Presenting the business perspective on regional policy

Whitehall is obviously focused on Brexit and our future relationship with Europe. And we’ve had the end of one premiership and the beginning of another, only to be followed by a December general election. However, this past year, the CBI has been hedging its bets so to speak, by engaging with elected mayors of all political persuasions and laying the groundwork for what could be a busy year ahead on topics such as English devolution, the Industrial Strategy and the regional productivity gap.

Due to Brexit uncertainty and the General Election, parliamentary inquiries have launched, only to be put on hold. However, that hasn’t stopped us from laying the groundwork for when there’s renewed government capacity.

In May, we submitted evidence to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee inquiry, highlighting the importance of access to finance and Catapult Centres to encourage regional investment and growth. In August, we responded to the Treasury Select Committee’s inquiry, making the case for a coherent approach to regional policy including the need to invest in quality regional data. Most recently in September, we reiterated the need for a clear framework for devolving powers in England in response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee inquiry into the progress of devolution in England.

Building upon our regional profile

In 2019, the CBI set out to become a ‘go to’ business organisation by building upon our regional profile. With members we set out policy priorities for each of the English regions.

This has resulted in:

• Strong engagement with all Metro Mayors and Combined Authorities
• Robust regional press coverage in support of HS2 and other priorities
• Established principles to guide future growth funds including the Shared Prosperity Fund.

This increased profile has also led to CBI representation on more than 40 regional committees and boards, which is frankly too many, but a good dilemma to face. Next year we’ll prioritise those that have the most impact for members. For example, we were invited to sit on the two newly formed South West Strategic Transport Body (STB) forums: Peninsula STB and Western Gateway STB. As part of this work we’ve encouraged the two South West STBs to work more closely together as they decide regional transport priorities which is beginning to pay off.

And in the Southeast, we’ve actively engaged the CEOs of the Southern Local Enterprise Partnership Group, the lead representatives of the county and local authorities, Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Thames Valley Berks LEP and Transport for the South East STB.

During the North of Tyne mayoral election, the CBI organised an election husting to hear business views from the candidates. The newly elected Labour mayor, Jamie Driscoll, recognised the importance of working with us and we’ve been a key part in establishing and facilitating the Mayor's meetings with business organisations. We also meet regularly to discuss business priorities with Mayor Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Mayor Steve Rotherham in Liverpool City Region.

Embedding the Industrial Strategy

We’ve also been working with members to shape the emerging local industrial strategies by organising member roundtables and discussions to influence each of the published strategies. Due in part to member input, Greater Manchester’s strategy features an ambitious 2038 net-zero target, and the West Midlands has committed to the UK’s first large-scale 5G testbed.

Engagement is also underway across the country where strategies haven’t yet been published. For instance, following strong engagement involving evidence-based insights the CBI features as the lead organisation within the Leicester and Leicestershire LEP’s call for evidence. Likewise, the CBI London team has been a key influencer on the Greater London Authority’s Industrial Strategy and will be one of the few stakeholders given sight of the early draft.

We’ve also organised Grand Challenge roundtables attracting a wide range of members to influence the Industrial Strategy. We were joined by Tim Lord, Director of Clean Growth in BEIS at the Ergo Centre in Hessle to discuss how the Humberside can succeed in becoming the first net-zero industrial cluster by 2040. Ella Taylor, then Head of Future of Mobility at the government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles joined us at Rolls-Royce Learning & Career Development Centre in Derby to discuss maximising the benefits of future of mobility.

Championing every English region

Building on the momentum of the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine, the CBI has been actively shaping the prospectus for the Great South West. This brings together businesses, LEPs, and other key stakeholders and calls for government to back the region and deliver a new powerhouse for the South West peninsula.

We’ve continued to meet the Mayor of London quarterly through the CBI’s seat on the London Business Board as well as the Deputy Mayoral team, Senior GLA officials and Cressida Dick, Commissioner of The Met. This spanned policy solutions on Brexit, crime, social cohesion, infrastructure and trade. The London Business Survey 2019 also outlined asks of both local and central government on the capital’s environment for retaining top talent and growing a successful business.

Making progress on devolving powers

We had the successful publication of Powering Up Places calling on the government to provide a long-term plan for the future of devolution in England to reignite regions. Members identified three steps to kickstart devolution and power up all places across England:

Step one: develop and publish a framework for devolution that includes means to assess current and future deals, and a clear definition of a functional economic area.

Step two: optimise Westminster and Whitehall for devolution, including prioritising regional growth within Cabinet and across Whitehall, reviewing the Green Book and establishing new ways of working with Metro Mayors.

Step three: deliver new deals and streamline local government, including government committed to deals covering 60% of the population, advancing unitary authorities and improving local engagement.

We’ve had meaningful engagement on these recommendations with officials at Treasury, MHCLG and BEIS. During the Conservative Conference, Chancellor Sajid Javid committed to publishing a devolution white paper, but it has been delayed due to the general election. However, we’re in a strong position to influence the government’s thinking and will build upon this work further.

Plans for next year, including mayoral elections

We have ambitious plans for 2020 building upon the good work undertaken this past year. Firstly, we’re developing Mayoral Manifestos for elections planned in Greater London, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region and North of Tyne for 7 May. We plan to formally consult members on the draft manifestos in January and publish ahead of the May elections.

Early next year we’ll also publish an assessment of the Industrial Strategy after its first two years. It will examine progress against Grand Challenges, Sector Deals and local industrial strategies focusing on whether robust visions are in place, partnership working is underway as well as plans for implementation. In addition, we’ll make recommendations for government to help shape the strategy’s future.

We’ll also be working with members to develop regional campaigns covering each of the regions. As always, we’d welcome member input and will test in more detail during regional councils. This in addition to setting out principles for devolving power in England and assessing regional productivity across the country.

As always, we’d welcome your involvement on any of the topics summarised here and look forward to further developing our regional policy offer on behalf of members. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or +44 (0)7900 866 510 to discuss further or to direct you to the appropriate colleague responsible for the specific topic area.