皇冠体育app

Growing optimism

For the first time, I think, since these summits began, there鈥檚 a real sense of optimism emerging 鈥� albeit cautiously 鈥� about the future of British manufacturing.

Our economy is growing again 鈥� with Britain forecast to grow faster than any other G7 economy this year.

We have more people in work than ever before - with your businesses adding around 10,000 new manufacturing jobs to our economy every month.

Orders are increasing. Exports are rising. Output is up.

And, to take just one example, Britain now has the most productive car sector in Europe. We鈥檙e exporting more vehicles than ever before 鈥� with a new vehicle rolling off our production lines every 20 seconds. By 2017, UK industry predicts that Britain will be producing 2 million cars a year, beating our all-time peak of 1.92 million in 1972.

That鈥檚 no accident. It鈥檚 down to your hard work, your expertise and the close partnership you鈥檝e built with our government 鈥� especially Vince and his team 鈥� to help Britain get back on its feet.

Why manufacturing matters

Yet, of course, whatever these results, there鈥檚 always going to be an economist or statistician ready to point to a pie-chart and question the ongoing importance of British manufacturing. Some talk about global shifts in demand, the rise of lower-cost competitors and say that manufacturing is only around 10% of our economy.

In truth, its impact is so much more. I only need to look at Sheffield, the city where I鈥檓 an MP, to see how much your success still matters. In fact, travel anywhere in the UK and ask people about the place they come from and they鈥檒l talk with pride about the industries and products that put their communities on the map.

To name just a few 鈥� in Sheffield it鈥檚 steel. In Sunderland, Birmingham and across the North West it鈥檚 cars. In the Highlands, it鈥檚 whisky. In County Antrim, it鈥檚 buses. In Broughton, it鈥檚 planes. And hopefully in years to come, here on the Wirral, it will be building renewable technologies.

Your industries create a whole network of businesses that keep our local communities鈥� economies alive.

Take the good news that Jaguar Land Rover will be investing a further 拢200 million in their Halewood plant, near Speke. This investment will bring production of the new Discovery vehicle to Halewood in 2015, creating 250 jobs. And will increase Halewood鈥檚 workforce to 4,750 鈥� trebling it since 2010.

Currently, this plant is producing a new Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Freelander at the rate of one vehicle every 82 seconds. Over 80% of everything they build at Halewood is exported to markets including Brazil, India, China, the US and Hong Kong.

Yet this is only part of the story, with countless local businesses supporting the plant across its supply chain. Companies like GETRAG, which produces transmissions for these vehicles and recently received investment from the Regional Growth Fund to expand its Merseyside plant.

Beyond that, we also have the hundreds of service companies that contribute. Whether it鈥檚 the accountants or legal services used by Head Office, the building services teams that maintain JLR鈥檚 factories and offices, the sales teams that market their cars around the UK or the local pubs, cafes and shops that serve their employees after a hard day at work. 皇冠体育app reality is your companies are creating jobs, driving growth and boosting productivity in manufacturing and services.

And, as a sector, you delivered around 拢140 billion in GVA (gross value added) last year alone. You produce over half our exports in goods; invest more than anyone else in UK business R&D; and employ millions of highly-skilled people.

With figures like that you鈥檇 never get a French politician talking down their manufacturing industry. And the UK鈥檚 manufacturing base is growing faster than France鈥檚 right now!

Our commitment to you

That鈥檚 why, when we joined this coalition government, we were committed to sitting down with you to set out what Britain鈥檚 long-term industrial strategy should be.

It鈥檚 a conversation that had been long overdue: tackling the big issues that impact your companies 鈥� skills, access to finance, procurement, innovation and technology 鈥� and identifying the levers government could pull to help you grow.

And we鈥檙e delivering on our promises 鈥� with globally competitive taxes, less red tape and more generous capital allowances.

We鈥檙e establishing the to help make finance markets work better for small firms. And we have set up the 鈥� which is leveraging extra private sector investment for major green projects. This includes the partial conversion of the Drax Coal Power Station to biomass fuels 鈥� which when completed will provide around 10% of the UK鈥檚 2020 renewable electricity target.

We鈥檝e created our Catapult Centres 鈥� a national network of cutting-edge business research facilities, dedicated to commercialising the latest processes, materials and technologies.

Earlier this month, Vince and I opened a new Rolls-Royce facility in Washington, Tyne and Wear, which uses innovations developed at our Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield: to radically cut the time and energy it takes to produce essential engine components.

And Vince鈥檚 announcement today of a new 拢7 million grant to support research into cutting-edge aerospace technologies at Sheffield鈥檚 AMRC will help secure the UK鈥檚 global lead in this sector also.

More widely, we鈥檝e expanded our apprenticeships programme, with 1.7 million new apprentices since 2010.

And, wherever possible, we鈥檙e giving power back to local councils, colleges and businesses like yours 鈥� through our Local Enterprise Partnerships, our Regional Growth Fund, as well as City Deals and the billions of pounds worth of Growth Deals we鈥檙e now negotiating. Together, this is helping to boost local skills and kick-start local infrastructure projects like the development of new transport systems and roads to support your business.

I鈥檝e also established a new Local Growth Committee 鈥� which brings together ministers from across government to speed up the critical decisions needed in Whitehall to get projects in your local area moving.

Planning for the future

But despite all the progress the job鈥檚 not done.

And I know that, as the economy improves, many of you are questioning just how committed Whitehall will be to sticking to this strategy in the long-term.

You work in industries where it can take you years to develop your next big idea: whether it鈥檚 3 to 5 years to develop a new car, 10 years to produce a new drug and up to 15 years to design and build a new aircraft.

皇冠体育appse long timescales do not sit easily with the minute-by-minute demands and 5-year election cycles of the political world. And, over and over again, in Britain, we鈥檝e seen politics not business drive the focus and scope of our country鈥檚 industrial policy.

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And it鈥檚 staggering to see that, in the 10 years of the last government, the importance of our manufacturing base to Britain鈥檚 economy was left to decline 3 times faster than it did under Margaret Thatcher 鈥� shrinking from 20% as a proportion of our economy to a little over 10%.

Compare this to France, Germany and Asia where, for decades, your competitors have benefited from governments committed to preserving their countries鈥� industrial strengths, whatever the global challenges.

Taking the politics out of industrial policy

In my view, it鈥檚 time we had that same kind of certainty and stability here in Britain. 皇冠体育app way I see it is like this: if this 5 year parliament was about rescuing the British economy, the next will be about renewing our economy. If this parliament was about reviving our economy, the next must be about finishing the job of rebalancing our economy.

It is about ensuring that we鈥檙e never again reliant on just one sector, just one region or over rely on simply boosting public sector jobs to shore up growth across our country. And, to make that happen, we need British governments 鈥� now and in the future 鈥� to act in a more strategic and less short-term way.

To put it bluntly 鈥� we need to take the politics out of Britain鈥檚 industrial policy. 皇冠体育app country needs us to establish a cross party consensus 鈥� strong enough to last in this parliament and beyond 鈥� which isn鈥檛 about picking winners, on the one hand, or leaving it all up to the market, on the other. But, instead, builds on the work of individuals from across parties 鈥� such as the Conservative鈥檚 Lord Heseltine, Labour鈥檚 Lord Mandelson and Vince in the Liberal Democrats - to lay the best possible foundations for the future.

I know as much as anyone about trading blows in the Westminster bear pit. And I鈥檓 not going to pretend that鈥檚 going to end anytime soon. Yet, as we鈥檝e seen in the last 4 years, there are times when 鈥� in the national interest 鈥� we need to put the political point scoring aside.

And whether it鈥檚 tackling the deficit, securing long term pension reform, creating the Office of Budget Responsibility or delivering the biggest programme of economic decentralisation in a generation - we are committed to pushing through the big, ambitious reforms Britain needs to make its economy stronger and prospects brighter, working with others across party lines where needed.

We鈥檙e committed to governing for the long-term - guaranteeing a government that is ready, on the one hand, to get out of the way of your businesses, so you can generate jobs and growth.

And that, on the other, is equipped to step in - where needed - to tackle market failures and create the best possible conditions for securing your success.

So, today, I want to set out 3 possible policy areas where, I believe, we could achieve the long-term, cross-party agreement we need. It starts with government鈥檚 industrial strategy.

Supply chain strategy

Over the past 4 years, working in collaboration with you, this government has been able to set out a long-term plan to boost Britain鈥檚 competitiveness and secure jobs.

皇冠体育app importance of this work shouldn鈥檛 be underestimated. For example, Richard Parry Jones 鈥� co-chair of the Automotive Council 鈥� has talked about the critical role that our industrial strategy is playing in securing that sector鈥檚 recent success.

Businesses have confidence in our industrial strategy, because they have helped to develop it and they鈥檙e helping us deliver the strategy. And this powerful partnership gives us the chance to rectify some of those mistakes of the past 鈥� notably, by strengthening Britain鈥檚 supply chains.

Every time a UK manufacturer has moved overseas in the past 40 years, we鈥檝e seen the local companies that support them disappear too. Company by company, this has led to a hollowing out of the UK鈥檚 domestic supply chain 鈥� meaning that over half of the materials and components used in British manufacturing are now sourced from overseas.

But, if we move now, I believe that trend can be reversed. As you know, the Fukushima earthquake 3 years ago heavily impacted global supply chains 鈥� forcing factory closures in Japan and months of production delays across the world. That鈥檚 led to companies like Nissan taking a serious look at basing more of their supply chains here in the UK to mitigate problems like this in the future.

I believe a new UK Supply Chain Strategy 鈥� developed in collaboration with your core UK suppliers 鈥� would help us identify how we can turn that intention into long-term investment. 皇冠体育appse supply industries are huge, important sectors in their own right 鈥� our steel makers, petrochemical companies, glass producers and so on 鈥� all of which employ thousands of people and generate millions for our economy.

Leading business organisations, including the CBI, believe that real potential exists for the UK鈥檚 share of global supply chains to be much higher. And, to help make that achievable, I believe this new strategy should focus on answering 3 central questions:

1. What exactly are the big issues your sectors face in basing more of your supply chain in the UK?
2. What are the common barriers to investment and growth in the UK鈥檚 supply chain sectors 鈥� such as access to finance, regulation and research etc?
3. How can we tackle these issues to make the most of opportunities like major government-supported infrastructure projects?

Take our offshore wind industry 鈥� which is so important to this region鈥檚 future. By 2020, it鈥檚 estimated that there will be around 拢40 billion worth of renewable electricity projects in the UK. Yet only around 20% of the components needed to build our offshore wind farms are currently being sourced in the UK. Think of the opportunities for local jobs and growth, if 鈥� together 鈥� we could increase that figure. Siemens are already paving the way, with their 拢160 million planned investment in UK turbine manufacturing.

皇冠体育app other major weakness of the past which needs addressing will be familiar to you 鈥� skills. We鈥檙e already doing a lot of work to increase the number and quality of apprenticeships available, by giving you greater input into these qualifications, and also to make it easier for you to recruit and train the young people you need for the future.

And, recently, Vince announced his plans for a new network of National Colleges 鈥� centres of excellence dedicated to giving people the high-level technical skills required to work on huge projects like the development of High-Speed 2.

We鈥檙e now consulting with you on the priority projects and skills gaps that you think these colleges should address. For instance, boosting the skills and training needed in the offshore wind industry will give people highly transferable skills which they can use not just in one sector but across our economy as a whole.

And this could be another critical opportunity for businesses like yours to help develop Britain鈥檚 future workforce.

Regional Growth Fund

Finally, with public finances likely to remain tight in the next Parliament, we also need to look at where government can best focus its money to continue that rewiring of Britain鈥檚 economy.

Gradually, we鈥檙e repairing the economic mess of the previous government 鈥� but it can鈥檛 be fixed overnight. Between 1998 and 2008, cities like Birmingham and Nottingham actually saw their private sector workforces shrink even in the boom years. This has left behind a profound imbalance in our regional economies - increasing their reliance on public sector employers for jobs.

That鈥檚 why we established the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) to help kick-start private sector investment and jobs in areas like this. And, over the past 4 years, government has committed to invest 拢2.9 billion in over 400 projects focused on increasing business competitiveness across our regions. This includes companies in Merseyside like Glen Dimplex Appliances, where I visited recently, a manufacturer of cookers and ovens, which secured 拢3 million in RGF funding to expand their operations 鈥� creating 300 new jobs.

And I鈥檓 pleased to announce that Round 6 of the RGF opens today, with over 拢200 million available. We鈥檙e encouraging bids directly from companies that require grants of more than 拢1 million, as well as from organisations like Chambers of Commerce, universities and others to help support SMEs who require funding of less than a million. So, if that鈥檚 you, please apply.

Of course, there are some who complain that our RGF money isn鈥檛 getting spent fast enough. 皇冠体育appy鈥檙e comparing it to the days when the last government would just hand over money to the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to spend as they saw fit. But we鈥檝e changed that 鈥� we鈥檝e put the businesses that secure this funding in the driving seat. 皇冠体育appy decide when this money is spent in line with the growth plans for their companies.

And this is proving a powerful stimulus for business investment in those regions that need it. In total, for every 拢1 invested through the RGF, we鈥檝e leveraged over 拢5 in extra private investment: creating and safeguarding over half a million jobs across the UK. This compares to the RDAs which only leveraged 65p for every 拢1 they spent.

But, we鈥檝e still got a way to go to clear up the damage done to our long-term competitiveness. That鈥檚 why I believe there鈥檚 such a strong case for extending the RGF beyond this parliament to 2020.

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Conclusion

So, in conclusion, together, we鈥檙e building a better future for British manufacturing.

We鈥檙e delivering results, but we mustn鈥檛 stop now.

Together, we鈥檝e got to ensure that the hard work of the last 4 years continues to pay off.

And this is my commitment to you 鈥� that I will do everything I can to build a long term political consensus focused on helping your sectors thrive, your companies grow and securing a stronger economy for Britain鈥檚 future. Thank you.