Government axes Industrial Strategy Committee in ‘build back better’ push
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has scrapped the government’s Industrial Strategy Committee as part of the government’s new “Build Back Better” plans.
The 16-strong group of industry leaders, which was set up just two and half years ago, were yesterday told their services were no longer required, Sky News first reported.
Members include Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane, McKinsey senior partner Vivian Hunt, former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield and Facebook’s Europe VP Lady Mendelsohn.
In a letter to the group, Kwarteng said that the government’s new “plan for growth strategy” had prompted the decision to disband the group.
In yesterday’s “plan for growth” strategy, which was released alongside the Budget, the Treasury said that “much had changed” since the industrial strategy was launched in 2017.
“The 2017 Industrial Strategy set out a cross-economy approach to boost productivity. But
much has changed since 2017, so it is right that we create a new framework for how we will
build back better”, it said.
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“This document details our focus on infrastructure, skills and innovation. It reflects new opportunities available to us following our exit from the European Union, opening up new ways to drive growth and supporting our vision for Global Britain.
“This plan also demonstrates that we will not pursue growth at the expense of the government’s wider objectives – instead we see real opportunities to boost our economic performance while levelling up across the UK and in a way that contributes to reaching net zero emissions.”
To this end, the government has already set up a new “Build Back Better” council, which will look to support the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
A BEIS spokesman said: “The government is, and will continue to be, a champion of the needs of business and industry as we build back better from the pandemic.
“We will be laying out our plans to drive growth, support jobs and level up across the UK in the budget and in the coming months.”