It’s important, because these are tough times for the region, as they are for regions across the country and the world. We will all know of businesses that are struggling; of family and friends forced to make adjustments, perhaps at risk of losing work and concerned about debt. And taking these issues seriously is what today is all about.
And the document is impressive because it shows the range and depth of the region’s response to those issues and the support available. Bryan will say more about that later.
Of course, a document on its own is not going to change anything. But what it shows is that we are a region that has the ability to cope, to respond, and to learn as we go through the current economic downturn.
The East Midlands
And that’s one of the things that has impressed me about the region since I became Minister for the East Midlands in January.
The region has many strengths, not least the diversity it offers. Throughout the document we are launching today, you will see references to the resilience that the region has shown in the past and is showing again. And that resilience comes from diversity. We are a diverse region with:
- Vibrant ubran areas and high quality rural environments
- A varied economy, making the best of traditional manufacturing and developing new strengths in the knowledge economy
- And diverse communities; we are a region with a long history of welcoming new arrivals from around the country and the world
Our economy & resilience
In particular, I want to say a bit more about the nature of the East Midlands economy, and why the strengths it has shown over recent years provide us with greater resilience as we head into more difficult times. With a higher than average share for manufacturing employment, the region is less reliant on the service and financial sector and better placed to withstand tougher conditions. The region also has:
- a strong record on innovation – businesses here have consistently invested more than average in innovation
- higher than average survival rates for new businesses
- an excellent and diverse higher education sector, making a wide range of contributions to our economic wellbeing
- and employment rates currently above the UK average
I am not suggesting that our strong track record will simply make the current challenges go away. But as today’s document makes clear, there is resilience that comes from diversity and this stands the East Midlands in good stead in the coming months.
Role of regional minister
It is this great variety the East Midlands offers that makes my role as regional minister a real pleasure and privilege. Having a regional minister is still a new approach within Government, so it’s worth me saying a bit more about what the role involves.
Firstly, my role is to help provide leadership to the region. I want to work with businesses, as well as with representatives from the public and third sectors to get beneath the headlines and understand the problems and challenges facing the region – and to look for the solutions. I already meet regularly with Bryan Jackson and David Parsons, the Chair of the Regional Assembly, to discuss how we can work together to meet the region’s challenges. And I want to bring together – every six months or so – the key regional leaders from a wide range of sectors and organisations so that we can debate and agree the priorities for the region and how jointly we can best tackle them. Today’s seminar provides a welcome opportunity to hear directly from you, the voices of business in the region.
Secondly, my role is to be the champion for the government in the region, by speaking at regional events and talking to organisations about the impact of government policies and helping to join up policies so they secure better outcomes and have a greater impact. Again, today’s event is great example of this in practice.
And finally, I want to be the region’s champion – your champion – in Whitehall. I will champion the needs of the region and ensure its voice is heard. I want Whitehall to understand what the region has to offer and the contribution it already makes to the life of the nation.
By doing this, we will help ensure that future government policies better reflect our needs.
My priorities
Whilst as Regional Minister I am here to represent all aspects of regional life, I have established a set of priorities. These are the things that I feel most strongly about, and where I believe I can genuinely help the region. Many of these relate directly to the reason that we are here today. Let me say a little about these priorities:
- jobs and economy – regardless of current conditions, this was always going to be a priority for me for this region. You know that we need to improve the sustainable economic performance and productivity of the region. As I have said, there are strengths to build on here. I recently visited BioCity, here in Nottingham, where I saw the contribution that has been made to the economy from this enterprising and inspiring approach. We need to make sure we are forward thinking when considering the huge potential that bioscience and nanotechnology offer and the new markets they could open up.
- skills – we need to increase and improve our skill levels to remain competitive in an increasingly competitive world. I am leading the drive to get more of our public sector organisations to sign up to the skills pledge and to encourage more employers to invest in the skills of their workforce. All partners in the region need to continue to promote the importance of this pledge as a means for improving the basic skill levels vital to our future prosperity. Today’s document also includes details of how to access the Train to Gain skills brokerage service, just one practical example of support already available.
- managing growth and the provision of housing and infrastructure – we are facing difficult times at present in the housing market but we do need to create a step change in housing supply by creating the right conditions so that more sustainable homes are built in the right place and at affordable prices.
As you will see in the document, I have called a meeting in October to bring together the key stakeholders to set out what more can be done to ensure we improve people’s access to affordable, decent homes.
- reducing social exclusion – as the responsible Cabinet Office Minister I am keen that we reduce disadvantage and the disparities that occur in the country and the region. Earlier this year I convened a group of experts and practitioners on Adult Social Exclusion to challenge the region to agree and identify ways to improve the life chances of vulnerable groups.
- transforming and driving up the delivery of public services to make them more focussed on the customer and delivered by the best providers, whether public, private or third sector. In the context of today’s discussion, I know that public sector investment across the region will play an important part of the response to the current downturn and has already been a key ingredient in the resilience of the East Midlands’ economy.
Short-term action & long term thinking
Despite that resilience, we are here today because we know that businesses and individuals are facing difficulties here and now. No-one can doubt the strength of feeling that exists, and the anxieties that are facing people across the country.
I saw this at first hand when I recently attended the AGM of the East Midlands Regional Assembly and heard the wide range of views calling for more to be done.
We know that these concerns are very real and that is why Government has planned this series of regional events, with the Treasury and Regional Development Agencies, working together to provide regional responses to the current economic conditions. The document we are launching today sets out the response for the East Midlands. It also gives the framework within which emda, together with its partners, will continue to develop this response, remaining flexible and building on the measures set out in the report.
Alongside our response to the short-term pressures, we must also keep in mind the need to continue planning for the longer-term prosperity of the region. And the Regional Economic Strategy becomes even more important here, putting in place the steps that we need to take to become a flourishing region that is more productive, sustainable and where all people can realise their full potential.
Regional Funding Advice
As part of this long-term thinking, the region has the opportunity over the next few months to shape and influence the way that Government investment is made over the next ten years.
Angela has already referred to the request that has gone to emda and the Regional Assembly to provide Regional Funding Advice on behalf of the East Midlands. Developing a consensus to inform this advice will provide a test for the region and its organisations, as difficult choices on the region’s future investments will need to be made. Last time, the East Midlands faced up to this challenge and provided to the government robust and well evidenced advice. This raised considerably the region’s profile and standing. I want to work with regional stakeholders to provide similar well evidenced advice this time.
More support, more listening
I think we all acknowledge the importance of this long-term thinking, of making sure that we have the skills we need for the future, of raising our productivity levels and continuing to seek the innovation that will provide future prosperity.
However, we also recognise that, of course, the most acute issues for people will be the here and now issues of coping with the current economic downturn. I’ve asked to be kept up to date on all the latest reports, the evidence, the figures, but also on the real stories that lie behind the numbers.
Because after all, where the global pressures impact on us, it’s at the personal level. The issues that Angela outlined earlier affect the businesses we deal with and the people we know. And that’s where our response should come, will come, and is already coming.
Bryan will say more about the support that is already available to businesses, and which is being constantly adjusted to the circumstances.
But I am keen that all businesses and all people living and working in the East Midlands feel they have the support of all the organisations that work on their behalf across the region. Now more than ever, those organisations need to show the leadership that our communities expect.
It’s a leadership on behalf of all people living and working here.
It’s a leadership that we already see from the regional, sub-regional and local organisations across the East Midlands.
But it’s also a leadership that must listen, and be ready to improve, to develop and to respond.
I am committed to being part of that leadership, on your behalf, and I look forward to hearing from you shortly to help me in that role.
Thank you.
