Speaking at the CBI North West dinner in Manchester, Mr Anson, former commercial director at Manchester United, referred to a report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers which states that the World Cup would be worth a conservative estimate of around £3.2 billion to the country's economy.

England is up against rival bids from Russia, the USA, Spain & Portugal, Holland & Belgium and Qatar. Andy is currently travelling around the world lobbying the 24 FIFA executives before the bid is formally submitted on May 11. FIFA will inspect the stadiums and host cities before making a decision in December.

"We have got great stadiums and all the infrastructure including hotels, facilities and public transport in place. There is a passion for football – as a country, it's in our DNA and part of our whole culture." He said other key factors which could swing the vote England's way include the diversity of the population – offering a 'home from home' for participating nations – as well as a compelling technical bid, the commercial strength of English soccer and a strong legacy blueprint.

Andy, a former Channel 4 and Disney executive, only just made it to Manchester to deliver his speech. He was stranded in Tokyo during the flight embargo – he flew to New York, took a taxi to Philadelphia, got a flight to Barcelona, drove to Paris, took a train to Dieppe before getting a ferry to Newhaven where a car was waiting to get him to Manchester with a few hours to spare.

Back the bid at www.england2018bid.com

www.flickr.com The CBI's Business urged to back the bid photoset

Osborne outlines Tory plans

George Osborne was guest speaker at the CBI Cumbria Dinner on 4 February at the Low Wood Hotel in Windermere.

Addressing business leaders at the sold-out event, the Conservative shadow chancellor shared his plan for a 'new economic model' driven by private sector investment. He also discussed education, a high-speed rail system and increased extension of super-fast broadband internet, saying: "We need a new economic model, where we invest, we export, we save and we encourage enterprise."

Latest on Integrated Regional Strategy

We are the first region in the UK to prepare an Integrated Regional Strategy (RS2010), which brings together issues of environmental, social and economic development. The RS2010 will replace the existing regional economic, housing and spatial strategies.

This represents an opportunity to present a single regional vision, objectives, policies and actions for the private, public and third sectors and to drive investment and development in the region over the next 20 years.

The draft strategy is now available to view and the Northwest Regional Development Agency is undertaking a public consultation of the document. We will be responding to this consultation and would be delighted to receive your views. Additionally, you are able to respond the consultation in your own right should you wish to do so.

Visit the official website for further information.

Awards night success

Dame Ellen MacArthur (below) was the guest speaker at the recent sold-out CBI North West Business Awards in Manchester.

In a truly inspirational speech, Ellen described the journey from childhood dream to achieving her ambition of becoming the fastest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly.

Having announced that she is giving up competitive sailing to focus on environmental issues, Ellen talked passionately about the need to develop a sustainable energy solution.

Drawing on her own sailing experiences, she also spoke about the need to adopt a different approach to consumption.

Winners of awards were:
Leader of the year: Sir Howard Bernstein, CEO, Manchester City Council
Board of the year: The Co-operative Group
Emerging company of the year: Daisy Group plc

Our thanks to sponsors of the event – NWDA, E.ON, Financial Times, NatWest and a2e Venture Catalysts.

Share £600,000 fund

Creative Credits – a new programme from NESTA – gives Greater Manchester businesses the chance to apply for £4,000 of creative support.

All that's asked is an investment of at least £1,000 and it will be topped up with £4,000. The application process is quick and simple – eligible businesses answer a short online questionnaire and will be entered into a draw.

Successful applicants will be able to spend the credits with one of Greater Manchester's creative business listed on NESTA's online gallery to commission any project that meets the programme criteria. 150 companies will receive a credit.

For further information go to www.creative-credits.org.uk

CBI joins skills board

We have been asked to represent the business community on the north west's Regional Skills and Employment Board (RSEB).

The RSEB was established to provide the economic steer for skills and employment in the region in particular agreeing and delivering regional skills and employment priorities, identifying and addressing systemic and market failures and providing the connectivity and coordination for initiatives to help to simplify the landscape at a regional and local level.

Chaired by Steven Broomhead, Northwest Regional Development Agencys chief executive, the board includes representatives from the Learning and Skills Council, North West Universities Association, GONW, NWDA, Alliance of Sector Skills Councils and the TUC.

For further information or to express you view on the skills and employment issues facing the region contact damian.waters@cbi.org.uk

Nominations open for regional council

The CBI NW regional council is our formal policymaking group.

Meeting four times a year, key issues for business at a regional, national and international level are discussed and the views of members put forward to the CBI's Chairmans committee by CBI policy people and our regional chairman Clive Elphick.

The decisions taken by this group with involvement from other more specialised working groups form the lobbying position we take when talking to government.

Elected members retire after three years service and no member may serve for more than two three-year terms consecutively.

Nomination papers will be circulated to all NW members mid-July. Members are free to nominate themselves or and director or senior executive of any member company in the North West including senior executives from branch establishments in the region.

For further information on the role of a regional councillor contact Damian Waters or Giles Fletcher.

JEC's new website for business

The Joint Economic Commission's new website Support north west has been created to help promote the JEC role in the regional response to economic downturn, and aims to broaden awareness of its work among key regional stakeholders in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

The CBI has played a key part in the JEC since its creation, and is currently represented by regional chairman Clive Elphick.

We're keen to hear member concerns and aspirations for the north west economy to help inform and influence key regional and national policy decisions.

Recession: the key threats to business

The following issues form the core thrust of our policy work for members during the ongoing downturn.

Employment
With the UK's flexible labour market of greatest value in helping business restructure in the downturn, we risk losing this flexibility due to action by governments in the UK and in Europe: there must now be a moratorium on further regulation.

Banking
The government may introduce a tide of new regulation affecting the financial services community and beyond. It must take a forensic approach to what went wrong and ensure its reaction is proportionate and targeted.

Corporation tax
The current unstable tax regime is a real disincentive to tax residence and inward investment. The need for companies to offshore must be removed, and we need a vision for the future of a competitive tax system.

Energy costs
UK plc risks losing its competitive edge as companies face higher energy costs than competitor firms across Europe. We must bolster our supply of energy from domestic sources to deliver security of supply at affordable prices.

We are also working to ensure British business is in the best shape to take advantage of the upswing when it comes. We will ensure your views on vital longer-term issues such as public services reform, climate change, skills and transport are heard by policymakers for the region.

Diary dates

The next Regional Policy Forum will be held at the NWDA's headquarters at Renaissance House in Warrington.

Coffee and registration will be from 14:30hrs and the meeting starts at 15:00hrs. The aim of these forums is to provide an environment for a two-way dialogue between the senior leadership team of the NWDA and CBI NW members to discuss the focus and activity of the development agency and issues facing business in the region.

In the current economic climate the NWDA is taking a leading role in understanding the conditions business is experiencing and responding to the issues faced.

For further information or to book your place please email Elaine.miller@cbi.org.uk

For details of upcoming events, please go to our events page. For more information or to discuss sponsorship opportunities, please call 0161 259 1800.

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