1. West Midlands Taskforce An Overview – January 2009

2. West Midlands Taskforce set up by Regional Minister, Ian Austin, in November led by Advantage West Midlands representatives from public sector currently includes: Jobcentre Plus, Business Link, Manufacturing Advisory Services, Learning and Skills Council (LSC), local authorities, unions. main focus to minimise immediate and long term impact of the current economic downturn ensure support for businesses, individuals and communities affected

3. West Midlands Taskforce - membership Regional Minister (Chairman) - Ian Austin Chairman AWM - Nick Paul Chief Executive AWM - Mick Laverty Enterprise and Business Support Director AWM - Debra Blisson Corporate Director Strategy and Communications AWM - Tim Gebbels Director of Communications AWM - Jayne Surman Chief Executive Government Office for the West Midlands - Trudi Elliot (Regional Director) Learning and Skills Council - David Cragg (Regional Director) & Julie Robson (Deputy Regional Director) Job Centre Plus - Margaret Tovey (Regional Director) Business Link - Alison White (Chief Executive) Manufacturing Advisory Service WM - David Wright (Chief Executive) Enterprise Board and Regional Finance Forum – Norman Price (Chairman) Local Authority Representative - Cllr Ken Taylor Unite - Gerard Coyne (Regional Secretary) TUC – Roger McKenzie (Regional Secretary)

4. West Midlands Taskforce main work streams: –workforce retention & rapid response to lay offs –job replacement and retraining following redundancy –business support –access to finance –fast tracking capital investment or infrastructure projects –establishing data & intelligence network - ‘early warning’ identifying sectors and communities most at risk –communications

5. West Midlands Taskforce delivery to date: –Advantage Transition Bridge Fund set-up – initially £3m, now £9m, so far over 1,700 jobs safeguarded –LSC leaflet – ‘advice and guidance for employers and their workforce during the economic downturn’ –www.supportwm.co.uk – launched 26 th January, offers a central point of contact for businesses and individuals during this economic downturnwww.supportwm.co.uk