"We back business as the cornerstone of a successful economy," says Hammond

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond will make an impassioned call to ensure business is at the heart of the Conservative Party’s plan to deliver growth and prosperity for ordinary working people, at his speech to the Conservative Party Conference.

Speaking in Birmingham tomorrow (Monday, 1 October), he will give more working people the chance to access higher quality learning in key science and other STEM subject by expanding the apprenticeships available and in response to calls from businesses and business leaders across the country, he will kick-off the first stage of the Government’s engagement process seeking views on the flexibility and development of the Apprenticeship Levy.

The Chancellor’s new £125 million package will support learning and fuel productivity to deliver the better paid, good quality jobs across the UK.

The new funding will include:

• ·            Allowing large employers to transfer up to 25% of their apprenticeship levy funds to businesses in their supply chain from April 2019, helping increase the number of people in high quality apprenticeships;
• ·            Expanding the range of existing courses available and increasing the number of people who can access STEM subjects, transport and healthcare, giving more people a choice as they climb the career ladder; and
• ·            Setting out a process to seek views on the operation of the levy after 2020 to ensure it supports the development of the skilled workforce businesses want, and our economy needs.

The Chancellor will also announce £30 million to encourage big business to mentor small business, in a drive to share knowledge, best practice and digital support.

He wants to see all businesses enjoying the best modern management practices and using the latest technology to increase productivity and drive up wages.

Developed in close consultation with business, including Sir Charlie Mayfield, the Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership as part of his ‘Be the Business’ programme, the measures will help small businesses increase their resilience to the changing jobs market and produce better wages for working people. The announcement will create a culture of “national business-led movement” to unlock the potential of SMEs up and down the country. It will also encourage them to access opportunities in emerging markets through the government’s Export Strategy.

The package will consist of:

• ·         Creating a ‘Small Business Leadership Programme’, to provide management training to 2,000 small businesses with an ambition to grow this to 10,000.  The government will draw on the excellent training provided by business schools and leading businesses to design and deliver this programme;
• ·         Strengthening local networks so that the country’s hundreds of thousands of business leaders can learn from each other about management excellence and new technologies; and
• ·         Launching a new mentoring programme for SMEs. 137 mentors from 13 leading companies including Amazon, KPMG, GSK and Siemens UK have already signed up.  We are now calling on leaders from even more businesses to share their expertise and wisdom with others; from FTSE100 and other leading firms.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond will say:

“Ten years on from the financial crisis, Conservative leadership has delivered Britain a stronger, more resilient economy. We have delivered twenty-two consecutive quarters of economic growth since 2010, creating over 3 million more jobs and taking unemployment to a 43-year low.”

“Too many people have experienced years of slow wage growth, felt less secure in their jobs and seen the housing market spiral beyond their reach. And as they look around them, they feel a growing concern that they are falling behind.”

“So the challenge is to ensure that 21^st Century capitalism delivers for them; to convince them that our vision of Britain’s future can meet their aspirations and that our plan, unlike Labour’s, will actually deliver a better tomorrow for them and their families.”

The Chancellor will say that the best route to tackling these challenges is by working with business:

“...economic freedom goes hand in hand with political freedom and above all, the belief in the power of enterprise as the route to unleash talent and to improve lives.”

“That’s why we back business, as the cornerstone of a successful economy; as a force for good in our society; and as an essential expression of our values.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Apprenticeship levy:

• The Government introduced the Levy in April 2017, requiring all employers with an annual pay of £3m or more to pay 0.5% of their pay annual bill to invest in apprenticeship training.

Export Strategy:

• ·         The Export Strategy sets out how the government will support businesses of all sizes to make the most of the opportunities presented by markets around the world. A government-led collaboration with business, developed after extensive engagement with a range of UK firms - the Strategy sets a new ambition from government to increase exports as a proportion of UK GDP to 35%.