Business

Business complains Jeremy Hunt’s UK growth plan lacks new policies

Business lobby groups on Friday criticized prime minister Jeremy Hunt’s keynote speech on the government’s plan to boost economic growth, complaining that the government had introduced no new policy.

hunting use speech to highlight the government’s “growth plan” and its focus on the “four Es” of business, education, jobs and everywhere — alluding to reducing inequality in the region.

He also signaled that the March 15 Budget would not include major tax cuts, despite calls by some Conservative MPs, for a focus on curbing high inflation.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said he would love to have more workers return to the office after the Covid pandemic, when most are working from home.

Hunt told the Telegraph’s political podcast, Chopper’s Politics, that there are times when working from home can boost productivity. “But do I think that’s a good thing for everyone? No I dont. . . Do you get the creativity, buzz, teamwork, personal growth you get if you’re in the office? . . . You are not.”

He said he didn’t know if new rules were necessary, but added that he wanted to encourage people to come to the office.

Tony Danker, director general of CBI, told the BBC that most bosses “secretly” want all their employees back in the office.

With the UK bracing for recession, Hunting acknowledged in his speech that the country has major weaknesses including poor productivity, a skills gap and low business investment.

But he said it was wrong to talk about “recessionism about Britain”, adding that the UK had a great opportunity to use the legal freedoms stemming from Brexit to boost sectors. including technology, life sciences, clean energy, creative industries and advanced manufacturing.

Speaking to executives from companies including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Google, Hunt said: “I’d like to ask you to help make the UK the world’s next Silicon Valley.”

He went on to say that the government has recognized the need to reduce taxes in the medium and long term.

He also said he was focusing on solutions to the UK’s labor shortage, saying he wanted people retiring early during the Covid pandemic to return to work. “England needs you,” he said.

But Kitty Ussher, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, complained Hunt didn’t have any new policies to announce, saying the speech was “E for empty”.

She said there was a “gap in the prime minister’s rhetoric”, adding: “Although we should of course find a way to ensure that companies operating on the front lines of new technology can come to the UK and grow, but our future growth path also depends on millions of individual decisions made by leaders of smaller businesses across all sectors.”

Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said in addition to a number of existing commitments – including using a reform of EU-era insurance regulations known as Solvency II to unlock infrastructure investment – “there is very little meat” in Hunt’s speech.

Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, which represents manufacturers, said there are a number of “big picture issues that are seriously damaging due to a lack of industrial strategy, which are affecting several strategic areas. our strategy”.

Craig Beaumont, director of external affairs for the Small Business Federation, suggests that the test for Hunt is whether the ideas in his speech will become policy in the March Budget, “when We hope he will bite his teeth today.”

Danker said Hunt has “shifted the right gears to stay focused on growth”. Danker added: “And we expect the Budget in less than two months to represent powerful actions to move us forward.

After the keynote, Hunt met with a group of tech founders and investors to talk about ways to drive innovation in the UK.

Romi Savova, chief executive officer of PensionBee, a financial technology group, said that although “fintech is recognized as a top priority, actions speak louder than words”.

She added: “We are yet to see concrete next steps in the UK’s approach to data protection, open banking is lagging behind internationally and the lack of pension transition guarantees. continues to plunge the pensions sector into dark times.”

Tim Pitt, partner at Flint Global and a former adviser to Philip Hammond as prime minister, said Hunt’s speech was “a refreshing balance between realism and optimism”, “confirming”. define fields [of] policy [that] can make a difference.”



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