Metro Mayor announces ₤10.5m for new investment company, as he reveals Liverpool City Region's ambition to be an innovation powerhouse

THE Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has revealed his vision for the Liverpool City Region to be a UK innovation powerhouse; as he announced ₤10.5m for a unique project to develop great ideas. The investment has created a new company; LCR Ventures; to help innovators turn their ideas into high growth businesses and good quality jobs. The Liverpool City Region is aiming to invest more than double the national target on Research and Development (R&D) by 2030, linked to ₤3bn of innovation projects. LCR Ventures will initially provide so called:- "incubator" services and funding to very early stage start up companies in the Liverpool City Region's health and life sciences sector, which is 1of the strongest in the country.

In the short term LCR Ventures, thought to be the only company of its kind in the country, is expected to create 60 to 100 jobs, with more as the start up companies grow. LCR Ventures will take an equity stake in innovative new businesses in return for financial support and expertise in an effort to make them fully sustainable and high growth. If the business is successful, the investment will be recycled and reinvested.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "In the Liverpool City Region, we are very lucky to have a cluster of world class research institutions and a real passion for innovation. I want to take advantage of those strengths and turn them into profitable businesses, creating jobs and prosperity for local people, as well as delivering advances in healthcare that should save and improve people's lives. Our investment builds on the assets of our Region's fantastic health and life sciences sector and will provide the support needed to help turn good ideas into great businesses. I'm determined to make our Region the country's innovation engine and, to make that happen, we'll be investing 5% of our GVA in Research and Development over the next few years; nearly double the Government's national targets. I truly believe that with the right support we could help take our health and life sciences sector stratospheric. By investing now to establish ourselves as a hotbed of innovation and new technology, we'll be able to attract many more high skilled, well paid jobs and attract many, many more jobs, businesses and opportunities from around the world."

The 1st ₤7.5m of funding has enabled project sponsor, The Innovation Agency to establish LCR Ventures as a stand alone not for-profit company. It will also create a ₤5m Challenge Fund for the health and life sciences sector, where the City Region has existing world class assets, including:- the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the largest cluster of specialist NHS Hospitals and supporting assets outside London. The ambition is to expand to other sectors in future as further funding becomes available. The Combined Authority has ringfenced almost ₤3m to achieve this goal.

LCR Ventures founding chief executive Lorna Green said the ideas and passion for innovation to improve life for patients and staff are already there. But funds are needed:- "To help these ideas at an early stage, to develop a prototype, test it out and protect the intellectual property. Investors want to back a product, not an idea, and with this new fund we can plug the gap in funding early stage development to make it investment ready. We will grow a pipeline of high value start ups and by attracting further investment we will be able to take ideas from concept to commercialisation, increasing the Region's skill base and ultimately benefiting patients and the local population."

The Liverpool City Region has 4 internationally recognised:- 'Global Digital Exemplar' NHS providers, and more specialist health trusts and supporting assets than any UK City outside London, with nationally significant centres of excellence in children's health, cardiology, oncology, neurology and women's health. It also has distinctive, world leading innovation assets in the STFC Hartree Centre for artificial intelligence and high performance computing, the University of Liverpool's Materials Innovation Factory for materials chemistry, and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine for infectious diseases.

Councillor Janette Williamson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Economy and Third Sector, said:- "Our investment in LCR Ventures is proof of the scale of our ambition when it comes to putting innovation to work as a key driver for our economy. We want to make sure that we can build on the strengths we already have, particularly in health and life sciences, and I am sure that LCR Ventures will act as a very powerful catalyst, enabling our innovators to turn their big ideas into great businesses and high quality jobs."

More than 100 innovations are currently being developed by NHS clinicians across the City Region, each with the potential to deliver economic impact, commercial returns and improve patient outcomes. LCR Ventures will provide the business support; while allowing the clinicians to continue working in the NHS.

LCR Ventures will complement and integrate with existing business and innovation support in the City Region and has been co-developed by Growth Platform, the Combined Authority and the Innovation Agency, which is the Academic Health Science Network for North West Coast.
 

Councils key to success of Vaccine uptake a year on from 1st Vaccine dose

A year on from the 1st public dose of a Covid19 Vaccine in the UK, the Local Government Association is thanking Councils for their role in supporting the roll out of the Vaccine. The 1st dose of the Covid19 Vaccine was administered to 90 year old Margaret Keenan who received a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine, on 8 December 2020. Since then, more than 118 million doses of the Vaccine; including the new booster shot, have been administered in the UK, with the roll out supported by Local Authorities who have and continue to play a fundamental role alongside the NHS in keeping residents informed and supporting them to attend appointments. Councils have also worked to help transform many local venues into vaccination centres, from places of worship, sports venues and even a former nightclub. Recent efforts have seen more pop up clinics at:- Libraries, Football Stadiums, shopping centres and even mobile bus clinics, ensuring vaccinations are accessible to all members of the community. Councils have also continued to draw on local community leaders and community groups to support uptake of the Vaccine amongst asylum seekers, refugees and ethnic minority groups to dispel myths and offer clear information in a non-pressurised environment.

Cllr James Jamieson, LGA Chairman, said:- "The Vaccine roll out programme has been a huge success so far and Local Authorities have been integral to the roll out of the programme from the beginning, working closely with the NHS. Using their local knowledge, they have been able to offer more personalised support to encourage residents to get vaccinated. The success of the programme has enabled society to return to a level of normality which has had significant benefits for the health and wellbeing of all residents, while supporting the recovery of our economy. Vaccination is ultimately our route out of this Pandemic and we encourage everyone to get their Covid19 Vaccine whether it be your first, second or booster dose. Although there is still work to be done to overcome issues such as Vaccine hesitancy, communities can be assured that Councils will continue working hard to ensure residents are supported to get the Vaccine."
 

LGA responds to ONS figures on deaths of people homeless

RESPONDING to figures from the Office for National Statistics on the number of deaths of people who were homeless in England and Wales in 2020, Cllr David Renard, Local Government Association housing spokesperson, said:- "These are deeply distressing figures, with many of these deaths preventable. The concern is they could be just the tip of the iceberg and underestimate the true number of deaths of homeless people. They prove just how vital it is that we build on the success of Everyone In, which saw Councils act rapidly to help rough sleepers off the streets during the Pandemic, and make sure it is not just a 1 off emergency response. For that to happen, we need a cross-departmental Government plan to tackle homelessness with long term investment in prevention and services to support economically vulnerable people and households to prevent homelessness from happening in the 1st place. Councils also need to be able to deliver a house building programme of 100,000 social homes for rent each year to tackle our severe social housing shortage. Councils are determined to ensure vulnerable people have the right support and treatment. With 2in five deaths related to drug poisoning, this highlights the critical need for public health services to be fully funded."