DEPARTMENT FOR
BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM News Release issued by
COI News Distribution Service on 20 April 2009
Press release from
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
A strategic plan to invest in Britain's economic and
industrial future was launched by the Government today.
The policy statement "Building Britain's Future - New
Industry, New Jobs" identifies key areas where Government
action can have most impact, investing in growth to speed recovery
and building manufacturing and services essential to ensure
British people and businesses can compete successfully for the
jobs of the future.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, speaking at Loughborough
University Innovation Centre, said: "The world's
economy, emerging from the downturn, is set to double in size
creating major new opportunities for British business. But global
competition is getting tougher and technological change is
happening faster. We can't afford to stand back as other
countries invest and skill-up to win in high-value markets and sectors.
"To succeed in this hi-tech, low carbon economy of the
future, to drive growth and to secure more high-value jobs in the
UK, we need to act. It's not about picking winners or
ignoring market signals but removing barriers which hold business back.
"Britain has the skills, resources and knowledge base to do
well but the Government's job is to do everything it can to
strengthen our competitive position further. It's about
creating the best possible conditions in which UK businesses can
thrive; removing barriers to success and offering targeted support
to unlock new potential in existing and new technologies."
Key areas identified for immediate action and reform to win a
bigger share of the opportunities ahead are centred on innovation,
skills, finance, infrastructure and trade. They include:
- making sure high growth, high innovation firms get the
financing they need including examining urgently whether, and in
what form, further intervention could help increase the supply of
long term growth capital to small and medium sized businesses;
- more support for exporters by enhancing the role of UK Trade
and Investment and the Export Credits Guarantee Department;
- more support for turning bright ideas into products that win in
the marketplace by building the Technology Strategy Board into a
world leader and making sure we maximise economic opportunities
from the work of our university researchers;
- improving our ability to identify the skills needed for future
success and making sure the education and training system delivers them;
- smarter, more joined-up Government that understands the
importance of creating wealth, is better at identifying economic
opportunities from the big public challenges facing us (especially
moving to a low carbon world) and uses its buying power to support
innovation and skills;
- a coherent strategy for making sure Britain has the modern
infrastructure and networks, from energy to broadband, that will
be the foundation of future prosperity;
- concerted action to back businesses in markets and sectors,
from pharmaceuticals through aerospace, nuclear to business
services, life-sciences to plastic electronics where Britain has
strength and Government can make a difference by clearing
obstacles or correcting market failure
Some proposals are new, some are about reforms underway but
needing to be given new impetus in response to the scale of
current challenges.
Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John
Denham, said: "To emerge from the recession quickly and
strongly we need to maximise the opportunities for the UK economy
in areas where we know Government action will have a big effect
like low carbon technology, manufacturing, construction and healthcare.
"By making key decisions, buying goods and services and
regulating, Government shapes and creates future markets, new
business opportunities and the demand for skilled jobs. That is
why our new activism will focus our skills system, the knowledge
in our universities and the way we support research through our
record investment in science to meet the demands and opportunities
Government creates when it acts in other areas of the economy.
"Britain has the skills, resources and knowledge to retain
and strengthen its position as a world economic power. The
Government's job is to do everything it can to enhance these
strengths and create new jobs and business for the future."
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. A copy of Building Britain's Future - New Industry, New
Jobs can be found at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file51023.pdf.
2. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
helps UK business succeed in an increasingly competitive world. It
promotes growth and a strong enterprise economy, leads the better
regulation agenda and champions free and fair markets. It is the
shareholder in a number of Government-owned assets.
3. The work of Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills
- on further and higher education, innovation, science and
technology, intellectual property, and supporting evidence-based
policy making across government - is essential for Britain to
succeed in a rapidly changing world by developing the skills of
our people to the fullest possible extent, carrying out world
class research and scholarship, and applying both knowledge and
skills to create an innovative and competitive economy.