffers by 2023, research from Barclays Corporate Banking has just revealed. The new report:- 'A direct approach,' Combines polling of manufacturers, logistics firms and consumers with detailed economic modelling2 to assess the impact of D2C sales, where traditional channels of distribution such as retailers and wholesalers are bypassed. The results show that a surge in North West shoppers going direct will mean sales through this channel total ₤18.3bn in 2023; an increase from ₤14bn this year.

The growth is being driven by consumer choices exacerbated by the Pandemic. 59% of the people from the North West surveyed said they now frequently go direct to manufacturers because they believe they will get a better price (35%) and better service (25%). In addition, 30% of consumers are buying direct as a conscious decision to support the UK manufacturing sector. The most frequently purchased through the 'direct approach' are clothes (41%), electronics (29%) and food and drink 26%; as well as larger items such as household appliances (29%) and furniture (25%).

Encouragingly for manufacturers, consumers' newly formed habits show no signs of abating even after the Pandemic, with 52% saying they will continue to shop online as much as they do now, and 13% predicting they'll turn to eCommerce even more often. Shoppers in the North West expect 30% of their home deliveries to Come via D2C in 2023, rising from 18% in 2020.

These trends have seen 14% of manufacturers in the North West set up a D2C channel in 2020; each investing an average of 280k to do so; while 25% have seen an increase in D2C sales. However, despite the growing prominence of direct sales, all the manufacturers surveyed also continue to work with wholesalers and retailers.

The move to D2C means that many manufacturing firms in the North West are creating jobs: 56% of those introducing direct channels this year have recruited new staff across areas such as customer service. In fact, there could be as many as 18,000 new job roles in the North West supported by D2C sales across the next 3 years: rising from 59,000 in 2020 to 77,000 in 2023. This is positive news for an industry where, on average, each Company has lost 23% of its revenue and 16% of its headcount across 2020.

The logistics sector is also benefiting from the move to D2C. Barclays estimates that around 85 million parcels and packages will be delivered to UK households this year thanks to D2C sales from manufacturers, and that this will rise by around 30% to 110 million in 2023. In fact, logistics firms predict that D2C contracts will account for 50% of their annual revenue in 3 years' time, Compared to 39% this year. To accommodate this growth, 45% are leasing more vehicles, 42% are employing more staff and 28% are taking on more real estate.

Lee Collinson, Head of Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics at Barclays Corporate Banking, said:- "2020 has been a turbulent year for all industries, and the manufacturing sector is no different. However, the increasing demand to procure goods direct from the Companies that make them is providing growth opportunities and confidence for manufacturers of all sizes. D2C sales will help manufacturing firms increase their earnings and protect and create jobs in the next 3 years: that's a welcome shot in the arm not only for the industry, but also for the wider UK economy."

Other notable, nationwide findings from the report include:-

► The food and drink manufacturing sector will be the biggest beneficiary of D2C growth in the next 3 years, adding around ₤5.7bn of revenue and creating 27,300 new jobs.

► Growth in D2C sales could be accompanied by a surge in sustainable deliveries, as 23% of consumers now say that this has an influence on their purchasing decisions.

► More than a quarter of manufacturers are already using electric vehicles to deliver packages to consumers as part of their overall fleet.

► Meanwhile, over 42% of manufacturing firms say that, while they don't currently use electric vehicles, they have plans to introduce them.