West Yorkshire businesses to benefit from new scheme to boost productivity

The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, has launched a service to boost productivity and help ease growing pressure on businesses in Kirklees, Wakefield and other parts of the county.

It will highlight key barriers to improve productivity and work with businesses, to develop tools needed to address them.

In the first phase of the service, businesses with between five and 100 employees will receive advice and support on how to boost productivity.

Once that is complete, a vast majority of them will be offered grants for new equipment to address further productivity gaps.

The new campaign follows warnings that 5,000 businesses in the region will be affected by higher energy bills as the government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme comes to an end this April.

Ms Brabin said: “We must support West Yorkshire’s hardworking businesses during this difficult time as they grapple with record levels of inflation.

“Helping boost productivity means businesses in West Yorkshire will thrive and continue to create good jobs for people living here in the region.”

Batley councillor and leader of Kirklees Council, Shabir Pandor, Chair of the Business, Economy and Innovation Committee, also welcomed the service.

“A targeted package of support like this will be vital for businesses across West Yorkshire,” he said.

"We’ve seen huge pressure on our communities over the last few months, but we’re doing what we can to support and help people.”