What it means and why it matters
A strong economy means little if it leaves people behind. In Devon, too many residents face barriers to work, training, housing, or financial security – especially in rural, coastal, and low-wage areas. Meanwhile, businesses struggle to recruit to fill key skills gaps, retain qualified people, and grow without the infrastructure and workforce they need. This priority is about building a fairer, more inclusive economy that works for everyone, one where people can afford to live and work in the communities they grew up in, and where prosperity is shared across sectors, places, and social groups. We will focus on the drivers of inclusive growth: transport, digital access, workforce skills, and good jobs and work with partners to improve availability of housing to support local needs. We will support local businesses and social enterprises to thrive, help new businesses to start and keeping investment, opportunity, and innovation rooted in Devon.
We will work with district councils, businesses, universities, training providers and government agencies, including Homes England and devolution arrangements, to underpin the delivery of this strategic priority. We will reflect the Devolution Bill and our commitment to move forward with a mayoral strategic authority across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay in our activities.
Our six commitments are set out below with our four-year goals and activities.
Commitment: Support access to housing that meets local needs.
Goal: Support the delivery of affordable and key worker housing.
We will:
- Engage and work with partners including District Councils. Homes England and through devolution arrangements increase housing supply that meets local needs.
- Working with partners develop an investment pipeline for housing providing a co-ordinated approach to funders such as Homes England.
- Explore opportunities to secure investment and work with communities to bring forward community-based housing schemes.
Commitment: Improve skills, training, and employment support for under-represented groups.
Goal: Expand skills, training, and inclusive employment pathways.
We will:
- Work with businesses and education providers to address labour market skills gaps to support business growth.
- Promote apprenticeships, return-to-work programmes, and skills bootcamps to provide upskilling opportunities and in work progression pathways and consider how to support teenagers access part time work opportunities.
- Target employment and skills support for care leavers, SEND learners, over-50s, carers, and young people who are at risk, of or not in education, employment and training.
Commitment: Support better access to transport and digital connectivity, especially in rural areas
Goal: Reduce transport and digital exclusion as economic barriers, working with partners.
We will:
- Work with local communities, transport providers and other partners to develop rural transport options to connect people with jobs and training.
- Partner with providers and communities to explore options to increase broadband and mobile coverage, leveraging national funding where possible.
- Prioritise digital skills and digital access to learning and digital business support and workforce skills to assist business growth.
Commitment: Support small businesses, cooperatives, and social enterprises to grow.
Goal: Support local enterprise and community wealth-building.
We will:
- Support local businesses, social enterprises and cooperatives access public procurement opportunities and retain investment locally.
- Promote business support, advice and guidance services, including the Growth Hub and promote supply chain opportunities to grow local business opportunities.
- Work with partners to support town centre renewal, promote entrepreneurship for young people, and promote buy local opportunities.
Commitment: Promote improved wages and local wealth-building.
Goal: Promote improved wages and fair work, pay, and good employment practices.
We will:
- Consider how to support growth in high-value employment across our key sectors, supporting improving wage levels and employment opportunities for all.
- Partner with employers to improve career progression through clear pathways, supporting new sector growth opportunities and our key employment sectors.
- Use influence and convening power to champion inclusive growth.
Commitment: Address poverty and health inequality through joint action.
Goal: Address poverty, cost-of-living pressures, and health inequality through joined-up action, with a focus on vulnerable young people and adults.
We will:
- Work with health, education, and VCSE partners to tackle structural barriers to opportunity including access to employment, prioritising vulnerable young people and adults.
- Consider options to improve access and sign-posting to financial advice, food banks and cost-of-living support, working with the VCSE sector and other partners to support vulnerable families.
- Continue to work with partners within towns and communities where there is greatest need and develop approaches and joint working plans to provide targeted support to deliver improved economic and health outcomes, prioritising young people opportunities.