Job creation

Summary

The requester asked for annual figures on businesses moved or set up and jobs relocated since 2016, but the Department for Enterprise could not provide direct breakdowns due to data being held across various projects and divisions. Instead, the authority disclosed aggregate statistics on job creation, business support funding, and specific scheme outcomes over the last five years.

Key Facts

• Direct annual figures for businesses moved or set up since 2016 are not available in the requested format.
• The Financial Assistance Scheme has supported 354 individual businesses since 2016.
• Over 1,000 additional jobs are estimated to have been created in the private sector since 2016.
• The Employee Relocation Incentive received 411 applications since its 2019 launch, with 142 jobs already in place.
• COVID-19 business support resulted in 9,616 payments totaling £26.5 million.

Data Disclosed

• 2016
• 2019
• 2021-09-29
• 2021-10-26
• 1,000 additional jobs
• 4,300 companies
• 400 increase in companies
• £28m
• 354 individual businesses
• 279 existing businesses
• 75 new businesses
• 1,285 new jobs forecast
• 10,000 existing jobs protected
• 941 entrepreneurs trained
• 469 new businesses assisted
• 411 applications
• 142 jobs in place
• 10,000 applications processed
• 9,616 payments
• £26.5 million
• 2 new banking licences
• over a million people reached

Original Request

Broken down by year since 2016, how many businesses has DfE (a) helped to move to the island, (b) helped set up on the island. And how many jobs has DfE assisted with relocating to the island.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor, St Georges Court Upper Church Street, Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624 682381) Website: www.gov.im/ded

Our ref: 2013025 26 October 2021

Dear ####

We write further to your request which was received on 29 September 2021 and which states:

“Broken down by year since 2016, how many businesses has DfE (a) helped to move to the island, (b) helped set up on the island, and how many jobs has DfE assisted with relocating to the island.”

Our response to your request is as follows:

Due to the nature of the information requested, it is not possible to provide direct figures as this information is held across various projects and multiple divisions, as well as some held outside of Government within the private sector. While the Department does not have all of the information held in the format as requested, it can provide clear examples of activity and results that have helped drive economic growth over the last five years.
The Department’s Enterprise Support Schemes have invested millions of pounds into local businesses, generated hundreds of new jobs and protected over 10,000 existing jobs in the Island over the last five years. Since 2016 there are estimated to be around 1,000 additional jobs created in the private sector and there are now over 4,300 companies employing one or more people, an increase of over 400 since 2016. Since 2016, the Financial Assistance Scheme has offered over £28m to growing businesses in the Isle of Man. This Scheme has supported 354 individual businesses (279 existing and 75 new businesses), with approximately 1,285 new jobs forecast to be created through the support of this funding, as well as the safeguarding of over 10,000 existing jobs.
Over the last five years, the Micro Business Grant Scheme has trained 941 entrepreneurs and provided financial assistance to over 469 new businesses, not only creating jobs, but assisting entrepreneurs to set up and deliver new services and products for the Island’s population.

The Employee Relocation Incentive was launched in 2019 to attract more skilled workers to the Island. Since then the Department has received 411 applications to support new jobs in the Isle of Man, with 142 of these already in place.

The Enterprise Support Schemes have also been essential in supporting the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the course of the pandemic, the Enterprise Support team have processed over 10,000 applications for COVID-19 business support, making a total of 9,616 payments to a total value of £26.5 million to hundreds of local businesses, self-employed persons and others adversely impacted. This support has been imperative to ensuring jobs in the Island are protected by supporting businesses and ensuring they are able to continue trading in the short to medium term.

The Department reports these figures to Tynwald on an annual basis. A link to the latest document is available here: https://www.tynwald.org.im/business/opqp/sittings/20182021/2020-GD-0070.pdf

In addition to direct financial support, the Department supports businesses through promotional and business development campaigns in the UK and further afield, and through making adjustments to the Island’s business environment, making it a more attractive place to work, visit and invest. This work has also included directly helping companies to relocate employees to the Island and more generally growing the economically active population of the Isle of Man.

Since 2016, the Department has been working with industry in a wide range of sectors to promote the Isle of Man as a destination to live, work, visit and invest. As part of this work the Department has regularly engaged in initiatives to drive new businesses and jobs to the Isle of Man.

Since 2016, the Department has engaged with a number of high profile events, including the International Festival of Business, ICE Gaming Conference, PCD events, the annual eGaming summit and BITA. The Department has also worked with regulators and across Government to create new banking, crowdfunding and financial support initiatives to drive investment and growth in the Island’s financial and digital sectors and beyond.

The Department’s Executive Agencies were launched in 2018 to further cement the relationships between the Government and the private sector, creating public/private boards that have led the way in product development, policy input and promotion.

Since creation, Finance Isle of Man has helped drive a number of new initiatives forward to help businesses in the Island’s financial and professional services sectors.
There have been a series of international promotional campaigns over the last few years, in Life Insurance, Captives and International Pensions, reaching over a million people and driving interest to the Island’s key sectors. Since the introduction of the Alternative Banking Regime in 2016, two new banking licences have been granted creating a number of on-Island jobs. Finance Isle of Man are currently working on new opportunities in Insurance and Funds following Brexit, as well as investigating enhanced offerings around Global Employee Benefits and InsurTech.

Since 2017 Digital Isle of Man has developed and promoted a number of initiatives to advance the Island’s digital industries. The blockchain office – later evolved to the blockchain accelerator programme – was launched in 2019 and now has 45 affiliated businesses, including three crypto exchanges launched and dozens of jobs created. The eGaming sector remains a priority for Digital Isle of Man with the Agency continuing to promote the Island’s offering in partnership with industry. Current licence holders now stand at 57 – over a 50% increase on 2019's figures. The Agency is also running new initiatives in Internet of Things (IoT) and esports, making the most of the Island’s digital expertise and capitalising on its growing innovation hub. Business Isle of Man has been working closely with industry to develop a strong series of initiatives to help sustain the Island’s domestic and export offering. The Agency has been supporting the local economy through a number of projects, including establishing a new Construction Isle of Man body, providing long term financial support to the manufacturing sector, and creating branding and promotional campaigns to encourage footfall and business to the Island’s town centres. The Agency is also the driving force behind the development of a Medicinal Cannabis regulatory framework that is estimated to bring 250 jobs to the Isle of Man over the next few years. The Island’s visitor economy supports a number of jobs and the Visit Agency has been instrumental in attracting new visitors to the Isle of Man and supporting the tourism sector and jobs on-Island. This work has included supporting new tourism businesses to set up on-Island and the support of sector recruitment and skills development through training, apprenticeships and funding. The Locate Strategy was approved by Tynwald in February 2019 to support the increase of the economically active population, helping to identify and address ongoing Skill shortages and accelerate inward investment. The work has been successful, with estimates (prior to COVID-19) showing four consecutive quarters of population growth and a reversal in the decline in the under 65 age group. Locate have worked with Treasury to introduce unique relocation incentives; the Employee National Insurance Holiday and the Employee Relocation Incentive which has seen over 400 applications to support new jobs in the Isle of Man. Locate also run targeted marketing campaigns to attract skilled workers to the Island, seeing recent successes in education, financial services, and healthcare workers. As part of the Isle of Man’s fightback financially from the Coronavirus Pandemic, in July 2020 a £100m Economic Recovery Fund was announced alongside other measures to protect jobs, secure investment and encourage economic growth on the Island. A stimulus programme was created, investing in projects that implement measures to support the Isle of Man’s economy, including initiatives to retrain and upskill our people, accelerate capital projects and stimulate local demand. This work stream is focused on creating hundreds of new job opportunities within new sectors over the next five years, as well as identifying a long term economic strategy for 2021 and beyond to further drive economic and job growth. Underpinning a lot of this work has been strategic adjustments to the Island’s business environment, making it a more attractive place for businesses and easing the relocation of people too. Over the last five years the Department has reformed work permit legislation, provided online business toolkits and training, and worked across

Government to improve the quality of life for people in the Isle of Man. There has also been significant investment in the Island’s telecoms infrastructure, with £11.5m committed to the roll-out of ultrafast fibre broadband to hard to reach areas across the Island. A guide to the Department’s achievements over the last five years is available here: https://www.gov.im/media/1373643/updated-dfe-key-achievements-2016- 2021_compressed.pdf

Please quote the reference number 2013025 in any future communications.

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I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely