We’re committed to ensuring your voice is heard in your region, and that real, practical change can be driven to boost productivity and prosperity. To do this, the CBI sits on business groups across Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the regions, making sure that businesses voice is central to their plans to drive growth across all English regions.
This monthly update gives the latest news from across the regions focused on the overaching issues affecting all business – including achieving net zero, skills, innovation and competitiveness.
Latest headlines
· From April 2024, the government’s sponsorship and funding of LEPs will cease. Government will instead support local and combined authorities to take on the functions currently delivered by LEPs.
· The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is working to establish a potential £160m scheme to fund the next generation of satellite communications development and increase the UK’s leadership in the growing global satellite market as part of plans to revolutionise 5G and broadband coverage.
· The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (and MoD) announced a new Nuclear Skills Taskforce, chaired by Sir Simon Bollom, to underpin developments in the defence and civil nuclear sectors to deliver the right people with the right skills. Minister for Nuclear, Andrew Bowie, said the taskforce will support the expansion of energy security and Great British Nuclear.
· The UK Infrastructure Bank has announced a commitment of £45m to Gridserve to support the rollout of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at motorway service areas across the UK. The financing, part of a £300m committed Capex facility, will support investment in about 2,000 ultra-rapid (up to 350kW) charging points.
Decarbonisation
· North East: The Department for Transport announced that the North East will benefit from new funding for hydrogen transport including developing hydrogen technology with an £8m investment into the Tees Valley hydrogen transport hub, and new hydrogen refuelling stations.
· Scotland and Yorkshire and the Humber: The Prime Minister announced multi-million-pound energy investments in two new carbon capture and storage clusters in North East Scotland and the Humber as part of their energy security planning for the UK, it also includes granting hundreds of new North Sea oil and gas licences in the UK.
· East of England: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has been selected as part of a group of 48 individual local authorities set to receive £307,974 from a funding pot of £14m to develop a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS).
· South East: National Highways has launched one of the UK’s largest ever purchases of low-carbon hydrogen, in a move that would reduce the carbon footprint of the Lower Thames Crossing, accelerate the construction industry’s shift away from diesel, and kickstart the highly anticipated development of a hydrogen ecosystem in the Thames Estuary with the potential to grow the economy.
Innovation
· Midlands: The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and Innovate UK have agreed a strategic partnership in a bid to strengthen innovation in the region. The West Midlands Local Action Plan sets a framework to more closely align the innovation support Innovate UK and the WMCA provide to the region's businesses, entrepreneurs, and researchers with the eight primary growth clusters identified in the WMCA's Plan for Growth.
· North West: A public consultation has launched for a new £1.7bn innovation district in Manchester. Images of the illustrative masterplan for Manchester's trailblazing new city centre innovation district have been revealed as Manchester's draft Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) is published and a formal public consultation period begins.
· South West: Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to build an electric car battery gigafactory in Britain. The factory is expected to be sited in Somerset and to bring 4,000 new jobs to the area after the investment by Tata Group. It will become one of Europe’s largest battery cell manufacturing sites when it starts production in 2026.
· London: A new report has shown that the Mayor’s Creative Enterprise Zones recovered faster than London’s wider creative economy following the pandemic and economic downturn. Subsequently, the mayor announced an expansion of the Creative Enterprise Zones to Brent, Islington and Westminster, bringing the total number of zones to 12 by 2026.
Trade
· North West: Liverpool has strengthened its links with the South Korean port city of Busan. The Liverpool City Region group took part in a landmark innovation deal that saw Liverpool City Region Civic Data Cooperative and Busan Techno Park sign a letter of intent to combine data science and engineering work for health, social and economic advancement.
· South West: The Heart of the South West LEP, West of England Combined Authority, and Department for International Trade have launched a Smart and Sustainable Aviation High Potential Opportunity (HPO) for the South West. The publication of this HPO will highlight the South West as a global destination for aviation business and research, and will be promoted to DIT teams in British Embassies around the world.
· London: London continues to be one of the top global destinations for tech companies looking to expand internationally, with fresh data from London & Partners showing the UK capital has attracted more new international tech companies than any other global city in the past decade.
· London, South East and East of England: Analysis of official data, as part of MakeUK/BDO Regional Manufacturing Outlook Report 2023 shows that UK’s overall share of manufacturing exports to the EU increased in 2022 to 52% from 50% in 2019. According to the analysis, only London & the South East and the East of England (49% to 50% and 49% to 54% respectively) have seen their share of goods exports to the EU increase since 2019, whereas all other English regions and Wales have seen falls.
Workforce
· North West, Yorkshire and the Humber: Mayors across northern England have written to train operators, setting out the legal steps they will take if a consultation to close the majority of rail tickets offices and drastically cut staff available to support passengers, is not halted.
· Midlands: People in the West Midlands earning £30,000 a year or less can now take advantage of free Level 3 job training. The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has given the training offer the green light as part of a new far-reaching package of measures to improve people’s skills and qualifications so they can get into work or land a better job
· East of England: Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has been shortlisted for the University of the Year prize at the prestigious UK Social Mobility Awards, thanks to the role ARU Peterborough, a major Combined Authority project, is playing in advancing social mobility in both the city and the wider region.
· South West: Metro Mayor Dan Norris has announced that an innovative scheme to ensure young people in schools across the West of England consider careers in the green jobs of the future will be expanded. The West of England Green Futures programme will be boosted by £300,000 allowing more schools to participate in the scheme.
Health
· London: The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan announced that seven businesses had been awarded up £50,000 each to help communities affected by the cost-of-living crisis. The ‘Poverty Prevention Challenge’ was launched by the mayor in January 2023 to find innovative solutions to tackle the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, provide Londoners with access to opportunities and resources to reach financial independence, and improve the way the public sector identify and support people at risk of falling into financial hardship.
· North West: The Government has launched England’s second Investment Zone in Liverpool which could unlock £320m of private investment and deliver 4,000 jobs, across Liverpool, Runcorn, St Helens, Maghull and Prescot over the next five years. An initial £10m investment will be made by US pharmaceutical manufacturer TriRx, to enhance its capabilities to manufacture monoclonal antibodies. This investment in Liverpool’s existing Speke Pharma cluster – home to one of the UK’s leading regions for bioprocessing – is the first step in unlocking a total pipeline up to £320m of further private funding from a range of investors in the life sciences sector.
· North East: Innovate UK has invested up to £25m in a range of projects across the country this year, including more than £2.5m in the North East. Newcastle based life sciences and biomedical businesses LightOx, NunaBio, Magnitude Biosciences and Hexis Lab are celebrating landing a number of grants through its latest round of funding. The finance will be used to advance the pharmaceutical and biotechnology research services, technology and drug development of the companies, which are working to develop solutions for significant health or healthcare challenges.
· Midlands: A joint statement has been published by leaders in the West Midlands, outlining how they plan on making the roads safer for people in the region. The statement was penned by the Mayor of the West Midlands, Transport for West Midlands, West Midlands Police, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Birmingham City Council, and the Mayor’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, and focuses on the work that is being done to refine the approach to road safety.
Contact the Regional Growth Team
· Mark Goldstone – Head of Regional Policy, and Yorkshire and the Humber
· Alex Guest - North West and North East
· Nicky Williams – South West
· Josh Male – Midlands and East of England
· Simon Dishman – London and the South East