Lord Heseltine on the economy
The Daily Telegraph
I believe there are many areas where government should stand aside completely. But I have learnt that there are some things that only government can do to drive growth.
We need a number of significant changes to provide a stable yet flexible architecture for the future. These include:
- Creating a National Growth Council chaired by the Prime Minister, to ensure all parts of government play their part;
- Inviting local business partnerships to bid for significant funding from central government on a competitive basis every five years to build local economic growth;enhanced role for chambers of commerce in helping develop the capabilities of businesses;
- Devolving funding for the skills system to improve its alignment with the needs of local economies;
- Injecting greater urgency into the planning system;
- Improving public procurement by employing an experienced chief procurement officer in every department;
- Allowing all county councils to move to unitary status;
- Incorporating business engagement far deeper into the school curriculum.
I am positive that if we work together, we can build a strong, sustainable future for the British economy – one we can be proud to pass on to our children and grandchildren.
Other recomendations
- A stronger system of Local Enterprise Partnerships would be able to bid for funds.
- Civil servants: Civil servants should form “growth teams”.
- Councils should all become unitary authorities and would have a legal duty to promote development.
- Whitehall money should be allocated to regional bodies.
- Regulation: The private sector should help draft regulation.
- Civil Service pay curbs should be removed.
- local areas: Europe Funding for deprived regions should be given directly to local areas.
- Whitehall should identify EU regulations well in advance.
- Ministers should visit Brussels to “put Britain on the front foot”.
- Airports and energy The decision on airport expansion should be brought forward from 2015. The Government also needs a “definitive” energy policy to give the sector “certainty to invest”.
