Walsall Economic Framework 2025 - Executive Summary

The Economic Framework sets out a clear vision to:

Build a more productive and resilient economy by growing Walsall’s business base, creating well-paid jobs for local people, and fostering pride, opportunity and purpose across its diverse communities. Walsall’s Economic Framework brings together all the economic actions in Walsall’s other strategies into a single coherent framework sitting under the Walsall 2040 umbrella. 

It ensures that local priorities are aligned with recent national and regional policies and the latest economic conditions and drivers of change that will shape the opportunities facing Walsall over the coming years. 

The framework sets out priorities and actions that will:

• Narrow the productivity gap: output per hour worked is £32.80, compared to £41.70 nationally, a 22% shortfall, limiting Walsall’s ability to create well paid jobs for local people.
• Increase local people’s incomes: Walsall is a young place with great workforce potential but needs to strengthen its skills base and tackle low economic participation if it is to create a talent pipeline that can fuel business growth and boost earnings.
• Get more people economically active: over 2,500 local people could be engaged in economic activity if Walsall reduced its inactivity rate from 24% to the national average of 21%. These challenges are complex, and not unique to Walsall, so require a shared understanding of the priorities and close coordination and working with partners across the region. The Framework provides the Council with flexibility to support and influence regional and national activities.

Priorities

The Framework presents three interlinked pillars which align to the West Midlands Growth Plan.

• Business and Innovation
• Work and Well Being
• Place and Infrastructure

Under each are a number of priorities bringing together existing and new economic focussed actions which are further detailed in the associated Action Plan. The Framework introduces three core characteristics that will inform investment and direct the nature of economic change in the borough, ensuring that all actions contribute towards:

• Growth: Securing more and better-paid jobs for local residents.
• Culture & Inclusion: Strengthening local cohesion and build more positive pride in its reputation. 
• Sustainability: Securing Walsall’s future by prioritising investment in the capabilities needed for the next generation of economic growth.

Delivering the Framework

A partnership approach is required to build and maintain oversight over the many initiatives, underway in the borough, detailed in the associated Action Plan, that support the frameworks’ strategic goals. The Council will implement appropriate governance arrangements that will help to maintain an overview of progress of the framework actions and to support momentum on Walsall’s long-term progress towards its economic Vision.