CBI responds to Prime Minister’s first statement to parliament

Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Executive, said:

"It is encouraging to hear the Prime Minister talk positively about working in common cause with business to deliver growth in every part of the country.

"Ultimately, there is no credible path to reducing the cost of living without first tackling the cost of doing business. The Prime Minister is right to identify delays to grid connections, ageing infrastructure and high energy costs as major barriers to investment, productivity and growth.

"Further extending regional devolution is a welcome step, as is championing British-made start-ups and scale-ups, and the return of local industrial strategies that bring together government, business and our world class universities to drive the innovation-led growth the UK needs.

"However, firms will sound a note of caution over policies such as the Overnight Stay Levy, which risk adding further costs and administrative burdens to sectors already operating under significant financial pressure."