Welcome from Cllr Izzi Seccombe

Welcome to the July edition of Warwickshire Means Business, our bi-monthly update of news, features and information for the business community.

There is no doubt about the main subject of interest to the county's business community at the moment - the June 23 referendum vote to take the UK out of the European Union.

These are "interesting" times, to say the least, with an inevitable degree of uncertainty as we all wait to see exactly how the future unfolds. But as Dave Ayton-Hill explains in his excellent assessment of the situation elsewhere in this edition of Warwickshire Means Business, while some things may change, others will remain the same.

Among the areas in which it will definitely be 'business as usual' is the county council's commitment to sustaining and, where possible, increasing our support to both new and established businesses.

Working with our partners across the Coventry & Warwickshire area, we have just invested in a new business support programme. We are also investing a new phase of small business loans, which is worth £800k in total, and will be launching a new round of small business grants later in the year.

Our commitment to nurturing the next generation also remains as strong as ever. Never has it been more important to have a highly-skilled, confident and creative workforce, so the county council will continue its investment in skills, education and training. I was delighted to hear that Warwickshire County Council has been short-listed for the Best Apprenticeship Scheme category of the CIPD People Management Awards - well-deserved recognition for the excellent work done by the team at the Apprenticeship Hub.

Meanwhile, the Warwickshire Rural Growth Network (which was managed by the county council's Economy and Skills Group on behalf of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership) has been short-listed for the 2016 Enterprising Britain Awards. Again, thoroughly merited recognition of the work that has been undertaken.

In this county we are so lucky to have such a strong business-base to work from, with diverse and creative manufacturing and service sectors operating alongside a thriving tourism industry. The tourism sector supports over 18,000 jobs in the county and generates around £1billion per year for the economy, so when the Lonely Planet guide selected Warwickshire as the sixth-most 'must-see' destination in Europe this summer, it was a wonderful boost.

That Warwickshire is the only UK representative in the top ten, above the likes of London and Edinburgh, illustrates just what this county has to offer.