Chris Luck, CEO of Shaw Trust, in response to today’s Budget
said:
“The measures announced by the Chancellor today to protect the
jobs and livelihoods of the British people are essential. These
measures, alongside the accompanying fiscal announcements to
strengthen the economy, lay the bedrock for our economic
recovery.
It is pleasing to see the launch of the UK Infrastructure Bank
and the opening up of the Levelling Up Fund, announcements which
sow the seeds from which the government’s levelling up agenda can
build momentum. The direction of travel set out in the Build
Back Better policy document is positive, but as our economy
recovers the Chancellor has the chance to go further and should
seize the opportunity to bring about a real paradigm shift by
tackling underlying education, skills and wider societal
inequalities to produce a fairer more equitable economy that
prioritises not just financial but also social and natural
capital.
The Chancellor emphasised his £65 billion additional package of
measures to support the economy, which is welcomed. It is
important to focus on maximising the return on social investment
and social value to deliver the levelling up agenda across the UK
. This should include utilising public procurement to better
enable social enterprises which reinvest their surplus back into
the communities they serve; thus increasing social outcomes and
delivering better value for the taxpayer.
The Chancellor rightly spoke about supporting people not just
into work, but into decent and well paid jobs. We at Shaw Trust
remain fully committed to playing our part in promoting good
work, using our child to career framework, so as to create a
society where good employment is accessible to all irrespective
of life circumstances.”
