Our Action Group Chairs recently met at The Queens Hotel in Portsmouth to review their progress, identify shared priorities and coordinate their plans for 2027.
Skills emerged as a common theme across multiple groups. Nationally, an estimated one million NEETs (young people Not in Education, Employment or Training), and the Central South is not excluded to this challenge. Business South and our Action Groups are committed to addressing this issue, promoting the region as a place to live, work and study, attracting investment and growing our regional economy. Our Maritime and Transport Action Group (MTAG) and Regenerate South’s Housing Group are both working to support this ambition.
Regenerate South has established a dedicated taskforce to facilitate development, bringing together the public and private sectors to unlock the Central South’s economic potential.
Sustainable South has published its first KPI document, helping SMEs and subcontractors measure their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions as they work towards Net Zero. The group is now focusing on its second KPI, Natural Health Services. Meanwhile, Energy & Utilities South was involved with the University of Southampton’s Clean Energy South report launch earlier this month at St Mary’s Stadium, with the report also presented to the All-Party Parliamentary Group.
The meeting also welcomed our two newest Action Groups: Leisure & Wellbeing South and Social Value South to the Chairs meeting. Leisure & Wellbeing South is prioritising a healthy workforce for healthy growth, while Social Value South is mapping existing activity and coordinating a unified approach to social value initiatives.
