Government launches next phase of Growth Review

Infrastructure – considering how to eliminate barriers and encourage greater investment in UK infrastructure

• Education and skills – looking across the whole of the education system from schools, FE colleges, universities and other training providers to consider how to maximise economic growth
• Logistics – covering rail, road, shipping and air freight interests and cutting across the wholesale industry, looking at opportunities and barriers to growth as the logistics sector evolves in response to the increasing complexity and globalisation of supply chains
• Mid-sized businesses – examining businesses that have expanded beyond the definition of SMEs, considering how to increase the number of firms that show significant growth at this level
• Rural economy – scrutinizing the constraints, opportunities and risks impacting on economic growth in rural areas, and considering specific issues including labour market characteristics, to support the Government’s commitment to rebalancing the economy
• Open data – investigating the potential growth benefits and risks of opening up access to public sector data assets

Business Secretary Vince Cable formally launched the next phase of the Growth Review during his visit to Rolls Royce in Derby, where he welcomed the company’s commitment to 200 new apprenticeships and broke the ground on a new Learning and Development Centre. He also hosted a round table event with a number of mid-sized businesses from the Rolls Royce supply chain.

 Dr Cable said:

 “We are launching the second stage of the plan for growth with one central purpose – creating the right conditions for business to start up, invest, grow and create jobs.

 “We are seeing the evidence this week of successful rebalancing of the economy towards exports and manufacturing, with the announcement of major commitments from Nissan and BMW, and today the commitment from Rolls Royce to an expansion of their Apprenticeship programme.”

 George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

 “By committing to this second phase of the Plan for Growth the Government is leaving continuing its mission to make the UK a great place to do business. A private sector-led recovery is already underway, with more than 400,000 new jobs created this year, and this next phase is an opportunity for Government to work with business to promote more growth and create more jobs.”

The launch follows substantial investment announcements from Nissan yesterday and BMW today that clearly show the strength and competitiveness of the UK’s automotive manufacturing sector and the ambition of the business community to secure long-term growth.

 The Plan for Growth set out more than 100 actions across 15 sectors and themes and in the three months since its publication the Government has already:

• Cut corporation tax by 2 per cent to 26 per cent
• Increased the personal allowance by £1,000, taking nearly a million people out of tax altogether
• Introduced a moratorium on new regulation
• Launched the Green Investment Bank with an initial capitalisation of £3billion to support green infrastructure programmes
• Set out plans for 21 new Enterprise Zones
• Boosted tax reliefs on new investments including reform of the Enterprise Investment Scheme
• Doubled the lifetime limit for Entrepreneurs Relief to £10m

 And in the coming weeks it will:

•  Publish a new presumption in favour of sustainable development
• Further expand the University Technical College programme
• Pilot a land auctions model starting with public sector land
• Reform the UK’s competition framework
• Establish a package of measures to support town centres, building on Town Centre First
• Publish the Government response to the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth

The second phase of the Growth Review will involve an intensive programme of engagement with business over the coming months. Based on the evidence collected, action plans for growth in each review area will be presented to a Ministerial Group chaired by the Chancellor and Business Secretary, with final plans due for report in the autumn.