When our Business Minister, Vince Cable, was here this week, he talked a lot about the UK’s Industrial Strategy.
As he noted, to some ears this sounds rather old-fashioned. In fact it’s the opposite, it’s an attempt to create long term plans to tackle some of the sources of recent economic weakness and instability in the UK, and in doing so, perhaps, to learn lessons from more successful European and Asian experiences.
It’s intended to help rebalance the UK economy and make us even more attractive to foreign investors.
The Industrial Strategy is based on recognition that, to invest and grow, business needs long term certainty. The Strategy is based on a few principles: acting long term, in partnership with business, with a whole of Government approach to developing the confidence to invest. It includes five areas: key sectors, technologies, access to finance, skills and procurement.
We’ve focussed on 11 sectors based on size and opportunity for future economic growth and employment; barriers to growth; and scope for Government action – the Analysis behind this was published in September 2012.
So far we have published strategies for: ‘Life Science, Aerospace, Nuclear, Oil and Gas, Information Economy, Construction, Professional and Business Services, Automotive, Agri-tech, Education and Offshore Wind Energy.
We are investing in emerging technologies, where the UK has the depth of research expertise and the business capability to develop and exploit these. This includes £600 million to support eight great technologies.
Access to Finance: we are setting up a Government-backed Business Bank which will receive £1bn of new Government funding.
Skills: a £100m employer ownership fund has been created to co-finance investment in skills in key sectors and new technologies.
Procurement: we have updated procurement pipelines covering a range of sectors. The potential contract opportunities from Government and local authorities are now worth nearly £79 billion.
So, for investors in Sweden thinking about the UK, check out the investments we’re making in our economic future.