You are invited to join us for our online breakfast meeting with the Somerset County Council
With thanks to our event sponsors
BT.
Do you want to find out more about council plans for 2021? Got a burning question or issue you want to raise? This fantastic event is your opportunity to do so.
Back by popular demand we are delighted to be hosting another breakfast update with the Somerset Somerset County Council who will provide an annual update on the development prospects for Somerset. Discussions will cover a variety of topics, past topics have included Hinkley Point, broadband connectivity, governance and devolution.
We will be joined by speakers Shadi Malkawi and Simon Haston from BT.
Shadi Malkawi - Head of Client Partners for BT South West Key & Public Sector
looks after health, local authorities, universities, housing, blue light (excluding police) and large corporate accounts across the South West. Shadi's role is to bring together expertise across BT such as business development, consultancy and vertical specialists amongst many others to ensure
BT's propositions and solutions are meeting current and future digital needs of customers. The session will cover the benefits of digital transformation for keeping businesses and communities connected in these current circumstances, as well as shaping the future of towns and cities by enabling businesses and communities to unlock their potential. We will reference use cases to illustrate that by itself, technology will
not transform society or businesses. This is only achievable through a combination of world class infrastructure, new applications, skills and different business models.
Cllr David Hall, Somerset County Councils Cabinet Member with responsibility for Economic Development, Planning & Community Infrastructure will give an 'Update on Economic Development Programmes and Projects in Somerset' including an update on current and planned business support activities, enterprise and innovation centres, the Connecting Devon Somerset (CDS) digital connectivity programme and Hinkley Point progress.
Dr James Gilgrist is the Senior Economist at Somerset County Council will be presenting to the group addressing how the Somerset economy is doing with the added pressures of Covid-19, glimmers of hope for the future of the economy, positive changes and restructuring the way we work. The speakers will also provide a brief overview of the Somerset Recovery & Growth Plan. He leads on research and intelligence relating to the Somerset economy, which over the last year has revolved heavily around understanding the economic impacts of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). James received his PhD in Political Economy from Plymouth University, where he was also an Associate Lecturer. He has since worked in local government for 7 years, including 3 years with Somerset County Council.
In addition to this update there will be a Q + A and some time for networking with like-minded business people.