CBI

The Spring Budget was a significant one for business. But there’s no rest in our quest for growth – in this episode we talk green growth and skills too. 

It’s worth reflecting on the Spring Budget on 15 March. After all, there was plenty in it to help firms go for growth. And although it may have been missing some green credentials – at the time of recording – we’re expecting to hear more on that front within days.   

Joining us for this episode we have Katy Recina, Head of Economic Policy at the CBI, who’s trawled through the hundreds of pages of the red book so you don’t have to. 

As so many of the measures she talks about – from wins on childcare and health support, to frustrations on the Apprenticeship Levy – relate to people and skills, we asked Matthew Percival, Director on our Changing Workforce Programme to join in the discussion. He helps us look back over our Future of Work Conference in early March, bringing in tips and advice from Pheonix Group and Microsoft too.

Joining Syma Cullasy-Aldridge, Chief Campaigns Director, CBI, are: 

In this episode, we mention: 

Digital Skills Toolkit 

Budget breakdown: what it means for your business 

The upcoming Budget is an important one for growth. But why should businesses care what’s in the Chancellor’s red box on 15 March? 

Joining us for this episode we have Louise Hellem, Director of Economic Policy at the CBI to talk us through the headlines of what we’re asking for in the Budget, the business concerns that have led to them, and how government intervention on childcare, capital investment and green growth can make a huge impact on the economy.

Also, just how do we nurture a healthy workforce and how important is it to boost growth? Lydia Hamilton-Rimmer, Senior Policy Adviser in the CBI’s Health team joins the pod to tell us more.

Joining the CBI’s Associate Editor, Joe Marshall in conversation is:

Syma Cullasy-Aldridge, Chief Campaign Director, CBI

Louise Hellem, Director of Economic Policy, CBI

Lydia Hamilton-Rimmer, Senior Policy Adviser, Health, CBI

In this episode we mention:

What is holding back the UK economy? What levers do government need to pull to increase growth, and what role can business play? 

In this episode we hear from the CBI Director General, Tony Danker, and CBI Chief Campaign Director, Syma Cullasy-Aldridge, to delve into some of the solutions to those economic questions.

Whilst firms continue to face the ongoing pressures from energy challenges and ask themselves what happens next, the Government is due to announce updates to the energy support package for non-domestic consumers, with changes due to come into effect from 1 April 2023.

Joining Syma Cullasy-Aldridge (Chief Campaigns Director, CBI) in our first episode for 2023 are Tom Thackray (Director – Decarbonisation, CBI), Juliette Sanders (Director of Strategic Communications, Energy UK), Paul Glendinning (Policy and Markets Director, Northern Powergrid), Neil Hodgson (Deputy Director Energy Intensive Industries and EBRS Review, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)) for an expert discussion on: 

- How to navigate the energy challenges facing your business this winter and beyond

- How businesses most exposed to high energy prices will continue to be supported 

- What will be available to those firms not eligible for ongoing support. 

For more information on our CBI @10am webinar series, and to catch up on previous episodes, visit https://www.cbi.org.uk/cbi-10am

What does the UK need to get the economy growing in 2023? What should be the government priorities for business in the year ahead? How do we d change the childcare system to bring more mothers back into the workforce? And how do we best go after green growth?

Join CBI Director General Tony Danker along with Chief Campaign Director Syma Cullasy-Aldridge for this special podcast episode.

We recap some of the talking points from both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition speeches at the CBI Annual Conference. We also delve into the subject of green growth and hear from the CBI’s Decarbonisation team. 

Joining the CBI’s Associate Editor, Joe Marshall in conversation are:

The CBI Annual Conference is the UK’s flagship event in both the business and political calendar. This year's event brings together influential leaders to explore how the UK can go for growth, and discuss the critical issues facing business.

For useful resources and to watch the keynotes in full, visit our hub:

https://www.cbi.org.uk/articles/the-cbi-annual-conference-2022-content-hub/

Join the CBI’s Chief Economist, Rain Newton-Smith, Jo Twist, CEO, UKIE - The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment, and Jonathan Seebacher, Director, Ryder Architecture to hear why trade in services is a key strategic opportunity for UK economic growth.

The UK economy is fundamentally services based, making up 80% of the economy, while growth in global markets is predominantly in services and digital in the coming decades. Trade in services is therefore a key strategic opportunity for UK economic growth and is an absolute priority on the UK trade agenda.

In the last episode in our 'Clusters Think In' podcast series, Hashi Mohammed, Contributing Editor at Tortoise Media is joined by Michael Anstey, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital, and Dan Metcalf, Director of Marketing & Communications at the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, to discuss how successful clusters can help the UK’s regions and nations to become internationally competitive. 

Dan explains that it is vital that UK clusters are more proactive in investing in communications activity, which is underdeveloped compared to other international competitors who are constantly revisiting their brand and positioning in the marketplace to remain at the forefront of investor attention. He believes that the UK has a lot of strengths which are competitive globally but needs to break free of the conservative behaviour around science and technology infrastructure investment in order to be world-leading – to go faster will mean investing with conviction and require greater risk-taking. 

Michael highlighted the importance of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc to the UK economy explaining that it is one of the most exciting places for novel innovation in the world – as good as anything you will find in the US, Israel or Asia – with the potential to truly inspire people. He argues that mega clusters are emerging internationally and connecting clusters in the UK to scale up and create a far larger, compelling narrative and proposition is vital. This also creates the opportunities to expand into other regions and drive employment and investments in the rest of the country 

'Clusters Think In' is a podcast series included as part of the CBI's series of Thriving Regions events. Listen and subscribe to the series here.

In the fifth in our 'Clusters Think In' podcast series, Hashi Mohammed, Contributing Editor at Tortoise Media is joined by Kirsty Lloyd Jukes, Head of Investor Relations at Waymo, part of Alphabet, and Prof Simon Collinson, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Regional Engagement at the University of Birmingham, to discuss how leadership in place can be developed to drive successful clusters across the regions and nations of the UK and the decisive role business can play in shaping future economic growth.

Simon explains the importance for a place to build a clear narrative and story to create an identity and momentum to attract investment, emphasising that a cluster approach can help deepen external knowledge of a place and its attractiveness. He emphasises the importance of clear targeted policies and simple engagement points for investors, reducing the complexities in the landscape of support for business and building up capacity in regions in understanding the dynamics and intelligence behind business investment decisions to shape attractive and compelling propositions. 

Kirsty highlights the leadership role that businesses can play in articulating their differentiators and investment decisions to explain why they have chosen a specific location for their company, which can also help attract other investors. She says it is vital for businesses to understand the size of the opportunity in a place and embrace a mindset of collaboration rather than competition - advocating that a clusters approach can really bring this to life, as a hub for talent and investment.

'Clusters Think In' is a podcast series included as part of the CBI's series of Thriving Regions events. Listen and subscribe to the series here.

In this episode, we explore how net zero remains a massive opportunity for growth despite current economic challenges. But is the UK positioning itself to keep its global lead on this? And how can firms convert their ambitions to reality – moving from commitments to implementation? 

We recap on the trends that were discussed at this year’s CBI Achieving Net Zero conference and how we overcome the challenges, why firms need to start thinking about their impact on nature and what steps they can take to make the most of the opportunities.

Joining the CBI's Associate Editor Joe Marshall in conversation are: 

Tom Thackray, Programme Director, Decarbonisation, CBI 

Tania Kumar, Head of Decarbonisation, CBI

Supporting resources: 

 

Toolkit: how your business can take action and seize net zero opportunities 

5-minute watch: Why the business role is critical on the path to net zero 

Toolkit: managing rising energy costs 

#netzero #cop27 #decarbonisation #ccc

In this week's episode, recorded 20 July 2002, the CBI’s Chief Campaign Director, Syma Cullasy-Aldridge, is joined by David Buttress (Co-Founder of Just Eat and the government’s new cost-of-living Tsar), Pete Holland (Anglian Water) and Paul Stroud (HSBC) for a conversation on the government’s new campaign – Help for Households - and how businesses are continuing to step up and support customers and employees with the cost-of-living crunch.

Chaired by Liz Moseley, Tortoise Media.

For more on our CBI @10am programme of webinars, and to view previous sessions, visit our hub at https://www.cbi.org.uk/cbi-10am/