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New plans for areas across Oxford-Cambridge Arc
and West of England unveiled today, to boost productivity
and economic growth
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Each Strategy sets out a plan to back businesses
in each area to boost people’s earning power while
creating high-quality, well paid jobs
A series of local economic blueprints have been unveiled
today (Friday 19 July), setting out plans for how to boost
the earning power and opportunities of people and
businesses as part of the Government’s modern Industrial
Strategy.
Demonstrating the unique strengths of the Oxford-Cambridge
Arc area and its local economies, Government has published
four Local Industrial Strategies covering Buckinghamshire,
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Oxfordshire and the South
East Midlands.
The Government has also published the West of England Local
Industrial Strategy, looking at how to most effectively
build on the creativity, collaboration and ingenuity of the
region, as well as setting a clear strategy that addresses
existing barriers to productivity.
Business Secretary said:
Local Industrial Strategies are fundamental to our aim of
creating prosperous communities across the country. The
plans unveiled today will help to deliver real benefits
to people while driving investment and supporting
businesses to create thriving local economies.
Today’s economic blueprints, spanning the
Oxford-Cambridge Arc and the West of England, follow
similar agreements in Greater Manchester and the West
Midlands. This helps meet a key ambition of our modern
Industrial Strategy – driving growth and spreading
opportunities across all regions of the UK.
Developed by Local Enterprise Partners (LEPs) and Mayoral
Combined Authorities, in collaboration with local leaders,
local authorities, businesses, and the Government, each
Local Industrial Strategies set out how the areas will
deliver the national Industrial Strategy’s aim to raise
productivity levels and to create high-quality, well paid
jobs.
Oxford-Cambridge Arc
Each of the four Local Industrial Strategies covering the
Oxford-Cambridge Arc has a different focus, reflecting the
unique nature of their local economies:
- Buckinghamshire aims to grow the county’s creative,
space, advanced manufacturing and digital health sectors,
building on the world-leading assets it already has such as
the Westcott Space Cluster and Pinewood Studios.
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will help grow an
industrial ecosystem that is globally known for tackling
the biggest challenges facing society, with interventions
tailored to the needs of each of its sub-economies: Greater
Cambridge, Greater Peterborough and The Fens.
- Oxfordshire plans to build on the county’s world
leading science and tech clusters to be a pioneer for
transformative technologies and sectors, with its
overarching ambition for the county to be a top three
global innovation ecosystem by 2040.
- The South East Midlands’ overarching ambition is to
position the area as the ‘Connected Core’ of the Arc, a
place with the right R&D assets, business environment
and networks to foster, test and commercialise new
innovations.
These Local Industrial Strategies also mark a major
contribution to the Government’s wider work on the Arc,
with their focus on driving productivity by outlining
shared priorities across the region. These include:
- Harnessing the collective strength of the Arc’s
research base – driving greater collaboration on science
and research and growing the role of the Arc as a global
research and innovation hub.
- Bringing employers and skills providers together to
understand the current and future skills needs, and
planning provision to meet them.
- Maximising the economic benefits of planned transport,
energy and digital infrastructure within the Arc.
- Developing an improved business support and finance
programme for high growth companies, a shared approach to
commercial premises and an Internationalisation Delivery
Plan to encourage greater trade and inward investment in
the Arc.
- Co-designing a Natural Capital Planning approach to
development within the Arc, seeking to embody Government’s
25 Year Environment Plan and contributing to the Clean
Growth Grand Challenge Mission to halve the energy use of
new buildings by 2030.
West of England
Developed in collaboration with local leaders, Government
and businesses, the West of England Local Industrial
Strategy sets out how the area will contribute towards
delivering the national Industrial Strategy’s aim to raise
productivity levels and create high-quality, well paid jobs
across the country.
To ensure continued success for the region, four key
priorities are identified in the Strategy:
Strengthening innovation and driving productivity by:
- Connecting researchers, businesses and residents
through a Global Centre of Innovation Excellence to focus
the region’s innovative strengths on globally and
nationally significant challenges.
- Developing, testing and preparing for market new
products and services through a new West of England Network
of Living Labs.
Supporting all residents to contribute to and benefit from
economic success by:
- Targeting support to communities facing challenges.
- Tailoring employment and skills support so that
businesses can find the talent they need.
- Linking everyone to jobs, training and services through
better physical and digital infrastructure, that is
accessible, sustainable and low carbon.
Providing businesses with the space, networks and skills
they need to boost productivity, grow and thrive by:
- Encouraging uptake of modern technology, management and
leadership practices to lift employee wellbeing,
productivity and exports.
- Including more regional providers in businesses’ supply
chains and widening access to public procurement for small
businesses.
- Supporting and incentivising companies towards low
carbon business models.
Investing in infrastructure that reduces energy demand,
lowers carbon emissions and is resilient to the impacts of
climate change.
- Supporting businesses to adopt new clean technology and
energy efficiency measures.
- Building new carbon-neutral homes, using modern methods
of construction and other housing innovations.
