Trade Association Update: August

Confidence is at the heart of every successful economy. Confidence among businesses to grow, invest and create new jobs. Confidence among staff to go to work every day; innovate and deliver. And confidence among customers to spend money on goods and services.

For the past 18 months, the mood across the UK economy has been anything but confident. Stop-start restrictions have taken their toll across numerous sectors. And while tentative steps towards recovery are now underway, it will take time to fully restore that fragile confidence. It is crucial that we find a way to live with the virus which enables us to go about our daily lives in comfort.

Let’s be clear, this doesn’t mean throwing caution to the wind. Far from it. Too many people have lost their lives and livelihoods for that to happen. But nor does it mean returning to social and economic hibernation. What we need is balance.

We may never be totally free of COVID-19. The unpredictability of variants could see it hang around like a very unwanted house guest. But while it may never be fully eradicated, it can be properly managed, and risks to the most vulnerable very effectively minimised.

So how do we live safely with the virus?

The vaccine rollout is a world-beating success. The extraordinary efforts of the public and private sectors working in partnership to develop and deliver an effective vaccine across the UK has put us in a position where COVID can, finally, be pushed into the background.

Promoting vaccine uptake, particularly among staff, is a no-brainer for business. The greater the level of public immunisation, the more secure workplaces will be – in turn giving greater confidence to customers and staff alike.

But there’s also a role for enterprise in helping us bank and leverage the platform vaccines provide. The public and private sectors must work together to ensure the successes of the vaccine programme are replicated when it comes to boosters and developing effective treatments.

The long-awaited move from self-isolation rules to a system of test-and-release will be a hugely important tool in the arsenal as we reopen the economy. While testing has always been vitally important, the number of double-vaccinated people being ‘pinged’ as a contact of someone with coronavirus has been out of proportion with the scale of transmission, depriving businesses of healthy staff just when they needed them most.

Changes anticipated later this month can at last release double-jabbed individuals from isolation obligations. However, we still need to think about those not yet fully vaccinated and how rapid testing can help release them from needless isolation. Both should sit alongside continued government support for free workplace testing.

There are also a range of COVID-secure tools at our disposal. Face masks can continue to inspire confidence in certain close-contact spaces, including public transport and retail settings. That should reassure many. Other interventions, like mandatory COVID status certificates must be considered carefully and involve clear partnership with business and other stakeholders to ensure they’re implemented effectively.

For areas like international travel, we have to employ a clear, risk-based approach. The UK cannot afford to be first on vaccines but last in reopening international trade. Prolonging the economic impact of COVID simply keeps vital jobs at risk.

Confidence can be a fragile thing, but we know that its relationship to growth is a strong one. Better confidence leads to greater spending, investment and output – enabling UK businesses at last to trade their way to recovery. To paraphrase Field of Dreams: “If you build confidence, growth will come.”

You can read more about the CBI’s three key principles to the government for living confidently with the virus here.

Decarbonisation roundtable takeaways

Thank you to all who were able to join our Decarbonisation roundtable where we joined the Decarbonisation team to discuss the impact the CBI has had over the recent months, a deep dive into our Seize the Moment plans focused on the decarbonisation theme, and our upcoming policy priorities including COP26.

Key takeaways included:

• Concern around resourcing of the content provision for jobs and green skills. The provision of content and knowledge around emerging tech ready, now the challenge is staffing the teachers to provide the training
• The need for the government to have strategic oversight of interactivity, understanding of conflicts and the different drivers across the sector
• Sectoral challenges regarding extra costs incurred by decarbonising. How do we explain the necessity and reasoning behind the costs, especially to SME’s.

Please do reach out to myself or Talisha if you would like a copy of the presentation slides.

Latest sector updates

Education policy briefing

Regional growth and recovery

Innovation and digital

International

People and skills

Useful resources

• The CBI's Coronavirus Hub has all the information regarding COVID-19, including advice, guidance, and what your business can do to help
• The CBI's UK Transition Hub has the most up to date developments regarding the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and provides guidance on specific issues.

Both these hubs are accessible on our public site, so do feel free to signpost them to your members.

Have you had any changes in your team?

We are keen to hear your news about staffing changes so that we can update how we communicate with you accordingly. Please let myself or Talisha know.

Access to My CBI is also open to any staff member in your organisation. With a wealth of resources and access to informative webinars do let your team know to use this valuable resource and check which opportunities and policy publications you can access.