Industrial strategy will not work long-term, say MPs

The Government’s long-term industrial strategy will not work, MPs have warned.

The report, published by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee, looks at the recent industrial strategy green paper.

The committee’s chairman Iain Wright said the Government should be working on new policies, rather than simply continuing and expanding current ones.

He said the “business as usual” approach will not achieve the result needed and that the strategy will fall short in providing long-term security for industrial sectors.

Mr Wright said one of the green paper approaches – that sectors should approach the Government to strike deals – could lead to special pleading and that some key areas could miss out.

“One of the things the committee felt quite strongly was that if you just go down a sectoral route you are going to miss the cracks in the middle,” he said.

“And the cracks in the middle could be where the real economic advantages are.

“What happens if something is really important to the UK economy and they don’t come forward with a sectoral deal?”

The MPs argued that the Government should instead focus on “horizontal” policies that would benefit the wider economy.

This includes boosting skills, infrastructure, and research and development, the committee added.

It also warned that industry will need to continue to bring in skilled workers from abroad after Britain has left the European Union.

“In the context of negotiations over free movement as part of withdrawal from the EU, government must ensure that businesses continue to be able to access the skills they need.”

The Government’s industrial strategy green paper can be found here.

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Government to teach millions of businesses digital skills by 2020

The Government has today announced its intent to keep British business at the forefront of the “digital revolution”.

It says it will offer digital skills to “millions of individuals, charities, and businesses” by 2020.

It has also announced the development of five international technology hubs in emerging markets to give businesses a head start in international trade.

Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “The UK’s world-leading digital sectors are a major driver of growth and productivity, and we are determined to protect and strengthen them.

“This digital strategy sets a path to make Britain the best place to start and grow a digital business, trial a new technology, or undertake advanced research as part of the government’s plan to build a modern, dynamic and global trading nation.”

The Government will work alongside global partners, namely Google, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays, to deliver free digital training to the UK.

Barclays alone said it will teach basic coding to 45,000 children and general digital skills and cyber-awareness to one million people.

Tech City UK chief executive Gerard Grech welcomed the plans, adding that the UK’s tech sector will become a “global force to reckon with”.

“We must ensure that we stay ahead by continuing to provide a supportive environment for British start-ups and digital companies to grow in, especially since other countries are trying to take advantage of our departure from the European Union,” he said.

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Large companies must reveal how quickly they pay suppliers, Government announce

From 06 April 2017, all large companies with a turnover of £36 million or more will be forced to publish twice-yearly payment practice reports.

Experts estimate that the ‘Duty to Report’ legislation, which will force LLPs and companies to detail how quickly they pay suppliers, will indirectly save around 50,000 businesses a year.

The latest guidelines state that businesses must report if they meet two or more of the following thresholds:

• £36 million annual turnover
• £18 million balance sheet total
• 250 employees

Government papers say that these reports will be published on a web-based service, thus giving smaller firms the option to check out the larger business’ payment ‘credentials’ before working with them.

It added that failing to report would be a criminal offence.

Mike Cherry, national chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said the efforts to help tackle late payments could save around 50,000 business deaths a year.

“It’s now crucial that these regulations are introduced and robustly enforced with proper sanctions put in place for any large business that tries to hide its payment practices,” he said.

What do companies need to report on?

• Descriptions of the business’s payment terms
• The business’s process for dispute resolution related to payment
• Statistics on the average time taken to pay invoices (from the date of receipt of invoice)
• The percentage of invoices paid within the reporting period
• The proportion of invoices due within the reporting period which were not paid within agreed terms
• If the business offers e-invoicing
• If the business’s offers supply chain finance
• If the business’s practices and policies cover deducting sums from payments as a charge for remaining on a supplier’s list, and whether they have done this in the reporting period
• If the business is a member of a payment code, and the name of the code

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