Among the 67 reviews, taskforces and public consultations set up by the Labour government in its first six months in office is a 10-year industrial strategy, ‘Invest 2035’.
The broadly focused green paper on the strategy invited input across several complex areas of policy, regulation and investment with the primary objective of boosting economic growth and business investment.
The strategy identifies eight growth-driving sectors that will be prioritised, one of which is professional and business services (the others are advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative, defence, digital and technologies, financial services and life sciences). The government’s response to its consultation will be published alongside its spending review in June.
Headwinds
The government can do with all the help it can get. The economic outlook is far from rosy, with slow GDP growth and rising prices. Inflation is higher than the Bank of England’s 2% target and is forecast to go higher still. Borrowing costs have also swollen, at a time when there are heightened trade tensions. Another long-standing issue is the UK’s historically low levels of investment. The government is therefore searching high and low for economic growth.
The inclusion of professional and business services in the list of growth-driving sectors in the industrial strategy is recognition of the contribution to the UK economy of advisers to businesses, especially to SMEs.
AB will report further on the industrial strategy after its launch in the summer.
