Ministers must have their own National Scorecard to deliver ‘levelling up’ agenda
It has been more than a year since Britain was first plunged into a lockdown. Since then, a group of business leaders from across British industry have set up our independent Covid Recovery Commission to consider how we could ensure the UK emerges from this crisis with a stronger, fairer and more resilient economy.
Our report, released today, makes clear the need for clearly defined objectives and metrics, which use robust data to make decisions and monitor progress. This should be delivered through a National Prosperity Scorecard: a list published by the Government on how each locality measures up against key social and economic measures, including employment, benefit dependency rates, health and educational outcomes.
As we took stock, it was essential to understand how the pandemic has impacted our communities. Covid has widened pre-existing inequalities. No one will be unscathed from the pandemic, but unemployment levels, mental health problems and mortality rates have all been more prominent in the most deprived communities in the UK. This has not been confined to specific regions: as many as 18 per cent of the most vulnerable – 1.15 million people – live in local authorities with the highest economic output. To make a success of the “levelling up” agenda, we must look beyond merely targeting specific regions of the UK.
Having this key scoresheet will make progress tangible and measurable. It will enable us to develop a clear plan to achieve its aims. The Government’s Plan for Growth has many strengths, including its focus on growing existing and building new net zero industries and driving international competitiveness. Business stands behind these ambitions, but we now need to add bold policies to the Government’s ambitions.
That is why we are setting out the blueprint for a long-term National Prosperity Plan. Of course, the innovation, investment and growth needed to drive globally competitive industries will ultimately be led and delivered by business. However, the Government must take an active role in setting a national framework to allow these industries to flourish. That is why the National Prosperity Plan should include an honest assessment of our existing strengths and weaknesses, along with packages of policies to build on and tackle these.
The policy recommendations within the Commission’s report are wide-ranging and cover plans to boost innovation, infrastructure, skills, decarbonisation and improving the mental and physical health of our society. Crucial aims such as delivering on net zero will fundamentally change the way our economy works and the choices we make as consumers. This presents a challenge especially for those communities historically reliant on carbon intensive industries, but it also provides an opportunity to develop globally competitive clusters, built around a strong UK supply chain, focused on green growth, which exports to the rest of the world.
There is already strong support for tackling climate change in Government and from business. Industries such as the energy sector have committed to decarbonisation, and emissions associated with power generation having fallen 65 per cent since 1990. The UK is a leader on renewables such as wind. But this does not reach as far as it should, and there have been notable failures, including the recent Green Homes Grant, when it comes to measures to decarbonising our housing stock. A long term commitment to decarbonising the entire UK housing stock by 2035 will give businesses the long term certainty they need to innovate and invest at scale in affordable products and services that consumers will take up.
This transparent and long term collaboration between government, the private sector and civic institutions has the potential to transform our economy. The Government was not afraid to use its purchasing power to create the conditions for investment in a vaccine and now the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab is being administered throughout the world. This must be extended to tackling climate change and addressing the inequalities exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis.
As businesses we stand ready to work hand in hand with the Government and have set out in the report the actions we will take to make our vision a reality. We hope that our work as a Commission can act as a catalyst for the UK to create a stronger, fairer and more resilient economy, which will raise prosperity for people, families and communities right across the UK.