Readout of the first meeting of the Prime Minister’s new Business Council: 8 February 2021
The first meeting of the Prime Minister’s new Business Council took place today.
The Prime Minister began by welcoming new members to his business council and said that he was looking forward to this new group building on the success of the initiatives developed last year, such as the EV fleet accelerator.
The UK has many advantages, the PM said, with employment at record highs, the fastest growth in the G7 and the freedom to set its own rules after Brexit. The government’s overriding ambition was to unite and level up the country, with a massive programme of investment which would transform life chances and encourage the private sector to innovate and create jobs.
The Chancellor set out a challenge from him and the PM to turn the Plan for Growth into action and invest in infrastructure, innovation and skills. Government and business would need to work together to drive growth right across the UK, he added.
The discussion covered a number of issues including skills and the importance of new training opportunities, particularly in STEM subjects, to help fill existing vacancies and create high skilled, high wage jobs. They also spoke about the need to continue to invest in low carbon technologies and scale up the renewables sector to deliver the green industrial revolution.
The PM ended by thanking the council for their involvement and encouraged members to meet in smaller groups to progress and begin delivering against some of the excellent ideas generated, before reconvening for the next meeting.