Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce (TVCC) is urging ministers to ensure business communities outside of prioritised city regions can continue to contribute to the solutions and growth required by the whole of the UK.
The Government says the Industrial Strategy will be published in Spring 2025, alongside the multi-year Spending Review.
Responding to the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, TVCC urges Government to consider how and where dynamic levels of growth have been achieved in localities such as the Thames Valley, with comparatively limited local policy interventions.
Paul Britton, Chief Executive, TVCC said: “To be successful government should also prepare and support a different timetable for places that may not fit with a city region growth agenda. The Thames Valley should also have a resourced plan, both local to reflect the existing public sector institutions but also pan-regional, cross sector and visionary across a wider economic geography. This will help us compete.
“Growth in these geographies is still important, perhaps no more important than in the Thames Valley as the risk of increased global competition or disinvestment of innovative knowledge-based SMEs and multinationals will also have a significant impact on the whole of the UK. We want Government to use data to measure the supply chain and wider economic impact of our business communities in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon, and across the whole of the UK”.
A number of Chamber members met with the policy leads for the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) earlier this month to share the views of Thames Valley industry. The headline summary of the BCC submission can be found here.
Paul continues “We are pleased to see that the BCC are making the case for all regions of the UK and flagging that to be successful a competitive tax environment, skilled workforce and an enabling regulatory environment must be in place”.
