Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Build Back Better Business
Council this morning, the first in-person meeting this year
following a series of virtual meetings.
The Prime Minister opened the discussion by emphasising the
importance of getting the economy moving and turning the success
of the vaccine rollout programme into jobs and economic growth.
The Prime Minister was updated on the progress being driven
forward by industry leaders on six key priorities including;
investment in innovation, growing the UK Science and Tech
sectors, accelerating the roll out of electric vehicle
infrastructure, off-shore wind development, levelling up and
boosting skills in emerging sectors.
The discussion began with the Prime Minister welcoming action to
accelerate the development of British made electric vehicles.
This coincided with an announcement from the Electric Vehicle
Fleet Accelerator Group, made up of seven major UK companies who
have pledged to buy 70,000 British made electric vans by 2030.
This move, the Prime Minister said, made clear that there was
homegrown demand for manufacturers to capitalise on and he asked
the group to take forward urgent work to deliver this.
The group also discussed co-delivering progress in areas
including mobilising local leadership on levelling up, investing
in research and development, and tackling skills gaps in emerging
sectors such as green jobs, construction and digital. They also
welcomed the Innovation Strategy published last week.
The International Trade Secretary drew the meeting to a close by
endorsing the upcoming Global Investment Summit due to take place
in September – which will see the government roll out the green
carpet for investors from across the world.
