Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
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Government launches Growth Review

Government launches Growth Review

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 29 November 2010

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne and Business Secretary Vince Cable today announced a fundamental review of what all parts of Government are doing to create the best conditions for private sector growth.

Building on the action already taken by Government and outlined in the paper, T he path to strong , sustaina b le and b alanced growth, business is being invited to take part in this work which will challenge every Government department on the measures being taken to tackle barriers to growth.

The growth review will start with an intensive programme of work, based on the evidence provided by business, to report by Budget 2011. Departments will be required to present Action Plans to a Ministerial Ad hoc Group chaired by the Chancellor and Business Secretary, on what contribution they will make to:

reform structural barriers across the whole economy in planning, competition, trade and investment, regulation, access to finance and corporate governance;remove barriers in sectors where there are clear opportunities for growth and where Government can make a difference: construction; retail; health and life sciences; professional and business services; manufacturing; and digital and creative industries.

This is just the start. These specific sectors and structural areas have been identified as a priority for the Government, over the course of the review, the Government will need to take a forensic look at all sectors of the economy. The work will continue for the lifetime of this Parliament, ensuring all Government departments think first and foremost about the impact of their policies on growth.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said:

“Alongside the corporate tax reforms announced today, the growth review contributes to the Government’s drive to remove the barriers to growth and improve British competitiveness.

“We have been clear that growth will be driven by the private sector. By working closely with business and industry in this intensive programme of work, Government can make sure that Britain is open for business.”

Business Secretary, Vince Cable, said:

“Growth is the primary focus of the Government, but this will not happen overnight. That’s why we’ve set out a long-term vision to create the right conditions for future economic prosperity.

“We cannot lay out plans for how the economy will grow - growth is delivered by the private sector. What we can do is provide the conditions to promote a new economic dynamism, harnessing our strengths, removing the barriers and putting the private sector first when it comes to decisions on tax, regulation and spending.”

N otes for Editors

1. The paper T he path to strong , sustaina b le and b alanced growth published today sets out the progress made in the six months since the Government came to power to create the essential conditions for private sector growth through its four-part commitment to the private sector:

providing the stability business needs to plan and invest, for example, fiscal consolidation, so that interest rates stay low and businesses have the certainty they need to plan ahead;making markets more dynamic by removing barriers to growth wherever possible;focusing the Government’s own activities on providing the conditions for private sector growth and investment; and ensuring that strong growth is fairly shared and sustainable in the long term.

2. The Ministerial Ad hoc Group will meet 6 times between the launch of the growth review and the Budget, and will hold its first meeting before the end of the year.

3. Alongside the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the group will include senior Ministers and business leaders. The Group will invite relevant Secretaries of State to attend, depending on the issue being discussed.

4. Box 2A in the document summarises the sectors which the Government will prioritise in the first phase of the review.

5. The paper T he path to strong , sustaina b le and b alanced growth can be found here: www.bis.gov.uk/growth

Contacts:

BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk

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