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Why region is winning President calls for
‘The West Midlands is winning’ was the message from the region’s new Combined Authority chief at a dinner for Asian Business Chamber of Commerce. Deborah Cadman, of the West Midlands Combined Authority, told guests that the region stood on the brink of unprecedented success on the world stage – but needed to shout about its achievements more. She said: “We [the West Midlands] are winning”, due to the success of Birmingham’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2022, Coventry being awarded the 2021 City of Culture, the continuous momentum and confidence around the campaign to bring Channel 4 to the region and the projected 20 per cent growth of the digital and technology sector by 2025. She continued: “We are hosting the industries
of tomorrow here in the West Midlands. We need to shout more about that.
“With 10 universities in this
region, many graduates are being retained and we have the youngest population in Europe – the region is also the most investable in Europe.” Ms Cadman also highlighted the
inward investment that the region has recently secured, including £6m for housing, £5m for construction skills and £250m for the Brierley Hill Metro extension. She added that there was still
Deborah Cadman: Bright future
a requirement for more housing to keep up with population needs in the region, and a number of
other vital infrastructure improvements would also be needed. She ended her keynote speech by highlighting the bright future that the region is set see in the next five-to-10 years. Deborah, who grew up in Birmingham, has 20
years of senior council experience. In 2006 she received an OBE for her services to local government, and was appointed chief executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2017.
Asian Business Chamber of Commerce president Saqib Bhatti has called for ‘good dialogue and communication’ with Europe while the UK attempts to negotiate its departure from the EU. Mr Bhatti made his plea during a panel
discussion at the Centre for Brexit’s first annual conference. The panel was chaired by entrepreneur, educator and campaigner Beverley Nielsen, and Mr Bhatti was joined by a number of leading economists and figures. The panel discussed the likely path of negotiations with the EU, what the UK can expect from any ’deal’ and the likely impact on employment and jobs. Mr Bhatti said: “We should maintain, as a
Chamber, good dialogue with our negotiators so they know what we want for West Midlands businesses, and we need to aspire to have the least amount of conflict and disruption to our business environment.”
good EU dialogue
April 2018 CHAMBERLINK 49
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