The latest on Seize the Moment: February

Energy cost has been the dominant theme for the Decarbonisation team in January. Spikes in wholesale gas prices are putting pressure on businesses, causing havoc in the retail energy market and signally sharp rises in household bills.

The CBI is making the case to government to:

• Act to protect vulnerable customers
• Support businesses cashflow
• Improve the international competitiveness of our industrial base.

We’ve also emphasised the importance of energy efficiency improvements to reduce demand and improve our resilience against future shocks. The Decarbonisation team will be taking these ideas forward with the Treasury as we approach a March budget, contact us to feed in your views.

You can also read the CBI’s response to government on the energy price cap change.

The CBI has worked with members to respond to the BEIS consultation on a new market-based mechanism for low carbon heat, emphasising the need to incentivise demand and build the skills base for key technologies like heat pumps.

Looking ahead we are working on establishing an exciting new network for climate and sustainability leaders within businesses in the Spring. Watch this space!

The CBI welcomes the government’s Help to Grow: Digital scheme – a recommendation in our 2020 Tech Tracker Report. The scheme offers eligible SMEs free and impartial advice and the chance to apply for a voucher offering 50% off the costs of approved Digital Accounting and CRM software.

The National Cyber Strategy has been announced, setting out the UK’s five-year plan for cyber, and the growing responsibility of business. The CBI hosted a joint session with the National Cyber Security Centre to help businesses move from awareness to action on cyber. Check out Susannah Odell’s reflections on the session (Head of Digital Policy), the role of business in cyber resilience, and the tools available to help your business take the next step.

1. Shape the Online Safety Bill. Find out what has changed and how you can get involved
2. Shape the government’s new, developing Digital Markets Unit (DMU). Tell us what you think should be in the code of conduct
3. You can still feed in your views on age assurance as part of Children’s Code implementation following our roundtable with ICO
4. Read the CBI’s recommendations to the government on data protection reforms.

• Check out the third Big Fish Little Fish mini-guide on the route to successful M&A
• Discover our refreshed digital policy working groups, and get involved
• Join us to discuss the government’s forthcoming AI Governance White Paper with the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation
• Meet the new Information Commissioner John Edwards.

With over nine due in 2022, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have been the International team’s new year’s focus. Find out more and how you can get involved in:

• The UK’s FTA with Australia is currently going through parliament and New Zealand looks close to agreement
• India negotiations launched in January
• The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Mexico and Canada negotiations are starting soon
• The Switzerland and Turkey trade deals that we expect to be started before end of the year
• The UK is also expected to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

1. EU import controls are being phased in, starting January 1, with the next phase from July 1. No significant challenges have yet been reported, but this could change
2. The government has announced that the ‘Brexit Freedoms’ bill will be brought forward, ending the special status of EU law
3. Following the ‘Brexit Freedoms’ Bill being brought forward by the government, a new policy document ‘The Benefits of Brexit’ has been announced to set out how the government is using new freedoms to transform the UK into the best regulated economy in the world. Contact Nicola Hetherington for further information, and to help shape upcoming regulation to ensure that it reflects sector needs and supports a fast-growing Britain.

The Department for International Trade welcomed the CBI’s initiative to set up a Trade in Services council (TISC) in its November 2021 Export Strategy. The new industry-led body will meet for the first time in March to champion the importance of services trade to the UK economy.

Check out the latest. 

The recently published Levelling Up White Paper sets out the government’s plan to transform the UK by spreading opportunity and economic prosperity to all parts of the country.

The government has accepted the CBI view that business-driven economic clusters – enabling every region and nation to build its own unique competitiveness proposition – can be a catalyst which brings levelling up ambitions to life. The CBI has welcomed the long-term focus and cross-cutting nature that recognises that it can't be led by one department.

• Check out the CBI’s Labour Shortage campaign; practical resources to help members navigate the tightness of the current labour market, including:
  • Check out the shortages scene set and webinar highlights
  • Use the CEO Action plan – a step by step guide for business leaders
  • As vacancy levels hit another record high, read our summary of the latest labour market data.
• Attend upcoming CBI@10 webinars on labour shortages
  • 16 February, 10am: Solving Shortages – maximising hybrid working.
• Join a People and Skills Network meeting near you to hear how firms in your region are tackling shortages
• Share what your business is doing to embrace new ideas and technologies to tackle labour shortages

1. Our new Time to Advance guide provides practical resources on how businesses can and are putting their diversity aspirations into action and looking beyond gender and race, towards other protected characteristics such as disability and age
2. The CBI founded campaign Change the Race Ratio celebrate a key milestone of 100 signatories who have pledge to improve ethnic and racial participation in senior leadership
3. The CBI alongside BITC, CIPD and the TUC gave evidence to the Women and Equalities select committee on ethnicity pay reporting. The CBI reinforced the importance of making ethnicity pay reporting mandatory and expressed the benefits and challenges associated to it.

Read a summary of our response to the Education Select Committee Inquiry on evidence-based measures to improve post-16 education. 

Discover what the CBI is campaigning for!

On R&D Tax, members sat down with HMT to discuss:

• Extending the definition of qualifying expenditure to include data and cloud computing
• Introducing limitations on claims for sub-contracted R&D undertaken overseas.

Get in touch to find out more and get involved in future conversations.

1. Watch this space for the CBI’s submissions to the spring budget due on 8 and 11 February. The CBI will outline our engagements with HMT on the Health spend over the coming six months. Reach out to Jake Harrison to feed in your views
2. Attend the first of the CBI and Business for Health (B4) roundtable series in February to influence the creation of a business health index to strengthen workforce health and increase productivity. To find out more speak to Lydia Hamilton-Rimmer
3. Join us at The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and CBI roundtable discussion in March to shape the government’s health and growth policy.