The government has provided a progress report, one year after launching its Industrial Strategy. This is a 10-year plan focused on increasing business investment to drive economic growth – “building great companies, creating high-quality jobs and supporting communities throughout the UK”.
The industrial strategy targets action where it will have the greatest impact in eight key sectors, known as IS-8; they are: advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, financial services, life sciences, professional and business services. Interdependencies are noted, as is the potential for dual-use innovation and technological development.
Business, academia and local authorities have sought a consistent, coherent and long-term plan that helps build partnerships that address barriers that hamper investment. The report recognises that often business is left to navigate obstacles, companies leave the UK, and communities lose out on jobs and opportunities.
Twelve months in, there are signs of action with some evidence of faster action on infrastructure planning decisions and reductions in regulatory burdens. However, it is clear that growth remains stubbornly low and the message to unlock growth and expedite planning decisions has not filtered through to the front line of planning services.
The report notes that businesses have informed Government that planning delays and infrastructure constraints – especially grid connections – and project approval, are key barriers to investment.
New laws to overhaul planning regulations at a national infrastructure level are unlikely to be impactful for the majority of business/investor applicants, and there is no sign of measures to address culture, drive up efficiency, reduce costs and tackle performance improvement – which should be reset and measured to monitor progress in enabling growth and delivering investment and jobs on the ground.
There are examples of private sector financial investment into high-growthh sectors, yet there are also opportunities that have been missed, investment lost to UK plc and to communities which could have benefited. There is clearly more to do to unlock growth and better align the planning function to meet national objectives.
The Regulation for Growth Bill referenced in the King’s Speech will further tackle regulatory burdens – introducing “cross-sector sandbox powers”, for example, to support the UK’s marine autonomy sector, enabling rapid, real-world innovation. This is very welcome.
In the Year One report, the South West has limited reference. The North, Oxford- Cambridge Growth Corridor or the Edinburgh- Glasgow Central Belt, feature more frequently. Aberdeen to the Humber, Birmingham and the West Midlands, Manchester, Macclesfield, Cardiff, Anglesey, Port Talbot, Belfast and Derry/ Londonderry and so on, are all highlighted.
Of the 10 growth nodes identified, one is in the South West and that includes the Agratas gigafactory in Somerset, referencing a £380m investment by Government to help unlock a lithium-ion battery cells, alongside the Aerospace Technology Institute in the West of England and a £50m defence deal in Plymouth and a £25m investment in Bristol based, engineering firm Rowden, who support national security and resilience.
Successes in year one include the announcement of 29 Technical Excellence Colleges, and we are fortunate to have secured TEC’s in Plymouth, Somerset, Weston and Yeovil.
Clearly, as a region we are doing and offering more, and this snapshot of Government investment is just one part of the overall story.
