Views from Westminster
TACKLING THE PRODUCTIVITY PROBLEM
By Antony Higginbotham Member of Parliament for Burnley
Despite being one of the world’s largest economies, the UK has struggled to achieve sustained productivity growth in the years following the global financial crisis.
With the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbating these challenges, there has never been a more crucial time to address the UK’s productivity problem. But what exactly is holding the country back, and how can we turn things around?
The UK’s decline during the financial crisis and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit have had a significant impact on reduced investment and productivity. However, the problems run deeper, including a skills gap, outdated infrastructure, slow wage growth, and a lack of incentives for business investment.
Anyone who looks at that mix will realise that turning the tide is not easy. But there are signs that the right level of change is coming.
The Lifetime Skills Guarantee offers free education to adults without a level 3 qualification, enabling upskilling and retraining for changing industries.
With the rise of artificial intelligence and
digital tools, and the fourth industrial revolution underway, reskilling is crucial for positive change.
Infrastructure is seeing major investment too. The rail network has more money going into it than at any point since the Victorian era, not just to allow for passenger growth but for freight growth too. The same goes for roads, air and sea ports – all seeing significant upgrades to ensure that the logistical backbone is robust.
The incentives are returning, with full expensing announced at the latest Budget to follow on from the Super Deduction. And political stability has returned.
Which just leaves wage growth. Since 2010 wage growth has been sluggish, with it being easier to hire people than invest in productivity improvements.
But the two need to be balanced. As wage growth increases, so too will the desire to invest and find new ways of getting greater output.
My question back to Lancashire’s businesses is – is this enough? And if it’s not, what more can we do together to turbocharge our productivity growth?
FACELIFT PLAN FOR NELSON
Pendle Rise Shopping Centre could be demolished and replaced with a more modern facility, according to plans put forward by a new joint venture.
Penbrook, a collaboration between Pendle Council and development partner Brookhouse, hopes to replace the “dated” 1960s site with retail units, a varied food offering and landscaping.
The project will be a key element of the Revitalised Nelson project, which has already secured £9m in funding.
Phillip Spurr, Pendle’s director of place, said: “The vision to re-develop Pendle Rise Shopping Centre site stems from extensive public consultation carried out
as part of the Nelson Masterplan. Most people who gave their views wanted to see it tackled as a priority. That’s why it’s central to ‘Revitalised Nelson’ which is one of seven projects led by the Nelson Town Deal funded by £25m government investment.”
Stephen Barnes, chair of the Nelson Town Deal Board, said: “The plans are designed to radically improve the town, with high quality architecture and landscape design to help us create a brighter future for Nelson. Along with a much stronger retail offer, there will be food and drink options and a pleasant area to eat outside, providing a great place for our community to meet.”
Gary Hawthorne Co-Founder and Director
/checkedsafeapp /checkedsafe
THE DANGERS OF NOT CHECKING DRIVING LICENCES
Some alarming statistics: Only one in 10 motorists (13 per cent) would tell their employer if they received penalty points whilst driving. Meanwhile, a whopping 25 per cent of motorists with penalty points on their licence did not inform any organisation when they received them.
These figures should be deeply unsettling for any business managing a fleet of drivers. Regularly verifying drivers’ licences is a crucial yet often overlooked component of health and safety policies for any company with routine driving activities.
It’s easy to assume this is just a box-ticking exercise - but the truth is quite different.
Employers who fail to routinely and thoroughly check their employees’ licences may be held accountable for the actions of their staff if they allow them to drive on business without a valid licence.
The most severe consequence? Up to £20 million of pounds in fines for corporate manslaughter convictions. Scary stuff.
In 2023, the need for organisations to prove their commitment to a robust and rigorous health and safety approach has never been more critical, and licence checking should be the foundation of any all-encompassing duty of care policy.
How often should you be checking licences? Recommendations from the DVSA suggest complete licence checks should be carried out every three months at a minimum, although this should be more frequent for drivers with points on their licence.
If you’ve got a large fleet of commercial vehicles, this isn’t always an easy task. Get in touch with us here at CheckedSafe for a sleek, innovative and cost-effective way to conduct regular and remote licence checks.
Call us on 01282 908429 or visit
checkedsafe.com
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IN VIEW
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