Innovation latest

Press release: Apprentice Jake shortlisted for national industry award

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 11:18:46 +0000

Jake, from Burford, is on the shortlist for the Institution of Engineering & Technology’s 2015 Apprentice of the Year award. He has beaten off competition from around the country to get down to the last three, and the winner will be named at the IET awards ceremony hosted by Maggie Philbin in London on 18 November.

Jake is in the final year of a four-year apprenticeship at Culham, where he is working alongside some of the world’s leading physicists developing nuclear fusion as a future energy source.

He said:

I became interested in engineering at school. I was always keen to figure out how things worked, and would prise apart electronics at home to understand how they operated. I found I had a knack for problem-solving and fixing devices when they broke.

Now in my apprenticeship at Culham I get to work closely with engineers and scientists on exciting projects. Being part of a large team that is all concentrated on one goal teaches you the responsibility of hitting targets, but it also gives you good management and teamwork skills.

Alongside his apprenticeship, Jake is also a ‘STEM ambassador’, promoting apprenticeships and STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers in schools. In recognition for this he was recently chosen to appear at the Royal Institution in London, where he put on an interactive presentation on fusion power to 200 students from around the UK.

Jake is one of many students who have opted for an apprenticeship route into a career, allowing them to earn and learn at the same time. And he already has his sights on helping UKAEA to solve the energy crisis with nuclear fusion.

After my apprenticeship, I hope to continue my education until degree level. Beyond that I’m very interested in developing new technologies – working in a research company helps this, as we’re constantly developing new techniques to solve problems. I’m looking forward to taking a full-time post with the UKAEA at the end of my apprenticeship and from there anything can happen.

For more information please contact Nick Holloway, Media Manager at nick.holloway@ccfe.ac.uk or on 01235 466232.

Notes to Editors

Culham Apprenticeship Scheme

The Culham Apprenticeship Scheme is run by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) in partnership with Abingdon & Witney College.
The four-year training programme is based at UKAEA’s research laboratory Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, at Culham Science Centre near Abingdon. Scientists and engineers at Culham operate the European JET fusion experiment and the UK’s own MAST fusion device to study how nuclear fusion – the process that powers the Sun – can be used as a large-scale source of cleaner energy in the power stations of the future.
More information: http://www.culhamapprenticeshipscheme.com

Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) awards

The IET is one of the world’s largest organisations for engineers and technicians. It has nearly 160,000 members in 127 countries around the world.
In 2015, the IET provided over £1 million in awards, prizes and scholarships, to celebrate excellence and innovation in the sector and encourage the next generation of engineers and technicians.
The IET Apprentice and Technician Awards scheme aims to raise the profile of the good work that apprentices and technicians contribute to engineering businesses.
More information: http:/www.theiet.org/awards

News story: IP Minister signs UPC Protocol agreement

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 11:12:00 +0000

Speaking at the Competitiveness Council in Brussels today, UK Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Neville Rolfe DBE said:

The Government wants the UK to be part of a European patent system that supports growth and fosters innovation.

Today we are a step closer to the realisation of a new single unitary patent and Unified Patent Court providing uniform protection for UK business in up to 26 EU Member States.

This signing represents a milestone in the UK’s and others preparations for the introduction of the Unified Patent Court to support the UK’s and Europe’s leading edge innovative companies.

The Central division of the UPC , in London, will further strengthen the UK’s legal and professional services sector, and reinforce London’s status as a world leading centre for dispute resolution.

This is the kind of EU reform that the UK has been consistently pushing for and that will help make Europe more competitive. The single European patent brings down the barriers to UK firms that want to make the most of the cross-European market by offering them protection for their inventions.

The UPC and Unitary Patent provide a cost effective option for innovative businesses wanting to protect and promote their inventions across much of Europe.

The UPC will offer people the opportunity to take a case to a single court and get a decision which will be enforceable across multiple participating states.

The Preparatory Committee aims to complete its work by June 2016 with a view to the UPC opening at the beginning of 2017.

A copy of the protocol is available via the Unified Patent Court preparatory committee website.

Speech: How qualifications can reflect the FELTAG recommendations

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:57:22 +0000

Good afternoon.

I can’t hope to compete with Bob Harrison’s presentation earlier, but I thought I’d kick off with a family story and a couple of amusing photos to illustrate a theme for the day and for what I want to say: technology should be a tool with a clear purpose, not an end in itself. And it needs to be used well.

Thinking about today’s conference, I asked my daughter about the on-line homework management service used by her school and she rolled her eyes and said, ‘well it’s fine when the teachers remember to update it’.

And I rather like this, playing back into the discussion before lunch. Even back in the 1960s the Jetsons were predicting that robots would be stood at the front of a classroom.

Although interestingly here, the robot appears to be stood in front of a good old-fashioned chalkboard, maybe about to throw a board rubber.

Whereas in reality it tends to be the other way round: humans stood there at the front, but using more up to date technology.

That interaction between learning and technology, between humans and machines, between the potential for IT and how it’s used in practice; all issues that apply equally to assessment.

And I’m going to concentrate today on assessments - that is, summative assessments - and the qualifications they lead to; you’d expect that from the qualifications regulator.

I’m going to discuss the opportunities to make better use of technology in assessment. How should innovation in qualifications sit alongside innovation in teaching? And what should Ofqual’s role be in that, as the regulator?

To provide some context for those questions, I’m going to start by giving a run-through of our regulatory approach and thinking, and some changes we’re making at the moment.

Let me start with validity: the ambition of every assessment and every qualification - measuring what needs to be measured.

That applies to any sort of assessment, from an old fashioned pen-and-paper exam to a dynamic on-line assessment. It should be the best way of measuring what needs to be measured.

We have no bias in favour of, nor against, technology in assessments. But we have an unapologetic bias in favour of good, valid assessments.

Of course there is often no single best way of assessing something - assessment is so often a compromise. And sometimes different approaches are needed - to test, for example, whether someone has a skill, and also whether they have the knowledge and understanding to know when and how to use that skill.

One good example of this, albeit not a qualification, is the driving test. Students must pass their theory test, but this only examines knowledge of the rules of the road, not the techniques of driving. For that we have the practical driving test. Only if you pass both are you deemed fit to drive.

The theory test is done on screen, because that is a valid, efficient way of doing that test. The practical test, though, remains practical: the most valid way to test whether someone can drive is to watch them drive and to see how well and how safely they cope with being on the road.

So validity is important. How do we regulate for it?

Well, to be clear, we’re not in the business of checking the validity of every single assessment of every single one of the thousands of qualifications we regulate. Even if we had the capacity and expertise to do that, it would not be an efficient, proportionate approach to regulation.

Rather, we set requirements of the awarding organisations we regulate. It is their job to be the experts in the types of assessments they’re offering: to design, deliver and award valid qualifications. Our job is to set clear requirements and check, on the basis of risk, whether those requirements are being met - and of course to consider taking action where they are not.

Awarding organisations therefore need the right capacity and capability. And I’ve set out here some of our expectations of their assessments; they:

should be fit for purpose - that means, of course, they need to have a clear purpose
can be delivered efficiently - an assessment must be manageable by the college or other provider offering it
are cost effective - we know budgets are under strain
permit reasonable adjustments to be made so people with disabilities can be fairly assessed
allow learners to generate evidence that can be authenticated, so everyone can be confident in the integrity of the assessments

But as the regulator, it’s not our job to decide what should be studied or how it should be studied, or what qualifications should be available, or what should be funded from the public purse. It’s our job to make sure that whatever qualifications are offered, they’re valid in the widest sense.

Nor is it our job to specify approaches to assessment. Whether they should use essay questions or multiple choice, or both, or neither, and whether they are on-line or on paper: what matters is, are they valid, and how can the awarding organisation demonstrate that?

I want to make one final, important point about our regulatory approach.

We need to look at the whole lifecycle of a qualification, and to test awarding organisation compliance with our conditions at different points in that lifecycle.

Too often it’s assumed that it’s enough to check a qualification up-front and then let it happen. But in fact, that’s not enough. Every bit of the lifecycle needs to be right. A well-designed qualification can be poorly delivered.

So, whatever type of assessment is used, the processes for securing consistency in the standards of ongoing assessment need to be right. The arrangements for standardising assessor judgements need to be right. The standard-setting decisions need to be consistent. The arrangements for reviewing how qualifications are used need to be effective, and to feed back into the ongoing improvement of the design and operation of the qualifications.

That’s why we removed the accreditation process from our regulatory approach, except for certain qualifications - like GCSEs and A levels - where there’s a good case for it.

We are taking a risk-based approach to determining validity, systematically analysing the information we gather about qualifications and then judging where to focus our regulatory activities. These activities include audits, investigations and technical evaluations of awarding organisations and of their qualifications.

At all times we are testing compliance with our rules and we are ready to take action when we find non-compliance, from directing improvement to fining, or at the most extreme, forcing an awarding organisation from the regulated market.

In other words, regulating.

In case you are not aware, today is an historic day. The last day of September is the last day of the Qualifications and Credit Framework rules. Following extensive review, consultation and discussion over the last couple of years we are removing the QCF rules as of tomorrow. This will free up the awarding organisations to do more interesting, innovative things with their qualifications - a more important change, I think, than anything else we could have done, and of course fully in line with the first of the FELTAG recommendations on regulation.

When the QCF was introduced, the idea was to have a building block approach to learning where students could piece together units of learning, using credit to build qualifications and support their individual progression needs. The QCF therefore set detailed rules about how qualifications should be designed. The problem was that this approach did not work for all types of qualifications or subject areas, and it did not provide any guarantee of quality.

The specific rules introduced to make the QCF work placed much focus on consistency around how qualifications should be structured, but did not focus nearly enough on validity. The rigidness of the rules also meant that awarding organisations found that they could not always take the approaches to assessment that most suited what was being taught. Awarding organisations also told us that the rules, at times, stopped them from innovating.

We weren’t really surprised then, that when we consulted on removing the QCF rules last year, there was widespread agreement with our proposals. We’ve worked closely with awarding organisations, government and other agencies to take the best approach to withdrawing the rules.

Note that I’ve talked about removing the QCF rules, not removing QCF qualifications. If awarding organisations are satisfied that their qualifications designed to meet the QCF rules are valid, then we will not require them to be changed just because the rules are no longer in force. Unlike when the QCF was introduced, we are not requiring a big, disruptive investment in changing existing qualifications.

I hesitated a bit before including this slide, which tries to explain our new regulated qualifications framework using the analogy of a bookcase.

Unlike the QCF, which took a prescriptive approach - prescribing how qualifications should be designed - our new framework, called the RQF, is a descriptive framework. It seeks to help people to understand something about the qualifications we regulate: how demanding they are and how big they are.

Just like books on a bookshelf: you can tell something about a book from which shelf it’s on. The RQF carries forward the previous levels, though with some changes to the detailed descriptors, from Entry Level up to Level 8, which is doctorate level. You can also see at a glance how big the book is.

But of course what really matters is what is in the book - just as what matters in a qualification is what skills and knowledge it is testing. For that, you need to look in more detail. We do have an online solution to that - we are developing a new, more user-friendly register of qualifications with greatly improved search functionality. Do have a look at the alpha version on our website.

I should mention too that there was concern from Bob and some of his colleagues that our original proposals weren’t sufficiently e-friendly. We considered these concerns and decided that they were right. So we changed and simplified our plans. Qualification size will now be measured through Total Qualification Time, or TQT, with Guided Learning Hours as a subset of that. These values make no assumption about delivery or assessment methods.

So the removal of the QCF and the changes to the framework serve to free up a clogged regulatory space, and say to the awarding organisations: right, over to you now. The way is clear for you to produce the best qualifications you can, and to innovate if you will.

So let me turn now to the question of innovation in assessment.

As ever, our main question for assessments - innovative or not, technology-enabled or not - is: are they valid? And I would suggest that this is a good starting point for awarding organisations and others thinking about innovation too.

But there are other questions to consider as well, when thinking about the reasons for innovating. As I said at the beginning, technology is not an end in itself.

Technology can enhance assessment - allow skills or knowledge to be assessed in more valid or efficient ways. It may be fairer if it reflects more closely how students have been taught - though it’s not essential for innovations in teaching to feed through into assessment approaches; they are different types of things. People should not assume that things taught on-line need to be assessed on-line, or vice versa. Assessment needs to be consistent enough across the country that the awarding organisations can be confident that the standard is the same; that the qualification awarded in Newquay means the same as the qualification awarded in Newcastle.

Perhaps assessment can engage students - though not at the expense of validity of course.

And technology can make some assessment risks easier to manage, but introduce some new ones too.

So by all means innovate in assessment. But be clear why you’re doing it. Focus on validity. And don’t bundle assessment in with teaching, or assume that the approaches that work there will always work for assessment.

So what does this mean for how we regulate?

The main risk for any regulator is always that we get in the way of innovation. We might set rules that assume particular ways of doing things or prevent risk-taking. As I’ve said, the QCF was a good example of that.

That’s why we have a legal duty to have regard to the desirability of innovation. A duty, of course, that we take very seriously. Our aim is to allow and to enable awarding organisations to innovate, including in the use of technology, and not to be constrained by our rules. Our rules are therefore outcome-focused, looking at what qualifications are aiming to do and trying not to make assumptions about how they might do it. And we invite awarding organisations to tell us where we’re getting this wrong - this very issue was discussed through the FELTAG process.

So of course we are keeping our rules under review with innovation and technology in mind. We intend to set out by spring next year our approach to innovation. We will shortly be starting discussions, initially with awarding organisations, to check that our approach to regulation isn’t preventing innovation. Other regulators will be producing innovation plans too.

Let me emphasise, though, that it’s not our job to push innovation. The world needs people who challenge existing thinking, encourage risk-taking, rethink what a qualification should be in an e-enabled world. But if we were to do that, there would be no one to do that boring but important task of making sure that the qualifications, so important to students’ life-chances, could be trusted.

No, the best a regulator can do is enable, and not get in the way. We cannot and should not try to force technology on awarding organisations: if there are old-fashioned approaches to assessment that remain valid and appropriate, it’s not our job to try and stop that. The leadership for and the demand for innovation needs to come from elsewhere: from the market, from employers, from policy-makers, from funders. All of you in this room can play a role here.

We will also be looking at how we can make better use of technology ourselves.

While we have been consulting about removing the QCF rules, we have also been in discussion about replacing our current regulatory IT system, to develop something that is more responsive to the rules that will be in place in the future. We have been careful to refer to those who have to use the system, to make sure that the new system minimises burden, streamlines the data we collect and doesn’t have a negative impact on the system’s users when it’s introduced. It will also enable us to better interpret the data we collect, giving us even more intelligent insight into the qualifications market. And it will support the new register of qualifications which I’ve already mentioned.

** slide 11 So it will not surprise you to learn that we were broadly comfortable with the first half of the FELTAG recommendation. If others want to encourage e-assessment, fine. Our only stipulation: yes, it should be valid.

But should half of all vocational assessments be online from 2018/19? I don’t know. That might be too much or even too little, and I don’t know how that figure was arrived at.

In particular, I don’t see how some of the critical assessments of occupational competence - such as plumbing or welding - could be validly assessed on-line, and I found it quite disappointing that the FELTAG report did not acknowledge or engage with that issue. And such a blanket target risks looking like ‘technology for the sake of it’. I don’t think that’s what anyone wants.

That said, I take this recommendation in the spirit I think it was intended: as a healthy challenge to the qualifications industry. And there is much still to be done to make the case and engage with assessment experts on the issues it raises.

Though we should acknowledge that there has been investment in technology by the awarding organisations.

** slide 12

Here are some of the things that already happen in different parts of the qualifications world.

The bigger exam boards offering GCSEs and A levels conduct almost all of their marking on screen now, using technology to scan and then issue questions to markers around the country - even the world in some cases - and carrying out training and standardisation of markers through online forums and webinars as well.

Many functional skills and other qualifications are now assessed online, using on-demand assessment. Some awarding organisations offering high volume qualifications have found that it’s made both operational and commercial sense to move course administration and some testing online. Technology is being used to streamline processes for student registration, monitoring of student progress, requesting moderation and printing certificates.

Assessment has moved online, for example multiple choice tests, where online portals can provide individualised tests in what are effectively internet ‘safe zones’. Organisations use algorithms that pull questions randomly from question banks, and these algorithms ensure the standards of the tests remain at the right level of demand, while making sure that all the students do not receive the same questions, thus preventing too much predictability in the test.

What’s important is that the technology is being used to support the validity and efficient delivery of some assessments, by some awarding organisations.

** slide 13

But I know that some of you will feel that there is so much more that could and should be done. That ‘some assessments by some awarding organisations’ is not good enough for 2015.

So let me finish with what I hope is a constructive suggestion.

If I was one of those of you frustrated by the slow pace of change, I would be developing a three-point action plan that - in outline - looked something like this.

First, make the case. What are the opportunities that technology offers assessment? How can it improve validity, reliability or efficiency? What global examples can you point to that show what can be achieved? What can ‘thinking differently’ look like for assessment? Where is there a need to disrupt conventional thinking about qualifications? And what does that mean in practice?

Second, try and create demand. Particularly in tough times, awarding organisations - whether they are commercial or charitable bodies - will respond to what their customers are looking for. When colleges demand more interesting, innovative assessments; when they start asking for advice and support on improving technology through qualifications - then awarding organisations will have an incentive to start investing in them; as David said earlier, to use technology well requires investment - it’s not a cheap option for assessment more than any other area. As someone said recently, don’t wait for Westminster; don’t expect a top-down target to do the trick. And, by the way, don’t expect Ofqual to mandate e-assessment, because we won’t.

Third, recognise that there are some real challenges as well as opportunities in rolling out e-assessment. Talk to the awarding organisations about how you can help them to learn from good practice including overseas, to research what works and what doesn’t, and to try out different approaches.

I think there’s a gaping space here where there could be leadership, vision and innovation, to take the qualifications industry forward.

And what about Ofqual? We’ll be watching with interest. We’ll help you if we can to try and make connections with the awarding organisations. We’ll be trying not to get in the way. And - yes - we’ll keep focusing unashamedly on validity. On-line or on paper, what we’re about is good qualifications.

Thank you.

Press release: Business minister responds to SSI mothballing steelmaking facilities in Redcar

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 10:45:36 +0000

Responding to today’s (28 September 2015) news that SSI is mothballing its iron and steelmaking facilities in Redcar and proposing to reduce the workforce by 1,700 people, Business Minister Anna Soubry said:

Despite everyone’s recent efforts to help SSI this is very sad news and a big blow for the workforce and their families. They are the priority and with SSI’s difficulties being no secret, why I had already asked Amanda Skelton, Chief Executive of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, to chair a local taskforce to help support workers and the local economy. I also have concerns about reports that local contractors have gone unpaid.

I hope that SSI’s announcement that they are mothballing the furnace gives some hope that steel making could be restarted on Teesside in the future.

The steel industry across the UK is facing very challenging economic conditions. The price of steel has almost halved over the past year, with overproduction in the world market. While government cannot alter these conditions, I have called a steel summit to see what more can be done to help our steel industry.

Press release: Nationwide investigation launched into fire safety of children’s fancy dress

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 11:03:37 +0000

Trading Standards to carry out spot checks on children’s fancy dress costumes for sale across the UK
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and British Standards Institute assessing whether European safety standards are tough enough
news comes ahead of national fire safety campaign

Business Secretary Sajid Javid has today (24 September 2015) requested a nationwide investigation into the safety of children’s fancy dress costumes.

Trading Standards inspectors will carry out spot checks on hundreds of retailers selling fancy dress costumes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The costumes will be subjected to flammability testing to assess whether they are safe for sale and compliant with safety standards.

The news comes after TV presenter Claudia Winkleman raised her concerns about the safety of fancy dress costumes when her daughter suffered serious burns when her fancy dress costume caught fire.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:

My immediate concern as a father and a minister is that children wearing these fancy dress costumes are safe. It is unacceptable for any costumes to be sold that do not comply with safety standards. That’s why I’ve granted funding to Trading Standards to carry out spot checks as part of a nationwide investigation. Parents should feel confident that any fancy dress they buy meets required standards.

Trading Standards is set to report back to the Business Secretary on its findings later in the autumn.

In a further move, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is working with the British Standards Institute to assess whether European safety standards in this area need to be toughened-up. The findings from the Trading Standards investigation will form an important evidence base for this work.

Leon Livermore, chief executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute ( CTSI ), said:

In light of the upcoming Halloween season, we welcome the government funding for trading standards to investigate the safety of children’s fancy dress costumes. CTSI takes issues of product safety very seriously, and hopes the evidence gathered as part of this investigation will help to establish whether the current flammability standards are still fit for purpose.

The government is also supporting National Burn Awareness day on 21 October, a national fire safety campaign led by the Children’s Burns Trust, to raise awareness on the dangers of fire.

Notes to editors:

Trading Standards will test the costumes against European Standard EN 71-2 which specifies flammability requirements for toys.
The safety requirements of safety for children’s fancy dress costumes are covered by EU Directive 2009/48/EC on the safety of toys, transposed into UK law by the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011.

Press release: Overall fall in reported intellectual property crime

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 23:15:00 +0000

The number of intellectual property ( IP ) crimes reported to Crimestoppers over the last year has fallen, according to the latest figures published today.

The figures released by the Intellectual Property Office ( IPO ), in conjunction with the IP Crime Group, show intellectual property enforcement bodies have had success tackling IP crime in many areas, and particularly in markets.

Tobacco, clothing, alcohol, footwear and DVDs are still the most frequently investigated counterfeit products, with strong links to benefit fraud, organised crime, drug dealing and violence.

Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville-Rolfe said:

IP Crime is not victimless. It includes the public buying counterfeit alcohol and cigarettes which can even be fatal. Some car boot sales and markets can be crime hot-spots and we have seen growth in counterfeit goods being sold on social media.

The IP Crime Group report raises awareness of the dangers and consequences of counterfeiting and copyright infringement. I am grateful to the group for its good work.

The IP Crime Report 2014/15 provides an insight into the scale and scope of counterfeiting and piracy in the UK as well as highlighting initiatives used to tackle those activities.

Trading Standards teams across the country still find that car boot sales, street stalls and pubs and clubs are hotspots for IP crime. There has been an increase in the investigation of counterfeit sales on social media and a growth in the sales of high value counterfeits such as handbags, watches and electrical items. Over half of all Trading Standards authorities have found IP infringing activities operating out of private residences.

Giles York, Association of Chief Police Officers IP Crime Lead & Sussex Police Chief Constable added:

Co-ordinated action is the key to tackling IP Crime. By working together the IP Crime Group continues to bring focus and determination into the fight against IP crime, and this report shows the welcome effect that is having. There are many challenges ahead, particularly in tackling the online sale of counterfeit goods, but we hope that next year will bring even more success in reducing this problem.

Notes to Editors:

The IP Crime Report, published annually, is based on the work of the IP Crime Group – a cohort of representatives from industry, law enforcement agencies and government departments.
A copy of the Annual IP Crime report: 2014 to 2015 is available.
A copy of the IP Crime highlight report: 2014 to 2015 is available.
The key operations and partnerships that have delivered great results in 2014-15 include:
- the National Markets Group’s Real Deal initiative has led to the seizure of over 30,000 counterfeit items and near 400 markets have signed up to the Real Deal Charter that commits to tackling the sale of counterfeit goods on market stalls
- the Anti-Counterfeiting Group has worked with 40 Trading Standards Authorities and 13 Police Forces throughout the UK to tackle local IP hot spots
- the Police Intellectual Crime Unit ( PIPCU ) has run Operation Creative – a ground breaking approach to tackling IP Crime by disrupting and preventing websites from providing unauthorised access to copyrighted content. PIPCU is funded by the IPO
- trade body BPI took action against Dancing Jesus, jailing two individuals behind an online forum giving access to tens of thousands of illegal links to music
- FACT’s action against illegal pay TV services has increased substantially, now making up 18% of their investigations
- the IPO and Food Standards Agency’s Operation OPSON, Dealing with fake and substandard food, has grown into a partnership with almost 50 other countries
- law enforcement and the advertising industry are working together on the Infringing Website List to remove advertising from the most infringing websites
PIPCU has been successful in diverting views from copyright infringing websites. From July 2014 to June 2015, over 11 million website views were successfully diverted to a police warning page

Press release: New appointments to Innovate UK board

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:01:54 +0000

Business Secretary Sajid Javid has today (23 September 2015) appointed 2 new members to the governing board of Innovate UK, the UK government’s innovation agency.

Tim Edwards, an entrepreneur in the biotechnology and charitable sectors and John Latham, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of Coventry University have been appointed for a 3 year term on the board.

The Business Secretary also reappointed Hazel Moore to Innovate UK’s board to serve a second 3 year term.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:

We want to make the UK the best place in the world to innovate and grow a business. Innovate UK has helped more than 5,000 companies to grow and create jobs. As board members John Latham and Tim Edwards will bring a great deal of valuable experience to the important role driving the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy.

Chairman of Innovate UK and Chief Executive of Cisco UK and Ireland Phil Smith said:

I am delighted to welcome John and Tim to the board of Innovate UK. John’s understanding of the need to bridge the gap from research to commercialisation as well as Tim’s experience as an entrepreneur in a highly innovative sector will help ensure Innovate UK maintains its focus on its core role of supporting high potential UK firms.

I am also very pleased that Hazel has been reappointed to serve another 3 years on the board. Her experience in advising innovative tech companies has been invaluable to Innovate UK and her knowledge of the North West will be very useful as we look to take a more regional approach to our work.

Notes to editors

Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. Its goal is to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills ( BIS ), Innovate UK brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy.
These appointments have been made in accordance with the requirements of the Code of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. John Latham and Tim Edwards have declared that they have not undertaken any political activity in the last 5 years.
Board members of Innovate UK receive remuneration of £9,180 per year.

Biographies

John Latham

Professor John Latham’s career of over 30 years has focused on digital technologies, innovation, knowledge transfer/exploitation and supporting SMEs . As Vice-Chancellor and CEO of the Coventry University Group, he is responsible for the overall academic leadership of the operations of the university and its related group of subsidiaries. He also holds an academic appointment as Extraordinary Professor of Stellenbosch University in the field of innovation and enterprise development.

John is a Member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England ( HEFCE ) Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee and also of the Universities UK Innovation and Growth Policy Network which have national roles in economic developments related to research, innovation and growth in UK universities. He is also a Design Council Advisory Board Member and an Advisory Network Member for the Connected Digital Economy Catapult ( CDEC ). Additionally John has been a Non-Executive Board Member of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership Ltd since 2010, chairing the European Structural Funds Committee.

Tim Edwards

Tim Edwards is an entrepreneur working in the biotechnology and charitable sectors. He is Executive Chairman of Atopix Therapeutics Limited, based in Oxford – a biopharmaceutical company developing a novel class of oral CRTH2 antagonists to treat atopic dermatitis and severe asthma. He is also a Non-Executive Director of the Cell Therapy Catapult and Chairman of Governors of Magdalen College School in Oxford – a day school for pupils aged 7 to 18 years old with a co-educational sixth form.

Tim was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Cellzome Inc, a US-owned drug discovery company with a chemoproteomics technology platform which was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2012. He is also a past Chairman of the UK BioIndustry Association and member of the Department of Health Ministerial Industry Strategy Group.

Hazel Moore

Hazel Moore is Chairman of FirstCapital, a technology-specialist investment bank which she co-founded in 1999. Her experience spans advising technology companies on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, as well as advising family offices, institutional and strategic investors on investments and portfolio strategies.

Hazel was formerly on the Investment Advisory Panel for the North West Fund – a £140 million evergreen investment fund focused on small and medium sized enterprises in the North West of England. She began her career with GEC Marconi and has an MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Press release: Science Minister hails Wales’ role in 'innovation nation' as the 5 millionth Raspberry Pi rolls off South Wales production line

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 12:25:51 +0000

iconic Raspberry Pi mini-computer reaches the 5 million milestone at Bridgend factory
£2.6 million project by Airbus Group, Cardiff University and partners to research protecting aircraft from lightning strikes
UK cities invited to bid into £2 million research fund to become healthier, more prosperous and more sustainable

Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson today (23 September 2015) hailed Wales’ role as part of the ‘innovation nation’ as he visited Raspberry Pi’s production facility at the Sony Technology Centre in Bridgend and unveiled a total of £4.6 million in funding to help fund potentially life-changing research in to the future of cities and modern aircraft.

During a visit to Cardiff University, Jo Johnson announced a £2.6 million project led by Cardiff University and Airbus to help protect aircraft from lightning. Increasing the use of new and advanced materials such as carbon fibre composites in aircraft structures means the aerospace industry needs to fully research their behaviour under extreme conditions. The research will be undertaken in collaboration with the university’s Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory.

Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said:

As a one nation government we are backing science and innovation across the UK. We want to be the best place in Europe to innovate which is why we are investing in Cardiff University’s unique project to create new ideas for developing Wales’ world-class aerospace sector.

Today I have seen first-hand the exciting technologies being developed at Cardiff University and at Raspberry Pi in Bridgend. This is the kind of expertise we are supporting to safeguard the future success of our economy.

Ian Risk, Head of Airbus Group Innovations UK, said:

This is a key project for the aerospace industry, allowing us to enhance our fundamental understanding of what occurs during a lightning strike on a composite aircraft structure. This funding will be used to improve our understanding of what occurs physically and chemically when a plane is struck by lightning to continually improve the design to be more efficient and economical.

Professor Colin Riordan, Vice-Chancellor, Cardiff University, said:

Universities exist to create and share knowledge and the impact of that on UK society is huge. The research conducted in our Lightning Laboratory is just one example, among many, demonstrating how fundamental research supported by the Research Councils is developed into translational research of real value to the UK through partnership with industry, government and Innovate UK. We are really proud of our long record of industrial collaboration across a wide range of sectors.

The minister also used his visit to encourage Cardiff and other UK cities to bid for a share of the £2 million Urban Living Partnership, which will harness research and innovation expertise to make cities healthier, more prosperous and sustainable places to live.

Up to 5 individual pilot city projects, each led by a consortium of researchers, local authorities, service providers and businesses, will use their diverse experience and expertise to identify, understand and address interconnected challenges ranging from community health and crime to social inclusion and employment.

Mr Johnson also witnessed the production of the 5 millionth Raspberry Pi computer at the Sony UK Technology Centre in Bridgend, as the iconic credit card-sized computer reaches its latest milestone. The mini-computer was developed in the UK to inspire children and adults of all ages to learn about computing and since Sony UKTEC began working with the Raspberry Pi Foundation in 2012, 70 jobs have been created in the Bridgend area with an additional 30 opening by the end of the year.

The visit comes a week after the UK was ranked second in the world in the Global Innovation Index - higher than all its G7 counterparts.

Notes to Editors

In 2013 to 2014, UK government expenditure on research and innovation in Wales by Research Councils, Innovate UK and Higher Education Research Capital, totalled nearly £80 million.
The Airbus and Cardiff University-led project, the protection of structures from lightning strike, is a £2.6 million project (£1.7 million UK government grant) which is receiving funding from the £2.1 billion joint government and industry commitment for aerospace R&D . The project, supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute ( ATI ) and delivered with Innovate UK, will include the development of new test methods and diagnostic equipment to determine what occurs physically and chemically to produce models of these events. The initial test programme has proved successful and has led to a first patent submission from the consortium. Other partners in addition to Airbus and Cardiff University include Hexcel and the National Composites Centre.
The ATI was created by government and industry to guide investment into research and technology projects that will sustain and enhance the UK’s competitive advantage. Its technology strategy, launched in July 2015, defines the best combination of capabilities, technologies and products to advance next-generation civil aircraft; enabling industry to exploit anticipated global growth, and deliver value to the UK economy through the sector’s high productivity and skills.
The Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory ( MBLL ), based in Cardiff University’s School of Engineering, provides a research and test capability for understanding and enhancing the science of lightning protection. The £2.4 million facility is Europe’s only university-based lightning laboratory and is capable of generating controlled lightning with currents up to 200,000 amps, more than 5 times that of an average lightning strike.
The Urban Living Partnership is the first time all 7 UK Research Councils and Innovate UK have come together to address the complex challenges and opportunities of urban living. Bids to the partnership should be led by universities working in partnership with cities and other bodies. Applications should be submitted through the Research Councils’ Joint Electronic Submissions system.

Speech: The importance of intellectual property to innovation and trade

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 16:28:41 +0000

Denise Croze of WIPO Thank you. Your Excellency the High Commissioner, Ladies and Gentlemen. I want to talk this evening about the importance of Intellectual Property to innovation and to trade between the UK, the EU and Asia, SE Asia and Singapore.

I believe that innovation will continue to be a vital driver of global growth and economic prosperity. It will play a key part in helping us to address key challenges facing society. Using knowledge effectively enhances productivity, and welfare, and creates new global market opportunities.

The UK remains one of the world’s leading innovators, second in last week’s Global Innovation Index, to Switzerland, up from tenth in 2011. Singapore is at number 7 with some great strengths highlighted during our visit to AStar Fusion World today (22 September 2015).

The UK of course benefits from a long tradition in our universities and science base. As a result with less than 1% of the world’s population, the UK produces 16% of top quality published research.

I believe that, innovation systems must be inter-connected and coherent. Governments must work in partnership with businesses and our innovation infrastructures must help growing businesses, and be supported through world-leading organisations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization and by national IP offices and accreditation institutes. And we need to provide practical help in key markets of the kind Christabel Koh (Co) our High Commission and UK Trade and Investment ( UKTI ) provide in Singapore.

We have seen an important shift in the source of wealth and business. The majority of business investment used to be in physical things like premises and machinery. Today business investment is increasingly in intangible goods: in ideas, in creativity and in digital innovation. There are also opportunities in the growth of global tourism and the importance of strong cultural identity - I am also a culture minister with a personal passion for art, gardening and sport. We have much in common spiritually and practically: the Barclays Asia Trophy (which was won by Arsenal), the recent opening of the Hamley’s store (the oldest toy store in the world), and the strong links between Kew Gardens and the Singapore ’Gardens by the Bay’ which I am visiting this evening.

And the UK has a particularly knowledge intensive economy. We invest almost half as much again on intangible assets, including IP , as on tangible assets - £127 billion on intangible assets in 2011, compared with £88 billion on tangible assets.

In Singapore your services sector contributes to over two-thirds of GDP , although manufacturing maintains a significant share of the total economy and intangible investment in Singapore is growing.

And the total brand value of the top 100 brands in Singapore is reported to be worth around US$40.2 billion in 2014. These include Singapore Airlines who brought me here seamlessly, Keppel in the construction and marine sectors, Singtel in telecoms and Frazer and Neave in beverages. That’s impressive and makes IP very important and indeed it is why we signed a memorandum of understanding ( MoU ) between the Intellectual Property Office ( IPO ) and Intellectual Property Office of Singapore ( IPOS ) this afternoon.

Singapore is ranked as the most innovative country in Asia, and during my visit I have seen a strong commitment to the creation of the best possible conditions for innovation. Entrepreneurship and skills are also important and Singapore’s high standing in terms of global competitiveness is impressive.

Singapore and the UK are natural partners in innovation. This was reflected in the announcement during the President’s visit to the UK last year of the creation of a new Innovation and Research Partnership between our 2 countries and David Cameron’s visit in July where he emphaised the importance of working together in the region on IP enforcement.

In July 2015 the UK government launched a wide ranging Productivity Plan and made a clear commitment to support business in creating the ideas that help them grow, focussing on innovation, growth and jobs. It included:

continued support for our universities and reform to our education system significant support for research and development including the internet of things which is helping to bring new products to market from 3D printing to driverless vehicles and advances in renewables through Innovate UK
a Challenger Businesses Programme to identify and address barriers to expansion for early-stage disruptive technologies
support for our network of Catapult centres - everything from digital to advanced manufacturing - bringing together businesses, scientists and engineers to ensure the UK is at the forefront of the commercialising technologies which offer global opportunities

The UK government is committed to making Britain the best place in Europe to innovate, to patent new ideas and start and grow a business. It is one of the reasons I am here. So much future growth will be found in knowledge intensive industries dependent on IP rights. I believe that a strong IP system is key to encouraging innovation, growth and jobs and I will be working with like-minded global partners, such as Singapore, to spread that message.

Thank you all for your time and your interest. I am not due to take questions but if there are things you would like to discuss please have a word with me or the delegation from the IPO , UKTI and the High Commission.

Speech: The importance of intellectual property to innovation and trade

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 16:28:41 +0000

The UK of course benefits from a long tradition in our universities and science base. As a result with less than 1% of the world’s population, the UK produces 16% of top quality published research.

In Singapore your services sector contributes to over two-thirds of GDP , although manufacturing maintains a significant share of the total economy and intangible investment in Singapore is growing.

continued support for our universities and reform to our education system significant support for research and development including the internet of things which is helping to bring new products to market from 3D printing to driverless vehicles and advances in renewables through Innovate UK
a Challenger Businesses Programme to identify and address barriers to expansion for early-stage disruptive technologies
support for our network of Catapult centres - everything from digital to advanced manufacturing - bringing together businesses, scientists and engineers to ensure the UK is at the forefront of the commercialising technologies which offer global opportunities

Press release: China grants UK-based Aberdeen Asset Management business licence to operate in China

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 13:02:00 +0000

Announcement comes as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, leads a trade delegation to China.

Aberdeen Asset Management, one of the UK’s largest investment groups, has been granted a business licence which will make it easier to operate in China and significantly strengthen the UK’s presence in Asia’s leading economic powerhouse.

The licence – issued to a newly-created Aberdeen subsidiary by the State Administration of Industry & Commerce in Shanghai – will enable the company to set up an office in China under the pilot Free Trade Zone.

As a part of negotiations around the seventh UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, China has agreed to allow qualified, locally-incorporated wholly foreign-owned or joint-venture private fund management institutions to engage in private security management businesses – including secondary market trading of securities – according to domestic regulations.

Secretary of State for Business, Sajid Javid, said:

As we deepen UK-China relations it is rewarding to see Aberdeen Asset Management licensed to operate in China. The company will bring fund management expertise from the UK to the second largest economy in the world. I am committed to building relationships like this between our 2 nations.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin, said:

The Chancellor and I are in China to deliver on a key part of the government’s economic plan. We want to secure London’s future as China’s bridge to western financial markets as part of a new golden era of cooperation between our countries.

Our efforts are already bearing fruit – I am delighted Aberdeen Asset Management has received a licence to operate in China as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise. This is an important step for an established British firm and will help to increase the links between our financial services industries.

Having received its licence to operate from the State Administration of Industry & Commerce (SAIC), the next step is to apply to be registered with the Asset Management Association of China.

Aberdeen Asset Management Chief Executive, Martin Gilbert, said:

UK business cannot ignore the structural development of China. It is already the second largest economy in the world and will sooner or later surpass the US. The work undertaken to obtain a WFOE licence is part of our overall strategy to ensure Aberdeen Asset Management is well placed for the next 10 to 20 years.

The announcement comes during a week-long tour of UK ministers and leading UK business to China, led by George Osborne. This continues the government’s long-standing drive to forge greater links with the Asia-Pacific region, and to consolidate London’s position as the western hub for Renminbi business outside of Asia.

Notes to editors

Aberdeen Asset Management is an independent asset management company. Formed out of a management buy-out in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1983, it is now a FTSE 100 company operating in over 25 countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Aberdeen Asset Management is defined by a pure focus on asset management, including equities, fixed income, property and multi-asset portfolios, including a strong and growing alternative investment capability. All Aberdeen Asset Management investment solutions are driven by a commitment to straightforward, transparent investment approaches that stress intensive, first-hand research and a long-term view.
Aberdeen’s global alternatives platform encompasses multi-manager research and selection across hedge funds, private equity, and property along with direct investments in infrastructure projects. This means that Aberdeen can offer its clients access and exposure to high quality alternative investments across liquid strategies, private markets and real assets.
As at 30 June 2015, Aberdeen Asset Management manage total assets of US$483 billion on behalf of institutional and private investors.

Press release: China grants UK-based Aberdeen Asset Management business licence to operate in China

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 13:02:00 +0000

Announcement comes as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, leads a trade delegation to China.

Secretary of State for Business, Sajid Javid, said:

As we deepen UK-China relations it is rewarding to see Aberdeen Asset Management licensed to operate in China. The company will bring fund management expertise from the UK to the second largest economy in the world. I am committed to building relationships like this between our 2 nations.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin, said:

The Chancellor and I are in China to deliver on a key part of the government’s economic plan. We want to secure London’s future as China’s bridge to western financial markets as part of a new golden era of cooperation between our countries.

Our efforts are already bearing fruit – I am delighted Aberdeen Asset Management has received a licence to operate in China as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise. This is an important step for an established British firm and will help to increase the links between our financial services industries.

Having received its licence to operate from the State Administration of Industry & Commerce (SAIC), the next step is to apply to be registered with the Asset Management Association of China.

Aberdeen Asset Management Chief Executive, Martin Gilbert, said:

UK business cannot ignore the structural development of China. It is already the second largest economy in the world and will sooner or later surpass the US. The work undertaken to obtain a WFOE licence is part of our overall strategy to ensure Aberdeen Asset Management is well placed for the next 10 to 20 years.

Notes to editors

Aberdeen Asset Management is an independent asset management company. Formed out of a management buy-out in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1983, it is now a FTSE 100 company operating in over 25 countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Aberdeen Asset Management is defined by a pure focus on asset management, including equities, fixed income, property and multi-asset portfolios, including a strong and growing alternative investment capability. All Aberdeen Asset Management investment solutions are driven by a commitment to straightforward, transparent investment approaches that stress intensive, first-hand research and a long-term view.
Aberdeen’s global alternatives platform encompasses multi-manager research and selection across hedge funds, private equity, and property along with direct investments in infrastructure projects. This means that Aberdeen can offer its clients access and exposure to high quality alternative investments across liquid strategies, private markets and real assets.
As at 30 June 2015, Aberdeen Asset Management manage total assets of US$483 billion on behalf of institutional and private investors.

Press release: UK and Singapore boost IP co-operation

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 11:49:12 +0000

The new Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU ) between the UK Intellectual Property Office and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore ( IPOS ) will improve international cooperation between the two nations on issues involving copyright, patents, trade marks and designs.

UK Minister for Intellectual Property Baroness Neville Rolfe said:

Singapore is an influential voice on issues of intellectual property in the ASEAN region. Support from IP leaders is invaluable in developing robust global frameworks across the ASEAN region. This MOU will allow the UK and Singapore to share best practices in areas such as intellectual property rights protection, IP -related research and the streamlining of IP court processes.

Mr Tan Yih San, Chief Executive of IPOS , said:

We are pleased to formalise our cooperation with the UK on innovation and intellectual property rights. This MOU reaffirms our mutual commitment to increase cross-border IP cooperation and provide a robust IP system for businesses and creators looking to expand into the UK , and those seeking to venture into the ASEAN region.

IPOS said:

We are excited to formalise our cooperation with the UK on intellectual property matters. This MOU underlines our strong commitment to contribute to intellectual property rights enforcement, not only at a national level but also in the international field, particularly with leading offices such as UK IPO .

In a globalised era, it is crucial for governments to collaborate on common understandings such as innovation and economic growth.

Many UK businesses use Singapore as their regional headquarters and a springboard into the wider ASEAN region. This visit, the first for the UK IP Minister builds on the announcement by the Prime Minister in July of the agreement to strengthen co-operation on IP protection. This MOU also enhanced the existing UK -Singapore Business Economic Partnership Agreement in the area of IP cooperation.

The Minister also met with UK businesses in Singapore as users of the systems and those that understand where the barriers to effective trade exist. This visit provided a valuable opportunity to emphasise the importance of IP in engendering safe business environments in this region and the willingness of the UK to support IP developments.

South East Asia is of increasing importance for UK trade and export – a fact highlighted by the recent visit of the Prime Minister and Business Secretary in July.

The region is expected to grow at 5% this year with potential to unlock huge opportunities for UK business. The region has a rapidly increasing middle class consumer market and is expected to become the fourth largest single market by 2030 through the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). This visit emphasises the importance of IP in the UK ’s relationship with South East Asia, and the benefits that close cooperation on IP can bring to the wider UK - ASEAN trade relationship.

Notes to editors:

The title of the agreement is; Memorandum of understanding concerning industrial property between the IPOS and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office.
The purpose of the memorandum, as set out in the document states: The objective of this Memorandum of Understanding is to establish a global and flexible mechanism for developing and furthering the cooperation activities between the Participants in the industrial property field and information technology services.
The understanding is valid for 3 years and will be automatically renewed for successive periods of three years unless one of the participants terminates the agreement.
The Intellectual Property Office ( IPO ) is within the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS) and is responsible for the national framework of Intellectual Property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
Its role is to help manage an IP system that encourages innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge-based economy.
It operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to Intellectual Property ( IP ) to which the United Kingdom is a party.

Press release: Bogus training courses come under fire

Sat, 19 Sep 2015 23:15:07 +0000

students offered fake apprenticeships – later to find out they are unqualified
government crackdown on dodgy providers and bogus training courses
businesses and training providers support government crackdown

A family firm of electricians in Milton Keynes and the building company Balfour Beatty told a government consultation they found students being lured into apprenticeships which offered low-level training. At the end of the training programme the students were severely underqualified and were not in a real job.

The cases came to light as the government introduces new powers to prosecute training providers misusing the term ‘apprenticeship’. In the future, anyone offering fake or low-quality apprenticeships training could face the possibility of a fine and prosecution in a Magistrates Court. The government is committed to giving apprenticeships similar legal protection as university degrees.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said:

Everyone knows what a university degree means. It’s an official title. Young people doing apprenticeships should get the same level of distinction.

I’m supporting working people by defining the word ‘apprenticeship’ in law. This will ensure people get the best training and opportunities.

Balfour Beatty, who currently recruits approximately 150 apprentices a year, welcomed the protection.

Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group Chief Executive said:

Protecting and enhancing apprenticeships as proposed by the government’s Enterprise Bill will further build the status of apprenticeships and help to encourage business to invest in them.

Our industry needs talent and skills, therefore it is crucial that apprenticeships remain world-class so that we can continue to attract the best and brightest individuals.

SJD Electrical, a family-run business in Milton Keynes, also welcomed the proposals, highlighting the negative impact of low-quality training courses.

Ruth Devine, Director at SJD Electrical said:

Protecting the term ‘apprenticeship’ will help us attract the most able individuals and offer a guarantee to apprentices that they will receive world-class training.

A number of applicants applying for jobs at SJD who thought they had completed apprenticeships, were surprised to find that they were not fully qualified. Low quality training courses contribute to the many instances of poor workmanship we come across.

Apprenticeships have proven crucial to provide businesses with the talent and skills they need to grow and the government is committed to supporting 3 million new apprenticeships by 2020.

Notes to editors:

The government ran a consultation on protecting the term ‘apprenticeship’ from 29 July 2015 to 19 August 2015. The consultation was sent to over 500 key stakeholders and was put on the gov.uk and Citizen Space websites.
Over 90 responses were received from a wide variety of interested parties including employers, private training providers, colleges, schools, universities, apprentices and representative groups.
The government response to the consultation will be published on Monday 21 September 2015.
Examples of the apprenticeship term being misused include:
- students thinking they had completed an apprenticeship but actually had only taken a low-level technical qualification
- students having to find other employers to continue to achieve the qualifications required to complete a full apprenticeship
- employers finding students entering the industry only part-qualified and without adequate learning, work-based experience and practical skills
Measures to protect the term ‘apprenticeship’ are contained in the Enterprise Bill. The Enterprise Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 16 September 2015.
The measures do not affect companies who offer their own high-quality internal apprenticeship scheme.

News story: Transport Secretary hails Birmingham New Street station transformation

Fri, 18 Sep 2015 13:01:44 +0000

£750 million revamp of busiest station outside London unveiled ahead of opening to public
improvements include capacity boost, refurbished platforms, better passenger information and smart-ticketing gates
development features new shopping centre creating hundreds of jobs

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited Birmingham New Street station today (18 September 2015) to mark the completion of a 5 year programme to transform facilities for passengers.

The new station has been overhauled to dramatically improve station capacity and the passenger experience, with a spectacular new atrium over the concourse, which is now 5 times the size of London Euston.

The station development will also act as a catalyst for regeneration in Birmingham city centre, with the new Grand Central Shopping Centre and John Lewis store being built as part of the development offering hundreds of new jobs.

Chancellor George Osborne said:

This £750 million investment to modernise Birmingham New Street station is at the heart of our plans to use the power of infrastructure to build a more healthy, balanced and productive economy right across the Midlands.

We are committed to build the Midlands engine, set to boost growth by attracting local jobs and investment, and today’s announcement shows we are delivering on our long-term economic plan for the region.

Patrick McLoughlin said:

The transformation of Birmingham New Street is a prime example of how our record investment in the railways is improving journeys for hardworking people and helping to rebalance the economy by driving growth across the country.

The improvements made at this important transport hub have made it into a truly impressive building that passengers and the people of Birmingham can use and enjoy.

The project to transform the country’s busiest station outside London has been funded by:

Department for Transport
Network Rail
Birmingham City Council
Centro
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The new station will deliver:

far greater passenger capacity on the concourse, which will also have natural daylight for the first time
refurbished and decluttered platforms
new touch-screen passenger information
larger waiting areas
more toilets
improved retail
a new ticket office
better safety and security systems

There are 15 new lifts and 36 escalators, serving every platform. From 20 September, 66 smartcard-enabled ticket gates will be ready to use. This means passengers will be able to travel seamlessly between regional rail, bus and tram services, as part of a scheme introduced over the coming months and next year.

More than 1,300 Birmingham residents have been involved in the scheme so far, including 250 who were previously unemployed. The project has supported more than 100 young people into apprenticeships. Phase one of the project, including a new concourse, escalators and lifts, opened on 28 April 2013. The new concourse will be fully open to passengers on Sunday 20 September, and the new Grand Central Shopping Centre will open shortly after on 24 September.

The station has been rebuilt while trains have continued to run for the 170,000 passengers who use it every day.

Mark Carne, Chief Executive of Network Rail, said:

Birmingham New Street sits right at the heart of our rail network and the transformation which has taken place here is nothing short of stunning. The station is now bigger, brighter and better able to meet the needs of the growing number of people who use it each day.

As Britain’s second city, Birmingham deserves a station of this calibre and, along with Grand Central, the investment we have made will help support the local economy and regenerate large parts of city centre.

Rebuilding one of the busiest stations in the country without impacting on passengers’ journeys has been a major challenge, but I’m extremely proud to say that Network Rail and our partners on this project have done just that. That’s a significant achievement for everyone who has helped build this fantastic new station of which they, and all of Birmingham, can be very proud indeed.

Rail media enquiries

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News story: Intellectual Property Minister hosts reception at Aldgate Tower

Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:00:01 +0000

Aldgate Tower has been secured as the site for the Unified Patent Court ( UPC ) in London as, announced last month.

An invited audience of key stakeholders had the chance to see inside the building that will become the UPC in London.

This reception gave the Minister an opportunity to thank some of the people who have been extremely generous with their time, helping and advising the Intellectual Property Office ( IPO ), during the process of selecting the facility for the court in London, as well as for their wider support to the IPO on UPC issues.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe, UK Intellectual Property Minister, said:

We needed a location that was convenient, dignified and, given that patents are about innovation and novelty, preferably one that was modern. Aldgate Tower ticks all those boxes.

Those who came were able to see the building, as a blank canvas and review early draft designs for the space.

Securing this building has been a great step towards bringing the UPC into effect, ensuring the success of the Court and the UK’s involvement. Aldgate Tower represents a good value location within Central London, with excellent transport links (domestically and internationally) and an efficient space, allowing a modern and functional fit-out. Building work is expected to begin later in the year, and the facility is due to be completed before Spring 2016.

Unified Patent Court

Currently there is no such thing as a single European patent. Instead businesses must maintain a bundle of national rights each valid in one country which must be enforced separately in the relevant courts of each state. This can be very costly and burdensome. The new unitary patent will be a single patent providing uniform protection in up to 25 EU Member States, while the UPC will be a specialised court with jurisdiction to hear disputes on both European patents and the new unitary patent. The UPC and Unitary Patent provide a cost effective option for innovative businesses that want to protect and market their inventions across much of Europe.

News story: Anna Soubry introduces the Enterprise Bill (video)

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 20:57:00 +0000

Anna Soubry introduces the Enterprise Bill

Hello, my name is Anna Soubry, I am the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise. And I am really pleased that we are now in a position whereby we can publish the Enterprise Bill. I hope you’ll carry on on the website, read the bill and get to know and understand it.

But my task, if you like today, is to explain that there are really 3 key elements to the bill. The first is the creation of a Small Business Commissioner, and his or her role will be there to help small businesses who are having particular problems with late payments. We know that’s a big problem for a large number of our small businesses. So part of this is will be the mediation that’s available, and also, when small businesses have a complaint, they can take that complaint if the circumstances are right to the Small Business Commissioner.

Another part of the bill is to continue our work on deregulation; we’re bringing in more regulators so that they’re within the scope of our absolute determination to reduce the burden on businesses. In the last government we reduced that burden by about £10 billion, and it’s our absolute ambition to achieve the same in the next 5 years.

The third part of the bill is about apprenticeships. We know how important it is that our young people have the right skills. And under the last government we had real success with our apprenticeship scheme, and our aim is to continue that scheme and expand it – create 3 million more apprentices.

One of the things we are going to do is enshrine effectively in law to protect the term ‘apprentice’, because we know it means a lot, it has high value, and it’s important that we protect that term in law.

So they are the 3 biggest parts of the bill. And as I say, I hope you’ll read the bill, it’s on the website, and if you’ve got any comments on it, we’d like to hear from you.

Press release: UK-China education partnership reaches new heights

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:39:48 +0000

Minister for Universities and Science Jo Johnson and China’s Minister of Education Yuan Guiren signed an ambitious framework agreement on education collaboration at the third UK/China People to People Dialogue in London today (17 September).

A total of 23 education agreements were signed at the 8th UK-China Education Summit, part of the People to People dialogue, which will see UK universities and organisations working closely with partners in China to boost joint academic research and student exchange, and to establish new institutions.

Culminating in the signing of a ‘UK-China Strategic Framework in Education’ both countries announced their commitment to expanding collaboration across higher, vocational and school education, and to work closely together in sports education.

Minister for Universities and Science Jo Johnson said:

Our relationship with China is entering a new phase of scientific and educational collaboration on an unprecedented scale. Our agreement will bring researchers together to address global challenges, change the lives of young people through better access to sports, and build partnerships across school, vocational and higher education to provide students in both countries with the right skills to become the leaders of the future.

Ministers from both countries witnessed signings that will see the UK working with China in the development of its sports education, with a focus on football. A joint football accreditation system will be developed, opening doors for Chinese football coaches to be trained in the UK, feeding into a national drive by the Chinese government to grow its sports sector.

Agreements were also signed to increase exchanges among researchers in the UK and China and to build their skills to enable further collaborations.

In addition, links will be created between 200 schools in the UK and China to organise exchange visits and work together on policy and curriculum development, in an effort to improve the provision of high-quality basic education in both countries. Science, technology, engineering and maths ( STEM ), language, sports, arts and other creative subjects will be a major focus of this collaboration.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

Education collaboration between the UK and China is vital if we are to learn from each other’s successes and to help us use international evidence of best practice to drive up academic standards in our schools.

The innovative maths teacher exchange is already improving maths teaching in England’s primary schools, but there is still much more both countries can learn from one another.

These new partnerships will allow us to share as well as helping to develop important language skills to secure stronger links in the future.

Notes to editors

UK-China Strategic Framework in Education

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and China’s Ministry of Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the ‘UK-China Strategic Framework in Education’, formalising both countries’ commitment to working together in the 6 key areas of higher education, vocational education, schools, language, sports, and mobility.

Speech: Launch of the 2015 Global Innovation Index

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:36:18 +0000

Good morning, everyone. It is a pleasure to welcome you to London and to the 2015 Global Innovation Index launch. The UK is a nation proud of its innovators, of Sir Isaac Newton, of Crick of DNA fame, of Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Less famous in this context is Margaret Thatcher but in her chemical days she invented what we now know as Mr Whippy ice cream!

It is a pleasure therefore to have the opportunity to host the World Intellectual Property Organization, INSEAD Business School and Cornell University as they launch the 2015 Global Innovation Index. And I’m delighted to see so many of you here with a keen interest in this important publication. This is only the 8th edition of the Global Innovation Index, but it has quickly established itself as an important tool for those seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world.

This historic building, Central Hall Westminster, hosted the very first meeting of the 51 founder nations of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in 1946. It’s amazing to think how far the UN has come since then! Francis Gurry here now presides over its specialised IP agency which boasts 188 member states.

Innovation is a vital driver of global growth and economic prosperity. The UK, we like to think, remains one of the world’s leading innovators. Certainly we have a long tradition in producing the very best in science and research.

As the UK Intellectual Property Minister, I am of course aware of the vital role IP plays for countries seeking to protect and make the most of their knowledge economy. We have a good legal framework of rights in the UK and I am delighted that Taylor Wessing’s latest Global IP Index judged the UK to be the best place in the world to obtain, exploit and enforce IP rights.

The modern world is a connected world, and this report demonstrates that many emerging economies are growing in their innovation strength. This provides excellent opportunities for the UK to expand its collaboration portfolio, and through Innovate UK, the Government has established a network of elite Catapult Centres to commercialise new and emerging technologies in areas where there are large global market opportunities.

I am delighted to see that Simon Edmonds, Director of Innovate UK’s Catapult Programme, is on the panel today, and I don’t want to steal his thunder. I will just say however that the first 7 Catapults are open for business, with total public and private investment exceeding £1.4 billion over their first 5 years of operation. Two brand new Catapults, Energy Systems and Precision Medicine, have also started to operate as independent organisations and the Chancellor announced a new Medicines Technologies Catapult as part of July’s Productivity Plan.

GII assessment

The UK has so far done well in the GII rankings and we are cautiously hopeful that we will be able to sustain that position.

This year the UK also came second when measuring the quality of innovation globally. Overall, we hope and believe that the GII assessment reflects the positive economic environment in the UK.

Through the new £375 million Newton Fund, we will use our strength in research and innovation to promote the economic development and social welfare of partner countries. The fund forms part of the UK’s official development assistance ( ODA ) commitment and its primary focus is to develop the research and innovation capacity of nearly 20 partner countries for long-term sustainable growth.

Assessment of some of the factors that have led to success

The UK invests more in ideas and knowledge than it does in bricks and machinery. Latest figures show that investment in intangible assets outstrips tangible assets by £126 billion to £88 billion. Half of that investment is protected by IP rights. The UK Intellectual Property Office is today publishing its annual report on innovation and growth, setting out how we are developing the UK’s IP regime to support businesses.

Universities are key sources of knowledge and expertise for business. The UK has fine universities that provide us with the highly skilled workforce necessary to drive innovation, with 38 ranked among the 100 most international universities globally according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The right business environment is a crucial foundation for private investment. Government has put in place a range of wider policies to support innovation. R&D tax credits and the Patent Box have a key role in underpinning growth and have supported R&D investment by business to the tune of £13.2 billion, claimed by a total of 15,120 businesses.

The UK has been successful in attracting funding for R&D from overseas. In 2011, the UK attracted almost $7 billion of overseas-financed R&D .

For UK businesses whose innovations have global potential, collaborating with international partners and opening market opportunities is increasingly important.

UK Trade and Investment and other UK innovation institutions have been working to increase the advice and support available to UK companies trading overseas. They have established strong platforms for collaboration with leading and emerging markets.

The government’s commitment to continue to support innovation

Innovation is at the core of the encouraging economic recovery in the UK. It is central to our future growth, underpinning our competitiveness and helping to capture the new customers and markets that secure our income.

Delivering an environment that nurtures innovative talents is a cornerstone of a thriving economy, and I am proud that the UK has retained its 2nd place global ranking. More importantly the government is committed to making Britain the best place in Europe to innovate, patent new ideas and start and grow a business.

I would like to thank you all for your interest in this important event and wish I could stay for what is set to be a fascinating panel discussion, but I’m afraid a parliamentary question on the future of the BBC beckons so I look forward to hearing about your discussions later.

I will now hand you over to the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Mr Francis Gurry.

Speech: Launch of the 2015 Global Innovation Index

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:36:18 +0000

GII assessment

The UK has so far done well in the GII rankings and we are cautiously hopeful that we will be able to sustain that position.

This year the UK also came second when measuring the quality of innovation globally. Overall, we hope and believe that the GII assessment reflects the positive economic environment in the UK.

Assessment of some of the factors that have led to success

The UK has been successful in attracting funding for R&D from overseas. In 2011, the UK attracted almost $7 billion of overseas-financed R&D .

For UK businesses whose innovations have global potential, collaborating with international partners and opening market opportunities is increasingly important.

The government’s commitment to continue to support innovation

I will now hand you over to the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Mr Francis Gurry.

Press release: UK ranked as world-leader in innovation

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 13:55:24 +0000

The UK has today (17 September 2015) been ranked as the second most innovative country in the world. The Global Innovation Index ( GII ) has placed the UK above the USA, Singapore and Germany for the third year running, recognising the UK’s standing in the field of innovation.

The GII highlights the key role innovation plays as a driver of economic growth and prosperity. The UK has risen from tenth on the GII in 2011 to second in both 2014 and 2015. This is the most rapid increase among the top 10 GII -ranked innovation nations. It is the result of a well-balanced performance in terms of infrastructure, market sophistication, knowledge, technology and creative outputs.

Speaking at the Launch of the GII in London, Business Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG said:

The UK has soared ahead in these global innovation rankings over the past few years, a further sign that our long-term economic plan is working.

We have an outstanding tradition in producing the very best in science and research: with less than 1% of the world’s population we produce 16% of the top quality published research. This is a major factor in the UK maintaining its position at number 2 in the 2015 Global Innovation Index.

As outlined in the Productivity Plan, the government is committed to support businesses in innovating and creating the ideas that help them grow. The UK is already home to 4 of the world’s top 10 universities and is ranked as the best place in the world to obtain, exploit and enforce intellectual property rights by the Taylor Wessing Global IP Index.

The announcement came as the Intellectual Property Office ( IPO ) published its annual report on innovation and growth. The report sets out how the government is developing the UK’s intellectual property regime to support innovative and growing businesses in the delivery of services including patents, copyright, trade marks and design, in enforcement in the digital marketplace and international policy making.

Notes to Editors

The Global Innovation Index 2015 ( GII ), in its eigth edition this year, is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO , a specialised agency of the United Nations).
Published annually since 2007, the GII is now a leading benchmarking tool for business executives, policy makers and others, seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world.
See the full rankings under the GII 2015 here.
See the IPO ’s annual report on Innovation and Growth here.

Press release: Business backed by new Enterprise Bill

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 13:42:36 +0000

new measures aim to speed up insurance payments to business and give further powers to government for broadband investment
Small Business Commissioner will help small businesses resolve payment disputes with larger firms
regulators will contribute to ambitious £10 billion cutting red tape target

The government today (17 September 2015) publishes an Enterprise Bill that backs business to drive growth, create jobs and ensure economic security for all.

The bill will help tackle the scandal of late payments holding back many small businesses, ensure high quality apprenticeships, and make further cuts to burdensome red tape for the first time including the actions of regulators.

New measures announced today include:

a clamp down on the late payment of insurance claims to help businesses recover faster from fires and floods. There is currently no clear requirement for insurers to pay undisputed claims to businesses in a reasonable amount of time – this measure will introduce such a requirement into every contract of insurance
the Enterprise Bill will also update the Industrial Development Act to give new powers for government to fund new broadband projects across the country, for the benefit of industry or local communities

The Enterprise Bill will set up a Small Business Commissioner to help small firms handle disputes with larger businesses over issues like late payment, which costs small firms £26.8 billion.

The bill will also allow the government’s ambitious £10 billion cutting red tape target to be extended to include the actions of regulators for the first time.

Encouraging businesses to invest in the skills of their staff is a vital part of the government’s plan to boost productivity in the UK. The Enterprise Bill includes a measure to prevent people passing off poor quality training schemes as ‘apprenticeships’ and will set targets for the number of apprentices taken on by public bodies. This will ensure the public sector leads by example and invests in a highly-skilled workforce.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:

The government is committed to making sure the UK continues to be the best place in Europe to do business. The Enterprise Bill will help do just that with measures to cut red tape, protect high-quality apprenticeships and deal with unfair payment practices hitting small firms.

I firmly believe that to reap rewards for working people across the country we need to get behind our great British businesses.

Small Business, Industry and Enterprise Minister Anna Soubry said:

Our Enterprise Bill will help tackle some of the biggest issues facing business today. Overzealous regulation and unacceptable late payments are just some of the issues targeted in a comprehensive package of measures designed to give a boost to the UK economy.

This is about letting businesses get on with what they do best, while taking sensible action to support those that need it.

The Enterprise Bill will also extend the Primary Authority scheme, which has already helped over 7,000 businesses comply with local regulations.

Proposals are being published today to open up the scheme to thousands more small firms and entrepreneurs. They will also make trusted regulatory advice from a single local authority available to all businesses across England and Wales, whatever their size.

This will bring benefits to growth and productivity, and businesses are encouraged to respond to the proposals to help shape them.

Further measures in the Enterprise Bill will:

make regulators report annually on the impact their actions have on business
put a stop to taxpayer-funded, six-figure pay offs in the public sector
improve the business rates appeals system
stop business ratepayers from having to share the same information twice with local government and the Valuation Office Agency

See the full list of Enterprise Bill measures here

Notes to editors:

The Enterprise Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 16 September and published on 17 September 2015.
The following measures extend to the whole of the UK: Small Business Commissioner, Regulators (for non-devolved matters), Primary Authority scheme (for non-devolved matters in Scotland and in Northern Ireland), late payment of insurance claims, Industrial Development Act, Public Sector exit payments.
- The following measures extend to England and Wales: Business rates
- The following measures apply in England only: Apprenticeships
For further information on the territorial extent of the measures in the Enterprise Bill please read the explanatory notes
In July 2015, Bacs reported that small and medium businesses are owed a total of £26.8 billion in overdue late payments and that £10.8 billion is spent per year in attempts to recover overdue payments.
Since its introduction, Primary Authority has provided assurance to 7,695 businesses, doubling membership every year of the last Parliament. It now covers over 250,000 premises across the UK. Read more details in the proposals to extend the scheme.
The late payment of insurance measure was recommended by the Law Commission, which conducted a survey in 2011 suggesting that late payment occurs in up to 10% of insurance claims.

Press release: Low carbon vehicles get government backing at annual sector show

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 10:54:00 +0000

Consortium led by Warwick Manufacturing Group announced as winner of £10 million low carbon battery prize
Soubry announces £20 million low carbon vehicle R&D competition

The Chancellor and the Business Minister Anna Soubry have today (9 September 2015) announced the winner of a £10 million low carbon battery prize.

Speaking at LCV2015, Anna Soubry announced that an automotive consortium led by Warwick Manufacturing Group had won a government backed £10 million Ultra Low Emission Battery Prize, which incentivises the development of the next generation of batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles in the UK.

Together, manufacturers Jaguar Land Rover, JCB, Alexander Dennis and Ariel Motors, successfully demonstrated the ability to build UK capability in the development of high voltage automotive battery packs. It will lay the foundations for a new UK automotive supply chain over the next 12 months.

The Minister also unveiled details of a £20 million low carbon vehicle R&D initiative led by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles ( OLEV ). The ‘Seeding Tomorrow’s Vehicle Technologies Today’ competition will support the development of new technology for road vehicles aimed at delivering significant reductions in CO2 and other emissions.

The Chancellor said:

It’s great news that a British consortium has won £10 million of government funding to develop a world-class ultra-low emission vehicle battery, and yet another demonstration that the UK is a global leader in high-skilled, innovative vehicle technology.

This is part of our plan to invest over £900 million this decade in ensuring that this country is the best place in the world to own, use or build a high-tech, low-emission car – helping to support the 150,000 jobs created by automotive manufacturing in the UK.

Business Minister Anna Soubry added:

Together these projects will help keep the British low carbon vehicle industry at the cutting edge – generating valuable trade and investment opportunities and new highly-skilled jobs. The £20 million competition will springboard some of the UK’s best low carbon vehicle innovations to market and Warwick Manufacturing Group’s battery project will create a new UK supply chain in a field with huge growth opportunities.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman of WMG said:

The global energy storage market will be worth $50 billion by 2020; of this, $21 billion will be in transportation. Automotive is well on its way to displacing consumer electronics as the biggest user of energy storage. This project will play a significant role in the evolution of that market by creating a UK supply chain for battery packs to suit hybrid and electric vehicles requiring volumes from hundreds to thousands of units per year. It will also create a lasting facility at WMG for the development of future battery packs. This will also create thousands of jobs in this field.

Notes to editors:

Innovate UK and OLEV awarded The University of Warwick’s ( WMG ) Automated Module-to-pack Pilot Line For Industrial Innovation (AMPLiFII) project £9,999,178 for its project that developed a pilot production line which will be used for developing the processes necessary for complete battery production in the future. The total proposed project costs were £13,289,797.
Innovate UK will run the competition from 7 September 2015 to 28 October 2015 with registration closing on the 21 October 2015. A full competition brief can be found here and you can register and apply for the £20 million prize on the Innovate UK site.

Speech: Higher education: fulfilling our potential

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 10:00:19 +0000

Introduction – reflections on this year’s university admissions

It’s a pleasure to be here at the start of a new academic year.

And it is a vintage one.

Record numbers of students accepted onto their first choice courses. Record numbers applying from disadvantaged backgrounds. And record numbers studying science subjects.

Every single additional place we make available will change someone’s life forever.

I felt this myself when I joined the call centre team at UCAS in Cheltenham on A Level results day and listened to the explosion of excitement down the telephone line when a student who feared the worst learnt he had secured a place at Oxford Brookes.

A story made possible because of the steps taken by this government. Half a century ago, the Robbins Report said university places “should be available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them.”

We are the first government to live up to this guiding principle. Our mission as a one nation government is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to work hard and fulfil their potential. By lifting the cap on student numbers, we have ensured that our world-class higher education system is open to anyone with the potential to benefit from it.

We have no target for the “right” size of the higher education system, but believe it should evolve in response to demand from students and employers, reflecting the needs of the economy.

That’s why we must make sure that the young people who made it through the UCAS clearing process this summer feel it was all worthwhile, that more does not mean worse. They must receive the rigorous, stimulating education they want and society needs.

Green paper aims

My plan today is to set out a broader vision for higher education, foreshadowing a green paper we will publish in the autumn.

Looking back at 2011, when we published Students at the Heart of the System, it is clear that huge progress has been made: in transparency and widening participation, but also in the way the system has been put on a sustainable financial footing and been opened up to competition, with more new providers allowed to enter the market in the last 5 years than at any time since 1992.

But there is considerable unfinished business and the green paper will seek views on the changes the government believes will be necessary to ensure that higher education continues to be a great national success story in the years to come.

Teaching at the heart of the system

At the centre of this vision are the young people contemplating their futures in a world where no one owes them a living, where they must depend on their wits and drive to survive.

Well-equipped students ready to contribute to society and to businesses keen to employ increasing numbers of skilled graduates. That was the focus of my last speech to you and it remains my overriding priority.

We have all been reminded of the scale of the challenge by a recent CIPD survey suggesting that almost 60% of graduates are in non-graduate jobs.

While it may overstate matters — official statistics show that in fact only 20% of recent graduates did not find a graduate level job within 3 years of leaving college — it is clear that universities must do more to demonstrate they add real and lasting value for all students.

Now that we are asking young people to meet more of the costs of their degrees once they are earning, we in turn must do more than ever to ensure they can make well-informed choices, and that the time and money they invest in higher education is well spent.

As I said in my speech in July, the key to that is, in my view, great teaching, combined with rigorous assessment, useful feedback and preparation for the world of work.

Our plans to introduce new incentives for universities to focus on teaching, via the Teaching Excellence Framework ( TEF ) promised in our manifesto, will be a critical element of this autumn’s consultation.

Speaking to parents and students since taking on this job has confirmed for me the extent to which teaching is highly variable across higher education.

There are inspiring academics who go the extra mile, supporting struggling students, emailing feedback at weekends and giving much more of their time than duty demands.

These are the people who will change our children’s lives and I want every student to learn from and have access to the kind of teacher who suffered me when I was an undergraduate.

People like Martin Conway, who could make even Belgian stamps interesting as we learnt about the construction of post-war Europe; or Judith Brown, the biographer of Gandhi, who sparked in me a lasting interest in modern India.

But there are also institutions and individual academics that take a different approach; that have struck what academics David Palfreyman and Ted Tapper describe as a “disengagement contract” with their students:

This goes along the lines of ‘I don’t want to have to set and mark much by way of essays and assignments which would be a distraction from my research, and you don’t want to do coursework that would distract you from partying: so we’ll award you the degree as the hoped-for job ticket in return for compliance with minimal academic requirements and due receipt of fees’.

This is not a contract I want taxpayers to underwrite.

Because many universities see their reputation, their standing in prestigious international league tables and their marginal funding as being principally determined by scholarly output, teaching has regrettably been allowed to become something of a poor cousin to research in parts of our system.

I hear this when I talk to worried parents, such as the physics teacher whose son dropped out at the start of year two of a humanities programme at a prestigious London university, having barely set eyes on his tutor. Her other son, by contrast, studying engineering at Bristol, saw the system at its best: he was worked off his feet, with plenty of support and mostly excellent teaching.

This patchiness in the student experience within and between institutions cannot continue. There is extraordinary teaching that deserves greater recognition. And there is lamentable teaching that must be driven out of our system. It damages the reputation of UK higher education and I am determined to address it.

Greater transparency from providers

Since the 2012 reforms, student choice has become a key driver of change, but there are still significant information asymmetries. It is not at all clear to some students what their tuition fees of up-to £9,000 a year actually pay for, and this has led to calls, which I support, for greater transparency from providers about what they spend fee income on.

This will mean providers becoming much clearer with students about what they can expect during their time at university. The new framework will aim to give students more information about the actual teaching they will receive, drive up student engagement with the learning process and reward universities that do most to stretch young - and also not so young - minds.

It will help, I hope, create a culture where teaching has equal status with research, with our great teachers enjoying the same professional recognition and opportunities for career and pay progression as our great researchers.

I recognise that many institutions are already thinking in this way and that the National Student Survey has started to shift the focus back towards teaching, feedback and academic support within universities. But some still do not do nearly enough.

While there will be financial incentives behind the TEF , with those offering high quality teaching able to increase fees with inflation, the TEF will not just be about accessing additional funds – I want it to bring about a fundamental shift in how we think about and value teaching in our universities.

Widening participation

Raising the quality of teaching is at the heart of the green paper, but our ambitions extend beyond this important goal. As a one nation government, our focus is on driving forward social mobility. That’s why the green paper will also consult on how we can accelerate progress in widening participation, so that many more people with ability can benefit from higher education.

Our universities should be open to everyone who can benefit from them, regardless of family background or ability to pay.

The Prime Minister is committed to doubling the entry rate from disadvantaged backgrounds by 2020, compared to 2009 levels.

We also want to see a 20% increase in the number of black and minority ethnic students going to university by 2020, with matched improvements in their completion rates and progression into work. Young people with a Caribbean heritage will need special attention as part of this work and I will be discussing this with HEFCE and OFFA , and my counterparts at the Department for Education.

Among the many concerning features highlighted by BIS research into this issue is the persistent underperformance in education of white children eligible for free school meals. The problem is particularly acute for disadvantaged white boys. Barely 10% of white British boys from the most disadvantaged backgrounds go to university, making them 5 times less likely to study at this level than the most advantaged white boys. They are also doing worse compared to the most disadvantaged among other ethnic groups, with participation rates over 20% for boys of black Caribbean heritage, nearly 50% for boys of Indian heritage and over 60% for boys of Chinese heritage.

Prior attainment in school is a major factor driving differences in participation, but attitudes towards university, which can be shaped by good careers advice and employer engagement, also play a part. Discussions with Office for Fair Access have suggested that there is the potential for us to have significant impact by raising the profile of this group, which has not been specifically targeted in the past.

This needs serious attention and I will be writing to OFFA asking them to focus on this in their guidance to institutions on 2017 to 2018 access agreements.

To make our work on widening participation effective, we need the best possible data.

UCAS in particular holds and publishes vast amounts of data on the outcomes of the admissions process, but to target widening participation efforts more effectively we need a better understanding of how students’ background, prior attainment and course choices lead to an offer of a place.

That’s why I have written to UCAS asking them to publish a recent analysis of offers, broken down by ethnic group and type of institution. They have also agreed to publish the data underpinning this work and extend their analysis to other protected and disadvantaged groups. The first analysis will be published in the next few weeks.

But we need to go further to increase confidence that the system treats all applicants fairly. I want to see much more data being made available for academics to analyse and potentially link with other data sets. I’m pleased that UCAS has agreed to start sharing data through the secure platform developed by the Administrative Data Research Network. And they have agreed to look at all ways to make this data as useful as possible for researchers.

This is an important step forward. But there will be more work to do to increase the data available and ensure the trust of students who are involved. This is an issue for the whole sector to address, which is why I want you to consider what additional information universities can provide to support our collective efforts to widen participation.

A level playing field for new providers

To ensure students have real choice that reflects their diverse needs, we must continue to open up the higher education market and put in place a regulatory framework that reflects today’s challenges.

For many people, entry to higher education does not follow the traditional route of A-Levels followed by a full-time, residential, 3 year degree. Some choose to undertake a pathway that might include a foundation degree, Higher National Diploma, Higher National Certificate or Apprenticeship, while others enter higher education later in life after a period in the workforce.

This government values competition. We want a diverse, competitive system that can offer different types of higher education so that students can choose freely between a wide range of providers.

Competition not for its own sake, but because it empowers students and creates a strong incentive for providers to innovate and improve the quality of the education they are offering. That’s why, back in July, we published our Productivity Plan, ‘Fixing the Foundations’.

It set out how we’re going to boost productivity in this country. Among other goals, it promised to remove barriers to new entrants and to establish a risk-based framework for higher education, reducing burdens on some so we can focus oversight where it is needed.

The green paper will cast a critical eye over the processes for awarding access to student support funding, Degree Awarding Powers and University Title.

We have already made a start by providing a new route for trusted new and smaller providers to grow their student numbers. We are also beginning to link student number controls to the quality of the provider, through a “performance pool” which will operate for 2016 to 2017.

But the green paper will consult on options to go further. Success in higher education should be based on merit, not on incumbency. I want to fulfil our aim of a level playing field for all providers of higher education.

Many of you validate degree courses at alternative providers. Many choose not to do so. I know some validation relationships work well, but the requirement for new providers to seek out a suitable validating body from amongst the pool of incumbents is quite frankly anti-competitive. It’s akin to Byron Burger having to ask permission of McDonald’s to open up a new restaurant.

It stifles competition, innovation and student choice, which is why we will consult on alternative options for new providers if they do not want to go down the current validation route.

Towards a single gateway for degree awarding powers

The ultimate goal for many new providers is to secure their own Degree Awarding Powers and University Title.

This now takes many years, even for the best, most highly rated new providers. As part of the green paper, we will ask how we can speed up the process for those that offer the best quality education.

In the meantime, we will continue to support new entrants. Having taken action to improve the process, I can announce that we will shortly be lifting the moratorium that has been in place for applications for new Degree Awarding Powers and for University Title. Once again, we are opening the doors to new entrants and challenger institutions, all in the interest of increasing the choices available to students.

Providers entering and leaving the market is a sign of healthy competition, and it is something of which we should expect to see more. But we need to be prepared for the fact that some providers may exit the market. Our higher education sector should only have room for high quality providers. We will therefore be consulting on measures to require all providers to have protection measures in place so that students who benefit from greater choice and diversity do not lose out in the event of provider failure.

There will be some who are resistant to this change. Those who want to put up the barriers and bar the windows. But I want our higher education sector to remain the envy of the world. Allowing new providers to enrich the sector is part of that.

A transformed regulatory landscape

So the reforms we will set out in the green paper will improve teaching quality, empower students, open up the higher education market and drive value for money. To deliver our ambitions, we also plan to reform the higher education and research system architecture.

We are a deregulatory government, and much of the higher education system is ripe for simplification. When I arrived in BIS , my day one pack included a diagram of the higher education landscape. It was a stunning piece of PowerPoint – and must have been produced by a skilled hand. But the complexity – and associated cost both for the sector and directly for government – drove home the need for simplification.

The market has evolved far more quickly than the regulatory environment, and that is something we need to address. Our regulatory regime is still based upon a system where government directly funds institutions rather than reflecting the fact that students are the purchasers, and needful of all the protections that consumers of complex high value products receive in other regulated markets. We fund higher education in a very different way now to the block grants of the past. Students are the primary source of income for undergraduate study, but their interests are insufficiently represented in our structures and systems.

There are also parallel regulatory regimes for different types of higher education providers. I want to be in a position where all higher education providers operate on a level playing field. That was part of the vision in 2011 and it remains our goal.

So we need a simpler, less bureaucratic and less expensive system of regulation. A system that explicitly champions the student, employer and taxpayer interest in ensuring value for their investment in education and requires transparency from providers so that they can be held accountable for it. One that protects institutional autonomy and academic freedom and maintains the highest quality of higher education, safeguarding the strong international reputation of English universities.

Our thinking will also of course take account of the emerging recommendations from Sir Paul Nurse’s review of the research system architecture. I am committed to the maintenance of dual funding support, to the Haldane principle and to scientific excellence, but do see scope for a simpler system of delivering vital research funding to universities and opportunities to increase its strategic impact. It is also clear to me that there are many in the sector demanding a process for assessing the quality of scholarly output that is less bureaucratic and burdensome to academics and takes up less of the time that they could be spending more fruitfully on research and also, of course, on teaching.

Conclusion

So as we celebrate record student numbers, we need to recognise that there is still more to be done to reshape the higher education landscape around students themselves:

more to be done to drive up the quality of teaching and ensure all students can aspire to a fulfilling graduate career
more to be done to widen participation so that everyone has the opportunity to get ahead
more to be done to reduce the regulatory burden and create a level playing field for new competitors
more to be done to increase the efficiency and strategic impact of our research

With these changes higher education fulfils its full potential: not just as an engine of economic growth and productivity, but also, now that student number controls have been lifted, as the most powerful driver of social mobility we have.

Speech: Higher education: fulfilling our potential

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 10:00:19 +0000

Introduction – reflections on this year’s university admissions

It’s a pleasure to be here at the start of a new academic year.

And it is a vintage one.

Record numbers of students accepted onto their first choice courses. Record numbers applying from disadvantaged backgrounds. And record numbers studying science subjects.

Every single additional place we make available will change someone’s life forever.

We have no target for the “right” size of the higher education system, but believe it should evolve in response to demand from students and employers, reflecting the needs of the economy.

Green paper aims

My plan today is to set out a broader vision for higher education, foreshadowing a green paper we will publish in the autumn.

Teaching at the heart of the system

At the centre of this vision are the young people contemplating their futures in a world where no one owes them a living, where they must depend on their wits and drive to survive.

We have all been reminded of the scale of the challenge by a recent CIPD survey suggesting that almost 60% of graduates are in non-graduate jobs.

As I said in my speech in July, the key to that is, in my view, great teaching, combined with rigorous assessment, useful feedback and preparation for the world of work.

Speaking to parents and students since taking on this job has confirmed for me the extent to which teaching is highly variable across higher education.

There are inspiring academics who go the extra mile, supporting struggling students, emailing feedback at weekends and giving much more of their time than duty demands.

These are the people who will change our children’s lives and I want every student to learn from and have access to the kind of teacher who suffered me when I was an undergraduate.

This goes along the lines of ‘I don’t want to have to set and mark much by way of essays and assignments which would be a distraction from my research, and you don’t want to do coursework that would distract you from partying: so we’ll award you the degree as the hoped-for job ticket in return for compliance with minimal academic requirements and due receipt of fees’.

This is not a contract I want taxpayers to underwrite.

Greater transparency from providers

Widening participation

Our universities should be open to everyone who can benefit from them, regardless of family background or ability to pay.

The Prime Minister is committed to doubling the entry rate from disadvantaged backgrounds by 2020, compared to 2009 levels.

This needs serious attention and I will be writing to OFFA asking them to focus on this in their guidance to institutions on 2017 to 2018 access agreements.

To make our work on widening participation effective, we need the best possible data.

A level playing field for new providers

This government values competition. We want a diverse, competitive system that can offer different types of higher education so that students can choose freely between a wide range of providers.

The green paper will cast a critical eye over the processes for awarding access to student support funding, Degree Awarding Powers and University Title.

It stifles competition, innovation and student choice, which is why we will consult on alternative options for new providers if they do not want to go down the current validation route.

Towards a single gateway for degree awarding powers

The ultimate goal for many new providers is to secure their own Degree Awarding Powers and University Title.

This now takes many years, even for the best, most highly rated new providers. As part of the green paper, we will ask how we can speed up the process for those that offer the best quality education.

A transformed regulatory landscape

Conclusion

So as we celebrate record student numbers, we need to recognise that there is still more to be done to reshape the higher education landscape around students themselves:

more to be done to drive up the quality of teaching and ensure all students can aspire to a fulfilling graduate career
more to be done to widen participation so that everyone has the opportunity to get ahead
more to be done to reduce the regulatory burden and create a level playing field for new competitors
more to be done to increase the efficiency and strategic impact of our research

Press release: IPO publishes research priorities for 2015/2016

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 09:00:41 +0000

The Intellectual Property Office ( IPO ) has today published its research priorities for 2015/16. The research priorities provide the strong evidence base needed to support development of intellectual property ( IP ) policy, nationally and internationally.

This rolling programme of research looks to build on the existing evidence base and support future development of policy across all IP rights and the IPO ’s objective of creating a balanced IP framework.

The new research priorities will look to deliver projects around three themes:

enforcement and infringement
IP , innovation and growth
the value of IP

Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe said:

Our understanding of the economic benefits of IP is growing year on year. The UK’s future economic success lies in innovative businesses recognising and valuing their intangible assets.

The IPO ’s work in delivering a robust IP system is integral to that success and is down to the sterling work of the IPO and its development of an IP system that supports business. These priorities help us understand how a well-functioning IP system can build business confidence to invest in innovative ideas to capture new markets, generate income and increase returns on their investments.

Pippa Hall, Chief Economist, IPO said:

I am excited to announce the publication of the IPO ’s new research priorities for 2015-2016. Our excellent Economics team commissions a wide range of IP -related research to build the economic evidence base. This evidence is key to the Government’s policy discussions on IP and innovation at home and overseas.

The IPO are very fortunate to work with a variety of renowned and committed researchers, both UK and international academics and consultants. Additionally, our research is discussed and peer reviewed by our industry stakeholders, academics, colleagues at the IPO and other government departments.

IPO research is well respected by economists around the world and is often cited as world class.

Notes to Editors

The full report is available.
The IPO is located within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and is responsible for the national framework of intellectual property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
The IPO ’s role is to help manage an intellectual property system that:
- encourages innovation and creativity
- balances the needs of consumers and users
- promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge-based economy
The IPO operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to intellectual property to which the United Kingdom is a party.

Press release: Ceri Witchard appointed as Regulator of Community Interest Companies

Tue, 08 Sep 2015 12:54:13 +0000

Ceri Witchard has been appointed as the Regulator of Community Interest Companies ( CICs ), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced today (8 September 2015).

Ms Witchard will leave her post as Deputy Director for Innovation at the Intellectual Property Office, taking over from the current Regulator, Sara Burgess.

Welcoming the appointment, Business Minister Baroness Neville Rolfe said:

Ceri Witchard brings a wealth of experience to the role of Regulator of Community Interest Companies and will play a vital role in supporting the set-up and development of Community Interest Companies. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sara Burgess for her work and commitment to the role and wish her well for the future.

On her appointment, Ceri Witchard said:

I am delighted to be taking on the role of Regulator of Community Interest Companies at such an exciting time. CICs are a vital part of the UK economy, delivering both economic growth and community support. I look forward to supporting the sector as it continues to grow.

The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies decides whether an organisation is eligible to become, or continue to be, a community interest company. It is responsible for investigating complaints - taking action if necessary - and it provides guidance and assistance to help people set up CICs .

Notes to editors

Ceri Witchard will formally become the Regulator on 14 September 2015 and will hold the post in tandem with the role of Director of Strategy at Companies House.
The Regulator of Community Interest Companies is a part-time post supported by staff from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and is based in Companies House, Cardiff.
The term of office for the Regulator of Community Interest Companies must not exceed 5 years.

Press release: £775,000 boost for re-use and recycling of old electricals

Mon, 07 Sep 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Local councils are being urged to bid for support from a new scheme to help increase the collection, re-use and recycling of unwanted electrical items.

Up to £775,000 has been made available by retailers, suppliers and manufacturers of electrical equipment as part of the Distributor Take-back Scheme and the WEEE Compliance Fee.

Single project bids of up to £40,000 are sought from individual local authorities, with up to £100,000 available for consortia bids.

Business Minister Anna Soubry said:

We have around £1 billion worth of electrical equipment in our homes which we no longer use but which still has real value.

This business-led fund can help drive up levels of collection, re-use and recycling of unwanted electrical equipment. The fund will also help divert electrical waste from landfill and reduce waste by promoting the re-use of electrical appliances.

All project proposals must be submitted to weee@bis.gsi.gov.uk by 30 October 2015 and endorsed by the appropriate waste disposal authority.

Notes to Editors:

The Distributor Take-back Scheme ( DTS ) was approved by BIS as an alternative to in-store take-back for retailers and distance-sellers to discharge some of their obligations under the UK WEEE Regulations to ensure arrangements for customers to recycle waste electrical and electronic equipment. The DTS will contribute up to £400,000 to these WEEE improvement projects.
The WEEE Compliance Fee ( WCF ) was approved by BIS under the UK WEEE Regulations as a means for producer compliance schemes ( PCSs ) to discharge some of their obligations on behalf of producers of electrical equipment as an alternative to directly collecting WEEE . The WCF will contribute up to £375,000 to these WEEE improvement projects.
The schemes are approved by BIS but are independently administered.
Guidance notes and application forms can be downloaded from either:
- the WEEE Distributor Take-back Scheme
- the WEEE Compliance Fee

News story: Major maritime report launched as London International Shipping Week gets underway

Mon, 07 Sep 2015 10:41:00 +0000

A major report examining how to maximise Britain’s potential as a maritime nation is published today, (7 September 2015), marking the first day of London International Shipping Week 2015.

The study led by Lord Mountevans, Chairman of Maritime UK, examined how Britain can build on the success of an industry that contributes at least £11 billion to the UK economy annually and supports more than 113,000 jobs and 6,600 businesses.

Recommendations in the study include:

the establishment of a ministerial working group in government to drive forward action on maritime issues, set clear targets and monitor progress
creating a new standalone unit within the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to focus on attracting more ships to be British registered and fly the Red Ensign
government and industry to develop a joint strategy to identify skills gaps and increase apprenticeships i‎n the UK maritime sector and increase apprenticeships
the creation of a single industry body to promote the UK maritime sector to international markets

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:

London International Shipping Week is an opportunity to remind the world of the benefits Britain offers, whether it’s our world-leading ports, maritime business services or skilled workforce. We are determined to grow our share of the global maritime sector, helping talented people find careers in its industries and attracting companies to do business in the UK.

Our maritime history is something Britain can be proud of, but the sector is taking us into the future. I want Britain to feel the benefit of its international reputation by driving economic growth and increasing jobs. We have already seen millions invested in the UK, including at London Gateway and Liverpool - demonstrating the central place Britain already holds in the industry.

I thank the chair who has produced an important piece of work and look forward to working with industry to ensure we do all we can to keep Britain a great maritime nation.

Chair of the Maritime Growth Study Lord Mountevans said:

I am a passionate believer in the importance of the maritime sector to our island trading nation, and very aware of the reliance of the rest of the world on our diverse maritime cluster.

This report is the culmination of months of work involving widespread engagement and detailed research. I am very grateful to all those who have engaged in the study.

The result is a ‘call to arms’ to industry and government to actively support and raise the profile of a vital sector that contributes significantly to the economy and which the nation relies on to meet its daily needs.

The report launches London International Shipping Week 2015, which runs from 7 to 11 September. The shipping world will be visiting the capital for the week with the top 200 maritime global business leaders and international decision makers in attendance to network and plan business with the UK.

Maritime and Shipping: the UK’s world-class ambition

DfT , Treasury, BIS , MoD and Wales Office are all promoting the UK’s maritime sector which offers world class education and training, a competitive and stable tax regime and a trusted and respected flag.

Delivering a world-class maritime workforce

London International Shipping Week will showcase the success story of British maritime, more than 503.2 million tonnes of freight were handled by UK ports in 2014. Ministers have seen first hand how private investment in UK ports are driving development and creating jobs. Projects underway include the £300 million Liverpool2 container terminal at the Port of Liverpool which will have new berths, quays and cranes able to serve the world’s largest container vessels. London Gateway Port has received £1.5 billion investment for its huge port and logistics facilities which will directly create 12,000 full time jobs.

Investing in world-class maritime infrastructure

Highlights of the London International Shipping Week’s events include Shipping Minister Robert Goodwill opening the London Stock Exchange and No 10 Downing Street hosting a ministerial roundtable to launch the Maritime Growth Study. Later in the week, a welcome reception will be held at Lancaster House with the Transport Secretary.

One-stop-shop for world-class maritime business services

The London International Shipping Week provides further details and a full list of the week’s events.

Maritime media enquiries

Press enquiries 020 7944 3118

Out of hours 020 7944 4292

Public enquiries 0300 330 3000

Press release: Business Secretary calls on universities to tackle violence against women on campus

Sun, 06 Sep 2015 09:00:11 +0000

Universities UK has been asked to set up and lead the taskforce with the support of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The taskforce will work with the higher education sector, to develop a code of practice to bring about cultural change, leverage existing complaints mechanisms more effectively and improve engagement with Crime Prevention Officers.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:

Nobody should be put off going to University because of fears about their safety. If my children choose that path, I would expect my daughter to be as safe as my son on any campus in this country. This taskforce will ensure that universities have a plan to stamp out violence against women and provide a safe environment for all their students.

We do not tolerate this behaviour in any part of society and I’m not prepared to let it take place on university campuses unchecked.

The taskforce is expected to be convened in the autumn (2015) and work over a 12 month period.

In a letter to Nicola Dandridge, CEO of Universities UK, the taskforce has been asked to:

develop a code of practice for institutions to support cultural change
explore how a kitemark scheme could be developed and awarded to successful institutions
explore how better to engage with Crime Prevention Officers
ensure best use of the existing complaints mechanisms such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission ( EHRC ) and, for students, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator
encourage institutions to ensure that the right links are in place with existing local activity, including through the Home Office Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy

Universities Minister, Jo Johnson said:

“Universities already take their responsibilities for the safety of all students incredibly seriously. They have strong clear legal duties through the Equalities Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. This task force will make sure that the universities are doing all they can to meet their legal obligations and, will see where they can go further.

The taskforce will report back to the Universities Minister Jo Johnson and the Secretary of State for the Department for Business.

Notes to editors

Official data is not available but 1 in 7 women responding to the NUS Hidden Marks survey had experienced a serious physical or sexual assault during their time as a student. Over 2 thirds had experienced verbal or non-verbal harassment, including groping, flashing and unwanted sexual comments, and 12% of respondents had been subjected to stalking.
We have asked Universities UK to set up the task force and will confirm full membership in due course.
Many universities are currently involved in campaigns and initiatives, often with Students’ Unions, to help guarantee student safety. Nationally, Universities UK has been working with others such as the Equality Challenge Unit on lad culture, sexual harassment and sexual violence at universities.
Universities UK Chief Executive Nicola Dandridge last week published a blog on the scale of the issue and the work institutions are doing.
The Universities UK taskforce will complement the government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, led by the Home Office. We will be publishing a new Strategy in the autumn (2015) and are consulting on it at the moment.

News story: UK Government demonstrates support for vital South Wales industries

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 12:55:00 +0000

Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb and Business Minister Anna Soubry visited General Dynamics in South Wales today (2 September) to see how innovation is attracting investment to the region. They also visited steel companies Tata and Celsa to discuss the challenges the industry faces and how the UK Government can support it.

At General Dynamics in Oakdale, they saw first-hand the design and development of SCOUT SV. In July, the Prime Minister announced that General Dynamics had won a support contract for Scout Specialist Vehicles. Along with a £3.5 billion deal last year to manufacture 589 armoured vehicles, the company is creating 250 jobs at the new facility in Oakdale.

Secretary of State Stephen Crabb said:

The substantial investment announced by the Prime Minister earlier this year is a clear example of this Government’s determination to rebalance the economy and strengthen every part of the UK.

Thanks to companies like General Dynamics producing world leading secure communications equipment and state of the art armoured vehicles, Wales will continue to play a vital role in keeping British soldiers safe in the field.

Wales’ growing reputation for harnessing innovation and manufacturing cutting edge products further demonstrates why our country is such a great place to do business.

Business Minister Anna Soubry said:

General Dynamics UK is a South Wales success story. The company are enjoying success with the Scout Specialist Vehicle and are constantly investing in innovation, research and new ideas so that they develop the products of the future – products that can bring new growth opportunities and jobs to Wales.

Wales is an important hub of high skilled manufacturing and we will continue to back it as part of our drive to rebalance the economy.

Stephen Crabb and Anna Soubry also visited the company’s EDGE facility where they work closely with small businesses and academia by providing expertise and equipment to help develop innovative solutions for defence projects.

In private meetings with Tata Steel and Celsa Steel they discussed the current market conditions and challenges facing the sector.

Stephen Crabb said:

The steel industry is a crucial part of the manufacturing sector in South Wales and is very important to many local communities. However, we should be under no illusions about the significant challenges the industry faces.

We are doing everything we can to support all areas of manufacturing, including the steel industry. By supporting energy intensive industries and promoting the UK as a great partner for trade and investment we can ensure that our long term plan continues to strengthen the dynamic economy in South Wales.

Business Minister Anna Soubry said:

It was important that I came and spoke directly with steelmakers in Wales today to further understand the challenges they face and their plans for the future.

The steel industry is facing very tough global economic conditions, but my department is providing support where we can and we’ll continue to work closely with the sector.

News story: UK Government demonstrates support for vital South Wales industries

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 12:55:00 +0000

Secretary of State Stephen Crabb said:

The substantial investment announced by the Prime Minister earlier this year is a clear example of this Government’s determination to rebalance the economy and strengthen every part of the UK.

Thanks to companies like General Dynamics producing world leading secure communications equipment and state of the art armoured vehicles, Wales will continue to play a vital role in keeping British soldiers safe in the field.

Wales’ growing reputation for harnessing innovation and manufacturing cutting edge products further demonstrates why our country is such a great place to do business.

Business Minister Anna Soubry said:

General Dynamics UK is a South Wales success story. The company are enjoying success with the Scout Specialist Vehicle and are constantly investing in innovation, research and new ideas so that they develop the products of the future – products that can bring new growth opportunities and jobs to Wales.

Wales is an important hub of high skilled manufacturing and we will continue to back it as part of our drive to rebalance the economy.

In private meetings with Tata Steel and Celsa Steel they discussed the current market conditions and challenges facing the sector.

Stephen Crabb said:

The steel industry is a crucial part of the manufacturing sector in South Wales and is very important to many local communities. However, we should be under no illusions about the significant challenges the industry faces.

We are doing everything we can to support all areas of manufacturing, including the steel industry. By supporting energy intensive industries and promoting the UK as a great partner for trade and investment we can ensure that our long term plan continues to strengthen the dynamic economy in South Wales.

Business Minister Anna Soubry said:

It was important that I came and spoke directly with steelmakers in Wales today to further understand the challenges they face and their plans for the future.

The steel industry is facing very tough global economic conditions, but my department is providing support where we can and we’ll continue to work closely with the sector.

Press release: Measures to ensure people receive fair pay announced

Tue, 01 Sep 2015 05:00:00 +0000

A package of measures to ensure hardworking people receive the pay they are entitled to is being announced today (1 September 2015).

The measures include:

doubling the penalties for non-payment of the National Minimum Wage and the new National Living Wage
increasing the enforcement budget
setting up a new team in HMRC to take forward criminal prosecutions for those who deliberately do not comply
ensuring that anyone found guilty will be considered for disqualification from being a company director for up to 15 years

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:

There is no excuse for employers flouting minimum wage rules and these announcements will ensure those who do try and cheat staff out of pay will feel the full force of the law.

This one nation government is committed to making work pay and making sure hardworking people get the salary they are entitled to.

A new team of compliance officers in HMRC will investigate the most serious cases of employers not paying the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage when it is introduced in April 2016.

The team will have the power to use all available sanctions, including penalties, prosecutions and naming and shaming the most exploitative employers.

The enforcement budget for the National Minimum Wage and Living Wage will also be increased in 2016 to 2017. Future budgets will be agreed as part of the Spending Review process.

Employers who fail to pay staff at least the minimum wage they are legally entitled to will have to pay double what they do now. This reform is intended to increase compliance and make sure those who break the law face tough consequences.

The calculation of penalties on those who do not comply will rise from 100% of arrears to 200%. This will be halved if employers pay within 14 days. The overall maximum penalty of £20,000 per worker remains unchanged.

A new Director of Labour Market Enforcement and Exploitation will be created to oversee enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (a non-departmental public body of the Home Office). The Director will set priorities for enforcement based on a single view of the intelligence about exploitation and non-compliance.

A consultation will be launched in the Autumn on the introduction of a new offence of aggravated breach of labour market legislation. The consultation will also propose giving the Gangmasters Licensing Authority additional investigatory powers and a wider remit to tackle serious labour exploitation more effectively.

The government has also announced today it will improve the guidance and support made available to firms on compliance and will work with payroll providers to be sure payroll software contains checks that staff are being paid what they are entitled to.

Notes to editors

1. HMRC currently enforces the National Minimum Wage on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

2.It currently conducts a programme of targeted enforcement, proactively focusing on high-risk sectors. It is currently engaged in activity in the social care, hairdressing and retail sectors.

3.In 2013, the department introduced a policy of naming non-compliant employers. Since then, 285 employers, who have owed over £788,000 in arrears, have been charged over £325,000 in penalties. HMRC puts forward the most serious cases of non-compliance to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution.

4.In 2014 to 2015, HMRC investigated 2,204 cases; found arrears in 735 cases for 26,318 workers totalling over £3.29 million; charged over £934,000 in penalties.

5.The current National Minimum Wage rates are:

adult rate (21 years old and over) - £6.50 per hour
18 to 20-year olds - £5.13 per hour
16 to 17-year olds - £3.79 per hour
apprentice rate - £2.73 per hour

The apprentice rate applies to apprentices aged 16 to 18 years and those aged 19 years and over who are in their first year. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage rate for their age.

6.Businesses or employees that have any questions about the National Minimum Wage can view guidance at www.acas.org.uk/nmw and ask questions at www.acas.org.uk/helplineonline.

News story: TTIP: the EU-US free trade deal and regulatory standards

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Global free trade agreements usually focus on cutting tariffs, and this is an important part of the TTIP negotiations between the EU and the US. However, well over 50% of the projected benefits of the EU-US free trade deal are expected to come from reducing unnecessary differences in regulation and duplicate safety checks. There are many examples of EU and US regulations and checks which have slightly different requirements, but achieve the same level of quality and safety. These differences can cost businesses time and money.

Making trade easier

The trade deal is not about weakening existing laws or standards, including those around food safety, the environment, health or labour. What the agreement will aim to do is identify where unnecessary regulatory differences and overlap exist so that mutually recognised rules, standards and testing procedures can be agreed to make trade easier. Where this isn’t possible, other solutions will be sought. For example, if separate EU and US tests must still be carried out, it may be possible for the same testing facility to carry out both tests.

More consistent and straightforward product and trade regulations will benefit all exporting businesses, but small and medium-sized businesses stand to gain the most. Currently, many smaller businesses do not have the time or budget to navigate the complex rules and regulations required to export to the US. Simplified regulations will make it easier for them to start exporting there. For those that are already exporting it will become easier and cheaper.

Developments in technology and innovation mean new products are entering the market all the time. As well as looking at existing rules and regulations, a successful trade deal between the EU and the US will also influence the way tests and standards for these new products are developed. Processes will be set up to help regulators from the EU and US work together to agree common standards.

Food safety

EU negotiators have specified that TTIP will not affect the way the EU legislates on food safety. Any food entering the EU must meet EU food safety rules. TTIP will not change that. Reducing unnecessary differences in regulation could lead to real benefits for UK food and drink producers. For example, complying with some US requirements on top of EU regulation can be expensive for UK companies, without necessarily offering consumers any additional safety. TTIP is an opportunity to get rid of these unnecessary costs.

Labour

TTIP will not prevent the EU and UK from bringing in and upholding labour regulations to protect workers. This includes aspects such as:

protecting the right to collective bargaining (including forming and joining trade unions)
ensuring protection against discrimination in the workplace
commitments to eliminate forced labour and child labour worldwide.

We expect TTIP to call for domestic labour standards to be enforced. One of the overall aims of TTIP is to make sure that trade is encouraged without reducing the enforcement of labour laws or undermining our social and environmental policies.

Environmental standards

TTIP will not hold back action on climate change – the EU’s climate change policies are not up for discussion in the negotiations. It will not affect our obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce carbon emissions, nor prevent the EU and US from introducing new environmental and low carbon legislation.

The social and economic impacts of TTIP will also be examined by an independent sustainability impact assessment. This will look at the likely effects of TTIP on sustainable development and propose measures to minimise any potential negative impacts.

News story: TTIP: an overview of the EU-US free trade deal

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 23:00:00 +0000

An EU-US free trade deal

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ( TTIP ) aims to boost trade and investment between the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (US).

The US and EU want growth and investment, job creation and greater prosperity, now and in the future. The deal will encourage trade by making it easier for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic to sell their goods and services in each other’s markets.

The EU and US economies account for about half of global GDP . Almost a fifth of the UK’s exports are to the US, and UK businesses invest more in the US than in any other country. Economists predict an EU-US trade deal could add up to £10 billion to the UK economy.

TTIP gives the EU and the US the chance to develop more straightforward and consistent rules and standards.

The negotiations

The EU and the US are discussing a deal that includes:

Cutting trade tariffs

While tariffs are already relatively low, the large volume of trade between the UK and US means that they are still a significant cost for British exporters. The UK economy could benefit by £1 billion by removing tariffs

Removing unnecessary differences in regulation

Many EU and US regulations and safety checks are slightly different but achieve the same level of quality and safety. Eliminating these unnecessary differences, while maintaining high standards, is expected to have a significant impact on trade. Consistent standards will make it easier and more profitable for businesses of all sizes to export to the US, as they have done across the EU.

Case study: Paxman, Huddersfield

Paxman, a small business based in Huddersfield, manufactures and distributes a scalp cooling device that helps prevent hair loss in patients having chemotherapy. The product has been approved for use in the EU for over 10 years and has gone through extensive safety testing. Despite this, to export to the US, the product needs to go through another lengthy and costly, almost identical set of tests. With an EU-US trade deal in place, it should be quicker and easier to bring a product such as the Paxman cooling device to the US market.

Improving market access

This includes reducing restrictions on the extent to which EU firms can invest and operate in the US and vice versa.

What isn’t part of the negotiation?

The trade agreement will not:

remove or lower health, safety, environmental or labour standards
give the EU or US the power to change each other’s regulations on food standards, including EU restrictions on genetically modified foods
prevent either the EU or the US from introducing new environmental and low carbon legislation
prevent governments regulating in the public interest, in areas such as health (including the NHS), education, labour and the environment

Benefits for businesses

The benefits to businesses include:

better access to the US market, which is 6 times the size of the UK
improved export opportunities for businesses of all sizes in many sectors
less red tape means that small businesses stand to gain the most from the deal
for businesses already exporting it will be easier and more profitable
knock on benefits for those that supply to exporting businesses

Benefits for consumers

More competition between US and EU firms will mean shoppers can expect to see a wider choice of products on sale online and on the high street.

The removal of tariffs on American products such as electronics, food and drink, cars, clothing and shoes will mean that some prices will fall.

An EU-US trade deal should improve the purchasing experience for shoppers. For example, by:

limiting postal delays
enabling parcel tracking across borders
making prices more transparent by ensuring the final price includes VAT and other charges

The wider economic benefits of a successful trade deal will also benefit individuals. It is likely to create new jobs, and it is predicated the average household will benefit by up to £400 a year.

Download an overview leaflet of the EU-US free trade deal ( PDF , 142KB, 2 pages)

Press release: Business Secretary orders investigation into tipping

Sun, 30 Aug 2015 08:30:10 +0000

The Business Secretary has launched an investigation into abuse of tipping, as part of the government’s commitment to making sure everyone is paid fairly.

Delivering fairness for everyone is at the heart of this one nation government’s agenda. Recent media investigations into the practice of some major restaurant chains of withholding a proportion of tips left for staff to cover administrative costs have raised concerns at the very top.

Last week Business Secretary Sajid Javid said that this would be something that the government would take a serious look at and now he has ordered a formal call for evidence on the issue.

Submit your evidence here on how employers pass on tips, gratuities, cover and service charges to their employees.

The Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:

When a diner leaves a tip, they rightly expect it to go to staff. In full. I’m concerned about recent reports, suggesting some restaurants pocket tips for themselves. That’s just not right.

I’ve ordered an immediate investigation to look at the evidence and consider the views of employees, customers and the industry to see how we can deal with the abuse of tipping.

As a one nation government we want a fair deal on pay for working people and that includes taking action on tipping abuse.

The call for evidence will look at how restaurants treat tips left by customers and whether government intervention is necessary to strengthen the voluntary code of practice run by the industry.

The inquiry which will seek information and views from the hospitality industry and other key stakeholders and will consider whether there should be a cap on the proportion of tips restaurants can withhold from staff for administrative costs and, if so, what this level should be.

Research from 2009 found that one in five restaurants did not pass tips to their staff, yet the vast majority of customers said they wanted waiting staff to receive tips left for them. More than three quarters wanted to see the restaurant’s tipping policy clearly displayed.

While there is a voluntary code of practice which is overseen by industry body the British Hospitality Association, restaurants may currently choose to ignore its 4 principles of transparency and adopt various tipping practices.

Follow what’s happening on social media using #tipping.

Notes to editors

The call for evidence has been launched by BIS today (30 August 2015) and the Citizen Space e-consultation site. It will run until 10 November 2015 and those interested can contribute using any of the following options:

the government’s electronic survey tool
emailing: labourmarket.consultations@bis.gsi.gov.uk
filling out a response form which is available electronically at Tips, gratuities, cover and service charges: call for evidence

Press release: Financial red tape targeted in new review

Fri, 28 Aug 2015 09:48:28 +0000

government commits to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of anti-money laundering regime
new review will target the way regulation is implemented
businesses are encouraged to submit evidence of over-complicated and ineffective requirements

A review to improve the effectiveness of rules designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing has been launched today (28 August 2015) as part of the government’s Cutting Red Tape review programme.

Businesses have expressed concerns that current guidance, rules and proof of identity requirements can be unnecessarily cumbersome and complicated. Inconsistency and confusion over how rules to stamp out money laundering are applied leads to a less effective regime, which disproportionately affects legitimate businesses.

The government wants these rules to protect the country and safeguard the UK’s world leading financial services industry, without putting disproportionate burdens on legitimate businesses or those companies that use their services.

This review is one of 6 chosen for the first wave of the government’s ambitious Cutting Red Tape programme, which will help towards saving businesses £10 billion over the next 5 years.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:

We are committed to saving businesses a further £10 billion in red tape to help create more jobs for working people, boost productivity and keep our economy growing.

This new review is about making sure the rules we have to protect our strong financial services industry from abuse are not unintentionally holding back new and existing British business. I want firms to come forward and tell us where regulation is unclear or its enforcement ineffective.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Harriett Baldwin said:

The UK is a global financial centre, and is home to some of the most successful international financial services firms in the world. But we are clear that in order to protect the integrity and stability of our world leading financial centre, we need an effective Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Finance regime.

That’s why we are leading from the front in implementing robust global standards to tackle money laundering, and that’s why we’ve launched a review today to improve the effectiveness of our Anti-Money Laundering regime.

Ensuring that supervision and enforcement are focused on the criminals who launder funds, whilst taking a proportionate approach for legitimate business, will build Britain’s strong reputation as a safe place to invest and do business.

The review will look at the implementation of legislation and activity carried out under The Money Laundering Regulations 2007, by national supervisors including the Financial Conduct Authority and HMRC. As well as identifying where more clarity is needed for businesses, it will look for evidence of where the activity of these regulators could be made more efficient and effective.

The review is seeking a wide range of evidence, including:

whether current guidance meets businesses needs
the effectiveness and proportionality of supervisors’ approach to supervision and enforcement
where and how supervision and enforcement is not proportionate to the risks posed
any examples of good practice that could help businesses meet their obligations and might be replicated elsewhere

The call for evidence will run for 8 weeks until 23 October 2015 and can be found on the Cutting Red Tape website. Five other sector reviews were launched on 16 July 2015 into: agriculture, care homes, energy, mineral extraction and waste.

Notes to editors:

Cutting Red Tape reviews look into whether legislation and its implementation can be simplified or improved, addressing issues such as where different regulators are asking the same company the same questions, or where guidance or requirements are unclear, confusing or unnecessarily burdensome.
The first wave of sector reviews focuses on problems that were identified as part of the Red Tape Challenge and Business Focus on Enforcement programmes in the last Parliament. This is one of the sectors which reports a high level of concern about red tape. This is why it was chosen as one of the early reviews.
The CBI has said reducing the cost of regulatory compliance in financial services should be a top priority for government.
More than 2 thirds of respondents to The ICC Global Trade and Finance Survey 2014 citied the anti-money laundering regime as a “significant impediment” to trade finance – stopping many small businesses from benefitting from global trade.
Businesses can feed back their thoughts by:
- posting comments on the Cutting Red Tape website.
- Twitter: @CutRedTapeUK #CutRedTape
- email: cuttingredtape@bis.gsi.gov.uk
- writing to: The Cutting Red Tape team, The Better Regulation Executive, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET

Speech: One Nation Science

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 11:33:56 +0000

It’s a pleasure to be here to see first-hand how universities and businesses across the region are coming together to power innovation and growth.

The Prime Minister and Chancellor have been clear that this is a ‘One Nation Government’, and today I want to talk about ‘One Nation Science’. That means 2 things:

upholding the very best in British science and research. We should be proud of our science base – it’s one of our country’s great success stories. With less than 1% of the world’s population, the UK produces 16% of top quality published research
it also means developing that excellence for the whole country, making sure all areas and all groups of people can reach their full potential

One Nation Science is bold and ambitious. And that’s why in our manifesto, we set a clear goal: for Britain to be the best place in Europe to innovate, patent new ideas and set up and expand a business. That mission extends to all parts of the UK.

I am delighted to be at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre ( AMRC ) to see for myself the strong base on which we want to build. Yorkshire has a reputation for the practical and you should be proud of the practical impact of the work you do.

When our Army needed a tougher suspension system for its Warrior vehicles, Sheffield’s Tinsley Bridge answered the call. They developed the ‘Extralite’ torsion bar in just 5 months, with a Smart award from Innovate UK. This new system was stronger and lifted vehicles higher off the ground, saving lives by increasing troop protection against IEDs and mines.

There are many more examples. So it’s no surprise that Innovate UK has invested over £61 million in Yorkshire since 2010, including last year over £12 million to projects in the Sheffield City Region. I’m pleased to be here in the University of Sheffield, home to 2 nodes of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, in Advanced Machining and Materials and in Nuclear, with well over 100 industrial partners.

Productivity and investment in science

This city is a great place to talk about the role of science and innovation in boosting our country’s productivity.

Public investment in science delivers strong returns to the economy of at least 20% per annum, and leverages in private investment. We are today publishing research that shows that every pound of UK public funding for research generates between £1.13 and £1.60 of private investment and we know that private investment generates further returns to the UK economy of up to 50%.

This is why UK taxpayers invest £10 billion a year in research and innovation.

We protected the science budget in cash terms through the last Parliament.

And this is why we will now invest new capital on a record scale – £6.9 billion in new equipment, new laboratories and new research institutes across the UK. This new science capital also includes £2.9 billion for a Grand Challenges Fund, which will allow us to invest in major facilities of national and international significance, such as our £235 million investment in the Sir Henry Royce Institute for materials research and innovation, based in Manchester but with a hub in Sheffield.

Touring the UK

Since starting as Science Minister a few weeks ago, I have been travelling the country to see how this record capital investment is being put to good use.

At the Met Office in Exeter, I saw how our £97 million investment in a new supercomputer will cement the UK as the most accurate national weather forecaster in the world. Today a 4 day weather forecast is as accurate as a 1 day forecast 30 years ago, with implications for industries such as aviation, shipping and agriculture. This computer will be 13 times more powerful than the current system, able to perform more than 16,000 trillion calculations per second.

At the Diamond Light Source in Harwell, which I visited last week, I saw how our investment is enabling scientists to probe deep into the basic structure of matter, allowing over 7000 researchers to develop new products from medicines to biofuels.

And last month, in launching a £113 million ‘big data’ investment partnership with IBM at the Hartree Centre in Daresbury, I saw how we are managing to ‘crowd in’ private investment. Expanding the Hartree Centre substantially, both at Daresbury and Harwell, will encourage ‘big data’ companies to co-locate, as IBM has done with a package worth up to £200 million.

IBM is far from alone. Over the past year we have seen an 11% increase in inward investment projects with an R&D element. Such collaborations are often a precursor to major foreign direct investment, paving the way for long-term relationships.

Alongside this great science at home, British scientists are leaders in their fields abroad, winning an outsized share of European grants. I’m pleased today to announce that the UK is joining the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. This will reinforce the contribution that British researchers make to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Innovation

So as we look to make Britain best place in Europe to innovate, we start from a position of strength. But we need to do more, not just to commercialise past research, but to meet future challenges too.

That is why Ann Dowling’s recent Review of Business-University Research Collaboration is important. We will respond to her recommendations by the Spending Review, including how to take forward the central recommendation of simplifying support for business.

And we mean business on this. Our universities are successfully engaging with industry and the returns from collaborations are now greater than ever before. HEFCE ’s latest report on business-university interaction – published today, shows the value of these partnerships has reached record levels. Our Productivity Plan set out our ambition for universities to continue to increase their collaborations to £5 billion per annum by 2025.

Our innovation agency, Innovate UK, is developing a new strategic plan that will help achieve this vision. As part of this plan Innovate UK will set out how it will build on excellence throughout the UK, working with others to identify where it can invest locally in areas of strength to help support the development of clusters.

We know that the only way to secure a truly national recovery is through a fundamental rebalancing of the British economy. This is why we have committed to 28 City Deals, signed a historic Devolution Agreement with Greater Manchester and are working towards further devolution for Sheffield City Region and elsewhere.

To ensure that productivity grows nationally we need to empower cities like Sheffield to reach their full potential. Productivity here is currently less than half that in Oxford and London. Research and innovation have a critical role to play in plugging these productivity gaps around the country.

One Nation Science

At present, 46% of public investment in research goes to the golden triangle. This reflects the strength of internationally-renowned universities in London, Oxford and Cambridge. We must and we will continue to fund research on the basis of excellence and ensure we are competing with the very best in the world.

But we do have to ensure we recognise that other parts of the country have proven research excellence in their universities, and ensure we fund excellence wherever it is found in order to realise the productivity gains that we have seen in the Golden Triangle. To achieve this we need a new approach – one that promotes and protects our reputation for world-class science, and also drives growth and raises productivity for the whole of the UK.

Science and innovation ‘audits’

So the first part of One Nation science is to take a more thoughtful approach to place. I have asked officials to work with local areas to develop ‘audits’ mapping local research and innovation strengths and infrastructure. These deep dives will provide a new way to identify and build on areas of greatest potential in every region.

As preparation for this, we are today publishing Mapping Local Comparative Advantage in Innovation, bringing together for the first time a range of research and innovation indicators for each of the 39 Local Enterprise Partnership areas in England.

For the audits themselves, we want consortia of higher education and research institutions, local partners and business to come forward- and we will make resources available from government, Research Councils, HEFCE and Innovate UK to help analyse and interpret the rich data sources to understand the areas of greatest potential.

These audits will be open and transparent. They will help local areas to identify emerging scientific strengths. And they should help focus efforts to access £580 million of EU Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) available for R&D . Together with match funding the total pot exceeds £1 billion.

In government, they will give us the tools to recognise and reward excellent research proposals that reflect local strengths and leverage local funds. In our Productivity Plan, we set out how the Research Partnership Investment Fund will in future consider the potential for local economic growth and local collaboration, alongside the focus on excellence

I welcome that Paul Nurse is looking at this as part of his wider review and look forward to his report later this year.

Catapults across the country

The Productivity Plan also committed to look for opportunities to develop the UK’s network of Catapults and spread the benefits. Just this week, the Chancellor announced new locations that will benefit. The Precision Medicine Catapult headquarters will be located in Cambridge, with centres of excellence in the North of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and southern England - creating a Catapult presence in several parts of the country that have not yet benefitted from this network.

And building on the life sciences excellence identified in the north west with the Precision Medicine Catapult, we have also announced a new Medicines Technologies Catapult in Alderley Park in Cheshire. With the existing Cell Therapy Catapult, this will put the UK in a leading position to support all stages of the life sciences innovation cycle. Working with Innovate UK, I have agreed that this new approach of considering the location alongside technologies would continue for any future Catapults.

STEM skills and diversity

One Nation Science is about more than place and our economic geography. The second aspect I want to talk about is people. If UK research is to reach its full potential, we must also make best use of all the tremendous talent we have here in the UK.

The last government was determined to improve diversity in public appointments and this government will keep up that momentum. But in science and innovation, the focus cannot be limited to public appointments alone. We need to take a holistic approach, looking at the whole talent pipeline, from STEM teaching in schools through to research grants and the diversity of sector leadership.

Schools

For our schools, we have announced £67 million for the next 5 years to recruit and train an extra 2,500 maths and physics teachers and upskill 15,000 existing maths and physics teachers.

Our STEM Ambassadors programme is doing important work to inspire more young people into science, and especially girls. We must push for faster progress. Only one in ten Computing students is female. And only 19% of girls who achieved the top grade in GCSE physics go on to study physics at A-Level, compared to 49% of boys.

And last year we initiated the Your Life campaign which aims to increase participation in maths and science studies at age 16 and beyond, with an ambitious target to increase the number of students taking maths and physics at A level by 50% in 3 years.

Apprenticeships

I know that apprenticeships are a subject close to the hearts of many here today: you have a very strong apprenticeship programme here at the AMRC , with 600 young people taking advanced apprenticeships. I am looking forward to meeting some of your apprentices shortly.

And I am pleased to be able to announce today that the University of Sheffield is further expanding the AMRC ’s successful apprenticeship programme, to create pioneering degree-level apprenticeships, with the support of a £1.6 million grant from HEFCE . This will provide new work-based routes for young people to achieve professional Chartered Engineer status.

This exciting new programme will widen access to higher education and technical training. This is a core part of One Nation Science. I know from personal experience how a lack of ‘science capital’ in a family can pass on across the generations. No group should feel excluded; no group should be made to feel that science is “not for them”.

Universities/ STEM workforce

When we inspire people into science and engineering, we need to make sure that they have the opportunities to progress. That’s why an important strand of the Your Life campaign is the call to action under which over 200 organisations are taking steps to encourage the appointment and progression of people from a wide range of backgrounds: particularly women.

We support the Athena Swan charter, which recognises employers’ commitment to advancing the careers of women in higher education and research, and we have funded an extension of the charter to Research Institutes. And we have also set up the STEM Diversity Programme, led by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. As part of this, the Royal Academy of Engineering working with engineering employers to widen their approach to recruitment.

Grants

There is much more to do. Data shows that women are under-represented in grant applications when compared to the academic population for most research councils. I commend the work of Professor Jackie Hunter of RCUK , who has been challenging universities on their diversity performance.

I know partner organisations share my concerns and are already taking action. RCUK published a statement of expectations on equality and diversity in 2013 intended to drive more rapid cultural change in institutions receiving Research Council funding.

We now have 3 years of research council grant applications and peer review data that analyses success rates by diversity. I have asked them to give me an action plan to address this continuing under-representation by December.

Vice Chancellors

I am pleased to see a number of distinguished, experienced women taking the helm recently as university vice chancellors. These appointments mean that the number of women leading universities will increase by about 20% compared with last year, but still represent less than a quarter of university leaders. Universities themselves recognise the need to go further.

Public appointments

Research Council Boards will have moved from one in four female appointments in July 2014 to around 2 in 5 by September 2015, with 2 councils achieving 50:50 gender balance. But again more needs to be done to improve representation of ethnic minorities and the disabled.

Conclusion

As we head into the Spending Review, we know we couldn’t have a Chancellor more committed to research.

In delivering One Nation Science, we will seize the once in a generation opportunity we now have to find an extra gear for the British economy, and ensure higher living standards for generations to come.

I look forward to working with you all to ensure we rise to this challenge.

Speech: Fixing the foundations: boosting Britain’s productivity

Fri, 10 Jul 2015 10:04:00 +0000

Introduction: the progress we’ve made

Birmingham is an incredibly diverse city in so many ways, not least the huge range of businesses that call England’s second city their home. Whether it’s in automotive, the creative industries, or of course jewellery, there’s an incredible breadth of entrepreneurial talent in this city and this room today.

But for all the diversity you all have one thing in common. You all saw the scale of the challenge that British businesses faced in 2010.

The worst recession in almost a century. The biggest budget deficit since the Second World War. The world’s largest bank bailout. A nation saddled with debt and an economy struggling to grow.

Five years on, the picture is very different. Our long-term economic plan is working, and Britain is working. Or economy is growing faster than that of any other G7 nation, and we’ve gone from a record-breaking recession to record employment. Last year, Birmingham alone created more new jobs than the whole of France.

But we’re not about to stop now. I want to take British business to the next level. And the best way to do that is to boost our productivity.

Productivity: why it matters

Productivity is something we’ve been hearing a lot about recently, and that’s because it’s one of the few areas of the economy where Britain is struggling.

Britain is home to some of the world’s most innovative and dynamic businesses, staffed by incredibly talented, hardworking individuals. Yet our productivity – the rate of output per hour worked – is well below its potential. In stark terms, it now takes a worker in the UK 5 days to produce what his or her counterparts in Germany can deliver in 4.

The picture’s not entirely bleak. Standing here in Longbridge a decade ago you could have been forgiven for thinking that Britain’s car industry was in terminal decline. Yet today, the UK is home to the world’s most productive automotive sector. And if one sector can solve the productivity puzzle in such spectacular fashion, there’s no reason why others can’t too.

It’s crucial that they do, because productivity isn’t just some obscure measure, of interest only to economists. It matters to each and every one of us. If we could match USA for productivity, it would boost our GDP by 31% – that’s equivalent to £21,000 a year for every household in the UK.

And higher productivity means higher incomes. When productivity rises, standards of living rise too. So today I’m proud to publish ‘Fixing the foundations’. It’s our plan for productivity, and our blueprint for creating a more prosperous nation.

Let me talk about 3 elements that are particularly close to my heart.

Transport

The first is transport. The internet has revolutionised the way many of us work, but you just had to look at the disruption caused by this week’s strikes to see that reliable transport links are still a vital part of any serious, growing economy.

Yet for decades, successive governments have not invested enough in maintaining and developing the arteries of British business. Congestion on our roads is getting so bad that by 2040 we could lose more than 100 million working days to traffic jams. 100 million days! If we don’t fix this problem British business will, quite literally, get stuck in the slow lane of Europe.

So over the next 5 years we’re going to invest £100 billion in infrastructure. We’re going to create a new roads fund to ensure continued high and stable investment in the strategic road network for generations to come. We’re going to get the rail investment programme back onto a sustainable footing, and change the way we provide public money so that Network Rail focusses firmly on the needs of train operators and passengers.

And, unlike previous governments, we’re going to grasp the nettle of airport capacity in the south east, taking a decision by the end of this year.

Planning

Of course, we haven’t just lagged behind on transport infrastructure. The UK has long been incapable of building enough homes to keep up with growing demand. This doesn’t just frustrate the ambitious of hardworking people who want to own their own home – it also harms productivity and restricts flexibility in the labour market.

So we’re going to introduce a new zonal system, which will effectively give automatic planning permission on suitable brownfield sites like the one behind me. We’ll make sure the homes that are needed get built – if a council fails to produce a suitable local plan, we’ll have it done it for them. And we’ll be devolving major new planning powers to London and Greater Manchester.

Too many homeowners are frustrated by red tape that stops them extending their homes to accommodate growing families. It’s a particular problem in our crowded capital city. So today I can announce that the government will be working with the Mayor of London to make life easier for people who want a little extra space. We’re going to remove the need for Londoners to seek planning permission for upwards extensions up to the height of an adjoining building, provided your neighbours don’t object. It’s a simple step that, at a stroke, will take layers of bureaucracy and cost out of the planning system.

Education

But productivity isn’t just about buildings and roads and infrastructure. It’s also about people. About making sure British workers have the skills they need to compete. And right now, too many of young people are missing out. We’re one of the only advanced countries where the skills of our 16 to 24-year-olds are no better than those of our 55 to 64-year-olds. It’s simply not good enough, and it’s storing up problems for the future.

Part of the problem lies in our system of training. Enter the professional and technical education system today and you’ll be faced with a blizzard of complicated and overlapping qualifications, often with no obvious pathway to a decent job. So we’re going to simplify and streamline the system, replacing thousands qualifications with clear set of routes that allow for progression to high level skills.

And that high-level, sector-specific skills training will be provided, in part, by prestigious new institutes of technology. As is the case in some of the world’s most productive nations, these institutes will be sponsored by employers, registered with professional bodies, and aligned with apprenticeship standards.

The role of business

So our plan for productivity is clear. We’ll get Britain moving, we’ll get Britain building, and we’ll get Britain learning. We’ll deliver the infrastructure and skills this country needs to become the world’s richest major economy.

But there is one thing missing from the plan. You. Because the government cannot do this alone. The plan I’m launching today will create an open, competitive economy and deliver much-needed investment in skills and infrastructure. But only the private sector can produce sustainable growth, create long-term jobs and make the economy as productive as it can be.

Boosting productivity is the economic challenge of our age, and there’s a long way to go. But together we can get there.

On Wednesday the Chancellor talked about fixing the roof while the sun was shining. Today, the sun is shining once more. And, together, we’re fixing the foundations.

Thank you.

Speech: Chancellor's statement on Greece: 6 July 2015

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 16:51:33 +0000

Mr Speaker, I last updated the House on the situation in Greece a week ago. Since then, the Greek government has failed to make the IMF payment that were due. And the Greek people have expressed a decisive view in yesterday’s referendum, and rejected the creditors’ terms.

Greece is a proud nation and a very long standing ally of the UK and we respect the decision of its people.

But there is considerable uncertainty about what happens next. We need to be realistic – the prospects of a happy resolution of this crisis are rapidly diminishing.

Over the last 24 hours the Prime Minister and I have spoken to some of our counterparts, and I have spoken to the head of the IMF and, just minutes ago, the chair of the Eurogroup.

We are urging all sides to have a final go at trying to reach an agreement that defuses the crisis.

The next steps are the ECB discussion taking place right now, tonight’s Franco-German summit, and tomorrow’s gathering of Eurozone leaders.

If there is no signal from these meetings that Greece and the Eurozone are ready to get around the table again, we can expect the financial situation in Greece to deteriorate rapidly.

For now, the British government’s position remains the same. We will do whatever is necessary to protect the UK’s economic security at this time.

This morning, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting, attended by the Governor of the Bank of England, myself and others to review our response to the ongoing crisis.

So far the financial market reaction has been relatively contained. Private sector exposures are far less than 3 years ago, and the Eurozone authorities have said that they stand ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure the financial stability of the euro area.

But the risks are growing, so it is right that we remain vigilant and monitor the situation carefully. I am in close contact with the Governor.

We are also acting to protect British residents and holidaymakers in Greece.

Last week I told the House that the Department for Work and Pensions and public service pension administrators had started contacting Greek residents that draw a British state or public sector pension from a Greek bank account.

I can now confirm that DWP has spoken to 2,000 people, advising them on how to switch payments to non-Greek bank accounts if they wish.

And DWP has enabled people in Greece who receive a UK state pension to set up a UK bank account if they do not already have one.

International payments into Greece are still exempt from the restrictions that the Greek authorities have placed on the banking system.

So I can confirm today that UK government payments, including state pension and public service pension payments, will continue to be made in the usual way.

And we are doing more to keep holidaymakers and residents informed about the developing situation.

We are in regular contact with the travel industry to understand the impact on British nationals.

We have increased the number of Foreign Office staff in our embassy in Athens, to be prepared for whatever happens.

And on the islands of Crete, Corfu, Rhodes and Zakynthos, where many British tourists are, and where we already have a vice-consular presence, we have deployed more consular staff to support the teams there.

But it is unrealistic to think that we can provide a consular presence on all the Greek islands and that’s why we urge everyone travelling to Greece to look at the travel advice before they go.

It is clear British holidaymakers should take sufficient euros in cash to cover the duration of their stay, emergencies, unforeseen circumstances and any unexpected delays. Travellers should be careful and take sensible precautions against theft.

As the economic crisis in Greece persists, there are greater risks of shortages. In recent days the media have reported a shortage of medical supplies in Greece. Therefore, I want to reiterate the Foreign Office’s advice that UK travellers take sufficient supplies, including prescription medicines, for the duration of their trip.

Going forward, we will continue to ensure that travel advice is regularly updated with the latest information and Her Majesty’s Ambassador in Athens will provide regular updates there on the UK response in Greece.

Finally, we have put in place measures to support British businesses.

HMRC’s Time to Pay Scheme is now open to help businesses that are experiencing cash-flow problems as a result of the banking controls in Greece.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published detailed guidance to help business, which can be found on the government’s website.

And businesses experiencing problems with their Greek contracts can call the Business Support Helpline, which will direct them to commercial lawyers with experience in the Greek market. Or they can contact their member of Parliament, and we will provide direct advice.

The Trade Minister met major UK companies and business groups last week to discuss the situation, and he will have further meetings this week.

This is a critical moment in the economic crisis in Greece.

No-one should be under any illusions.

The situation risks going from bad to worse.

Britain will be affected the longer the Greek crisis lasts, and the worse it gets.

There is no easy way out. But even at the eleventh hour we urge the Eurozone leaders and Greece to find a sustainable solution.

Meanwhile, here in Britain, we must redouble our efforts to put our house in order.

And in the Budget in 2 days’ time, I will set out exactly how we will do that.

For the latest updates on Greece, see the advice for UK citizens and businesses.

Speech: Research, innovate, grow: the role of science in our long-term economic plan

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 13:08:36 +0000

Introduction

Thank you for the invitation to speak at this important conference.

I’m glad to address this important theme - ‘Research, innovate, grow’ - which precisely captures the role of science in our long-term economic plan.

Great science is, of course, important in its own right as well as yielding enormous practical benefits– curing diseases, driving technological innovation, promoting business investment and informing public policy for the better.

UK taxpayers invest £10 billion a year in research and innovation.

This government has prioritised research funding and ensured that the ring-fence was protected this financial year, even as we had to make difficult decisions about cuts elsewhere.

And we will invest new capital on a record scale – £6.9 billion in the UK’s research infrastructure up to 2021 – which will mean new equipment, new laboratories and new research institutes.

This long-term commitment includes £2.9 billion for a Grand Challenges Fund, which will allow us to invest in major research facilities of national significance, such as the new Turing Institute, our new state-of-the-art Polar Research Vessel, which will enable UK polar scientists to remain at the forefront of Arctic and Antarctic research, and the Square Kilometre Array - the largest radio telescope and the largest scientific instrument on the planet.

We should be rightly proud of the fact that we will host the headquarters of the Square Kilometre Array telescope at Manchester University’s Jodrell Bank.

Touring the UK

In my role, I’m travelling the length and breadth of the country to see how this record capital investment is being put to good use across the UK. I’m seeing first-hand the impact of our science base, and the work of the Research Councils.

I visited the Met Office 10 days ago, where we are investing £97 million in a new supercomputer that will be 13 times more powerful than their current system. I learned in advance of the heatwave we are now experiencing. Very accurate, it was too. This investment will cement the UK’s position as a world leader in weather and climate prediction.

In my visit to the Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in Leeds, home to 4 EPSRC centres, I saw pioneering research on biological scaffolds that has underpinned the development of Tissue Regenix, one of the UK’s leading spin-outs in medical technology

I have also recently had the privilege to launch a £113 million capital investment partnership with IBM at the Hartree Centre in Daresbury. This investment represents a leap forward for high-performance computing and our capability to analyse and use big data, as well as for the North West and the UK. IBM will further support the project with a package worth up to £200 million.

This is one example of how public sector funding leverages private sector support.

The idea is that expanding the Hartree Centre substantially, both at Daresbury and Harwell will encourage global and UK companies active in data centric research to co-locate and to join the research programme, bringing additional inward investment.

Over the past year we have seen an 11% increase in inward investment projects with an R&D element. Such collaborations are often a precursor to major foreign direct investment, paving the way for long-term relationships.

Commitment to innovation

As we set out in our manifesto, the government is committed to making Britain the best place in Europe to innovate, patent new ideas and start and grow a business. We need to do more to help universities and businesses work more closely. Not just to commercialise past research, but to help inspire current and future research to meet the challenges of a fiercely competitive global market. Later today I am looking forward to attending the launch of the Professor Dame Ann Dowling’s review, which will no doubt provide many valuable insights into how UK businesses and universities can collaborate more effectively.

The government has already committed to a range of measures aimed at encouraging business to invest in and adopt new research and development. These include our plans to create over 1,000 jobs in high-tech small businesses by 2020 through our investment in 4 University Enterprise Zones, spread across the country in Bristol, Bradford, Liverpool and Nottingham.

This government has also committed to creating more Catapults – R&D hubs in the technologies of the future – to ensure that we have a bold and comprehensive offer to enable Britain’s researchers and innovators to commercialise more emerging technologies, technologies where the UK has the potential to lead the world.

I’ve already visited 2 of the 7 in the existing network of Catapults - Cell Therapy and Future Cities. At Future Cities, I met businesses large and small and universities, working with the Catapult on their innovations. It was good to hear the difference that the Catapults are making to those businesses with which they work.

Conclusion

As we head into the Budget and the Spending Review, we know we couldn’t have a Chancellor more committed to research. The Chancellor has said science is a personal passion. As he set out in his CBI speech last month, science and innovation are a vital element of our productivity plan. And I give you my personal commitment that I will also be a champion for Great British science and research.

We have a once in a generation opportunity, right now, to find an extra gear for the British economy, and ensure higher living standards for the next generation to come. There is no doubt that the drivers of change are to be found in this room. You have my full support as Science Minister to research, innovate and help our economy grow.

Speech: Teaching at the heart of the system

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:49:00 +0000

Thank you to Universities UK ( UUK ) for hosting us today.

In my first speech on universities a month ago, I addressed the subject of international education.

I am proud of the sector’s international standing and reputation around the world.

Today, I want to reflect further on what underpins this excellence, and what more we can do to enhance it.

At the root of that success is the autonomy and academic freedom that enables us to attract brilliant people to work in and run our universities and lead our sectoral bodies.

I’d like to congratulate Nicola Dandridge for her recent CBE and thank outgoing UUK President, Chris Snowden, for his excellent service.

I would also like to congratulate Dame Julia Goodfellow on taking over the UUK Presidency – the first woman to hold the post ever, I believe (in around 100 years of the existence of UUK and its predecessor body).

Success of the sector

The higher education sector can be proud of its success over the last 5 years and I want to pay tribute to my colleagues David Willetts and Greg Clark for their part in the reforms that have helped sustain the high esteem in which it is held around the world.

We have seen:

a transformed financial situation; as the OECD says, we are one of the only countries in the world to have found a way of sustainably funding higher education
we have seen record numbers of young people entering higher education, including record numbers from disadvantaged backgrounds
and we have seen record numbers of graduates in work; the recent Graduate Labour Market statistics showed the highest employment rate for working age graduates since 2007 (at 87.5%)
through all this, the UK has retained its place as a world leader in HE , with 4 universities in the global top 10, and as number one in the world for the impact of our research

Unfinished business

It’s a great success story, but there is unfinished business and, in the coming months, my focus will be on implementing 3 key manifesto pledges, so that we consolidate and build on these achievements:

firstly, lifting the cap on student numbers and widening participation, so that we remove barriers to ambition and meet the PM’s commitment to double the proportion of disadvantaged young people entering higher education by 2020 from 2009 levels
secondly, delivering a teaching excellence framework that creates incentives for universities to devote as much attention to the quality of teaching as fee-paying students and prospective employers have a right to expect
thirdly, driving value for money both for students investing in their education, and taxpayers underwriting the system, so that we ensure the continuing success and stability of these reforms

Taking these points in reverse order.

Meeting value for money expectations

Around now, the first cohort of students to enter under the 2012 reforms is preparing to enter the labour market.

They have been working hard for their final exams and made a significant investment in higher education.

They are looking critically at what they get for that investment, and so must we, as a government, on behalf of taxpayers.

I am concerned that recent surveys – the HEPI-HEA Student Academic Experience Survey, as well as a BBC/ComRes poll – showed that only around half of students felt their course had provided good value for money.

All of us need to reflect on this and on what we can do to address such unease.

More informed choices

Thanks to the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act passed in March, we can now start to assess the employment and earnings returns to education by matching Department for Business, Innovation and Skills ( BIS ) and Department for Education ( DfE ) education data with HMRC employment and income data and Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) benefits data.

Information of this sort will be incredibly useful for young people choosing courses or jobs that are most suitable for them. It will also enable education providers to assess their effectiveness in delivering positive labour market outcomes for their students.

I am also pleased to see the piloting of new National Student Survey questions that measure the engagement of students with their course, staff and fellow students.

This was shown in the US to be a good proxy for the value add of a university in terms of ‘learning gain’ - the improvement in knowledge, skills and work-readiness that students demonstrate over time.

While independent learning is vital, universities must get used to providing clearer information about how many hours students will spend in lectures, seminars and tutorials, and who will deliver the teaching.

Indeed the Competition and Markets Authority have advised higher education providers that information should be available to prospective students to meet the requirements of consumer law.

I know this is already on the sector’s agenda. I will continue to push for more data to be made available, including for alternative providers.

A Higher Education Policy Institute ( Hepi ) survey suggests as many as three-quarters of undergraduates want more information about where their fees go – and I sympathise with that.

Such transparency looks to me like an essential way of addressing value for money concerns.

More competition

More competition will also be central to our efforts to drive up standards. In the last 3 years, we have seen more universities created than at any time since the 1992 expansion.

We are committed to promoting high quality market entry, whilst at the same time ensuring a regulatory regime which guards against poor quality provision.

More competition and more informed choice will help drive up value for money for both students and taxpayers.

Graduate premium

The graduate earnings premium is an important measure of the value universities add and of the greater productivity of those with skills acquired in higher education.

Of course, many graduates will consciously choose to go into occupations that do not maximise their incomes – we must remember that education is about more than just wage returns.

Indeed, that is the reason we have a progressive repayment system for student loans.

But it is also important to remember that higher lifetime graduate earnings provide benefits to society – including higher tax revenues and faster and fuller repayment of student loans.

Evidence of a decline in the graduate earnings premium is therefore a concern as we look to drive up productivity in the economy, secure our public finances and ensure our higher education system continues to be funded in a sustainable way.

Between 2006 and 2015, the graduate earnings premium decreased from around 55% higher to around 45% higher than the earnings of non-graduates, with graduates now earning on average £31k and non-graduates £22,000.

There is still a considerable benefit – but we cannot be complacent and must analyse why the premium employers pay for graduates is falling at a time when graduate-level skills are in growing demand.

Course choice and curriculum design

An important part of the answer is that we are not yet rising to the challenge of ensuring that enough young people are choosing courses where there are skills shortages and strong employer demand – notably in science, technology, engineering and mathematics ( STEM ).

Nor are we doing enough to ensure that all students emerge from university prepared for work.

Last year’s CBI /Pearson Education and Skills survey suggested that 47% of employers felt universities should do more to help students become job-ready.

Government, business and the university sector need to come together to address this mismatch between supply and demand in the graduate labour market.

Businesses should not just be seen as customers of universities, recruiting the graduates they educate or buying research expertise, but as active partners.

Universities need to develop business-outreach into a core function that has influence over curriculum design.

Closer partnership between universities and business will help us tackle the misguided view that ‘more means worse’ and ensure that the investment both students and taxpayers make in higher education provides visible returns.

Teaching Excellence Framework ( TEF )

Above all, to meet students’ high expectations of their university years and to deliver the skills our economy needs, we need a renewed focus on teaching.

This is vital unfinished business from the reforms of the last Parliament.

As David Willetts himself acknowledged in a recent interview with the Times Higher Education; “teaching has been by far the weakest aspect of English higher education”.

This must change.

There must be recognition of excellent teaching – and clear incentives to make ‘good’ teaching even better.

Some rebalancing of the pull between teaching and research is undoubtedly required.

It is striking that while we have a set of measures to reward high quality research, backed by substantial funding (the Research Excellence Framework), there is nothing equivalent to drive up standards in teaching.

That is why my priority as Universities Minister will be to make sure students get the teaching they deserve and employers get graduates with the skills they need by introducing the Teaching Excellence Framework we promised in our manifesto.

Aims for the TEF

My aims for the TEF are:

to ensure all students receive an excellent teaching experience that encourages original thinking, drives up engagement and prepares them for the world of work
to build a culture where teaching has equal status with research, with great teachers enjoying the same professional recognition and opportunities for career and pay progression as great researchers
to stimulate a diverse HE market and provide students with the information they need to judge teaching quality – in the same way they can already compare a faculty’s research rating
to recognise those institutions that do the most to welcome students from a range of backgrounds and support their retention and progression to further study or a graduate job

I expect the TEF to include a clear set of outcome-focused criteria and metrics. This should be underpinned by an external assessment process undertaken by an independent quality body from within the existing landscape.

Believe me, I have no intention of replicating the individual and institutional burdens of the REF . I am clear that any external review must be proportionate and light touch, not big, bossy and bureaucratic.

I want to work with you all, as well as with the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Quality Assurance Agency, to design a framework that has widespread support and works for the sector, as well as students and employers and taxpayers.

This is not happening in isolation. It goes with the grain of our reforms since 2010 and aims to accelerate positive changes already underway in the sector.

We will be consulting widely and I am not pre-empting what any of the incentives might look like. I am keen to hear your views ahead of a green paper, which the Department of Business, Innovation and SkiIls plans to publish in the autumn.

Maintaining the value of our degrees

One of the things I want to focus on in the green paper is how the TEF can help improve the information that matters most for graduates and employers: the degree classification.

Here we face a significant challenge.

The UK’s standard model of classes of honours is on its own no longer capable of providing the recognition hardworking students deserve and the information employers require.

Students across the country have just finished their exams and are looking for good graduate jobs. Last week’s High Fliers survey reminded us that the class of 2015 is more career-oriented than ever before.

They rightly want hard work at university to be recognised and for their degree to be a currency that carries prestige and holds its value. At the same time, businesses need a degree classification system that will help them identify the best applicants for their firms.

I know the sector is starting to tackle this need for richer information through the Higher Education Achievement Report and this is a valuable development, but this work needs greater urgency.

Let me explain why:

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of people receiving firsts and 2:1 degrees.

To the extent this expansion in the number of firsts and 2:1s is to do with rising levels of attainment and hard work, I applaud it.

But I suspect I am not alone in worrying that less benign forces are at work with the potential to damage the UK higher education brand.

On the face of it, the facts are certainly startling.

There has been a 300% increase in the percentage of firsts since the 1990s.

Over 70% of graduates now get a First or 2:1 – up by 7 percentage points in the past 5 years. And compared to just 47% in the mid-1990s.

In 2013 to 14, over 50% of students were awarded an upper second, suggesting that this grade band not only disguises considerable variation in attainment, but also permits some to coast.

The Higher Education Academy found that nearly half of institutions had changed their degree algorithms to; “ensure that their students were not disadvantaged compared to those in other institutions”.

The Teaching Excellence Framework we will introduce will include incentives for the sector to tackle degree inflation and ensure that hard-won qualifications hold their value.

I want the green paper to look at the role that external examiners play in underpinning standards and ensuring our grading system provides a clearer, more comparable picture of student attainment.

Stronger student engagement

I also want to make sure that the Teaching Excellence Framework encourages universities to adopt a grading system that does more to motivate and engage students throughout their course.

The familiar pattern of a First, 2:1 and 2:2, Third is widely recognised.

But providing extra granularity through a grade point average ( GPA ) – a 13 point scale developed by the sector – will encourage consistent effort, make it less easy to coast within the 2:1 band and give employers more information about candidates within that classification.

It is vital that we continue to drive up student engagement.

Students are working harder than before and that is a welcome trend, which we want to support through the Teaching Excellence Framework.

But many full time students are still not being sufficiently stretched.

In the most recent Student Academic Experience Survey, the total weekly workload reported by students averages 30.5 hours, including 14 hours of independent study, and varies greatly by subject.

The reported weekly workload on courses such as Mass Communications and Documentation is as little as 22 hours.

Students are telling us in surveys that they know they would do better by investing more time in their studies.

As a more finely-calibrated long-run batting average, GPA should drive greater student engagement than our present system, which, notwithstanding more summative coursework, in many ways can still look like a snapshot performance measure.

I know Sir Robert Burgess, chair of the Grade Point Average Advisory Group, has predicted all UK universities will adopt the model by the end of the decade.

I support this goal and want the green paper to examine how the new Teaching Excellence Framework can encourage universities to adopt dual running of the GPA and honours degree system, as recommended in the recent Higher Education Academy report.

Widening participation

My focus has of course been on students and the job market.

But this does not mean we overlook the value of learning for its own sake, or the role of higher education in social mobility.

The 2012 reforms mean that anyone with the ability can now make going to university their goal, a fact underscored by our decision to lift the cap on student numbers altogether from this academic year.

Anyone with potential to benefit from university should not be prevented from going because of their background or ability to pay.

But of course there is still more to do.

The Prime Minister has set an ambitious goal to double the proportion of those from disadvantaged backgrounds progressing into higher education by 2020 (compared with 2009).

I will challenge you to do all you can to reach this target.

That’s why I am delighted that Professor Les Ebdon has agreed to extend his term as director of the Office of Fair Access to help us fulfil a commitment that is central to this One Nation Government’s aim to promote social mobility in this country.

In particular, I want to see more progress being made in the most selective institutions.

Data from UCAS shows the clear progress that the sector has made, and I applaud that.

I want to see more outreach and more innovation in terms of course length and design. Degree Apprenticeships and 2-year courses in particular offer a more accessible route to a higher education and a faster path to productive employment.

We also need to match our efforts on driving up fair access by also ensuring those young people succeed in getting a good qualification and have an opportunity to find a fulfilling career.

I know that this ‘whole student lifecycle’ approach is one that you are taking seriously – and it is embedded in the National Strategy for Access and Student Success.

I expect our new Teaching Excellence Framework to include incentives that reward institutions who do best at retention and progression of disadvantaged students through their college years.

Conclusion

I recognise that this is a challenging agenda and that you are already focused on many of these issues.

We will be working with closely with universities and with the grain of reforms that have put power and choice in the hands of students.

Those institutions that can demonstrate that they excel in teaching and in supporting all students – including those from disadvantaged backgrounds – through university into graduate jobs will reap rewards.

If we can get this right –

on driving value for money for students and taxpayers
on creating incentives to encourage excellent teaching
and on widening participation

– then I’m confident we can together make a world-leading higher education sector greater still.

Speech: A European Union that works for British business

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 19:35:00 +0000

Thank you, John for inviting me, and thank you for accommodating my change in schedule.

Congratulations to both Paul Drechsler for his appointment as President, and to Carolyn Fairbairn for her appointment as Director General.

I’m sure you’re going to enjoy your terms, and I’m certainly looking forward to working with you both.

Travelling here tonight I realised that I’m the first Conservative Business Secretary to address a CBI get-together since Ian Lang.

It’s been far too long, but it’s certainly good to be back.

A few things have changed since Ian’s day.

I’m fairly sure that he would never have attended a CBI dinner immediately after getting back from Glastonbury!

It seems you can take the minister out of culture, but you can’t take culture out of the minister…

The audience here tonight couldn’t be more different from the crowd at Worthy Farm.

One is all well-off, middle-aged businessmen enjoying expensive food and discussing their stock portfolios.

And the other is CBI members and their guests!

Of course, the cultural habits of the Business Secretary are not the only thing to have changed of late.

Just look at the economy.

In 2010, we faced a stark challenge – to pull Britain back from the brink.

The country was sinking under a host of unwanted records:

…the worst recession in almost a century…

… the biggest budget deficit since the Second World War…

…the world’s largest bank bailout.

Five years on, the picture is very different.

We’ve gone from a record-breaking recession to record-breaking employment.

The deficit, as a proportion of GDP, has been cut in half.

Our economy is growing faster than anywhere else in the G7.

And the UK has created more jobs in the last 5 years than the rest of the EU put together.

Now, it’s traditional for politicians to stand up at events and claim all the credit.

To boast about the economic miracle performed by the government.

And it’s true that we’ve done a lot to help.

Cutting £10 billion of regulation…

… lowering taxes…

…slashing the deficit.

But the real hero is British business.

And when I say ‘British business’ I’m not just talking about a handful of senior executives.

I mean everyone who has played a role in turning the economy around.

Employers and employees…

…huge corporations and sole traders…

…retailers and manufacturers and everything in between.

It was business that did the hard work…

…business that delivered for Britain…

…business that changed millions of lives for the better in every corner of the country.

So thanks to people like you, in 2015 the task before us is very different.

Our challenge now is to secure the progress we’ve made.

To build on it, to make Britain a more productive nation and the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

That’s why I’m going to pass the Enterprise Bill, cutting red tape freeing businesses.

That’s why we’re creating 3 million new apprenticeships, giving British workers the skills they need to compete in a global market.

That’s why we’re delivering reliable and affordable energy for businesses and homes…

…freezing National Insurance contributions for employers and employees…

… and providing free child care for millions of working parents.

And that’s why we’re negotiating a better deal for Britain in Europe.

I know this is something the CBI desperately wants to see.

You have never been shy about highlighting the ways in which the EU can hamper and undermine British business.

Here’s 3 quotes:

“The likely effect of many of Brussels’ current proposals will be to damage the UK’s prospects for growth.”

That was John, speaking in 2011.

“We don’t want a situation where smaller firms are saddled with poorly thought-out EU regulations which impede their ability to grow.”

So said Katja in 2013.

“The European Parliament’s decision … is bad for business … it will make it harder for firms to grow and export across Europe.”

That was Sean McGuire, your man in Brussels, in a statement made 4 years ago.

These are all valid complaints, all concerns I share.

They’re exactly the kind of points the CBI should be making to defend the interests of its members.

And they’re exactly the kind of issues this government is tackling during the current renegotiation.

So imagine my surprise last month, when I attended an event much like this one and heard that the CBI thinks the UK should remain in the European Union no matter what.

That the people of Britain should vote to stay in regardless of whether or not the Prime Minister wins the concessions that British business so badly needs.

That none of the concerns the CBI has raised over the years are actually that significant.

Of course you’re entirely free to come to that conclusion.

But does it really make sense to say, so early in the process:

… ‘the rules of this club need to change…

… but don’t worry, we’ll always be members no matter what happens?’

You’re some of Britain’s most respected, most successful business leaders.

You know how negotiation works.

You wouldn’t dream of sitting down at the start of a merger or acquisition and…

…like a poker player showing his hand to the table…

… announcing exactly what terms you were prepared to accept.

It doesn’t work in the boardroom and it won’t work in Brussels.

And that’s not just my view.

The Guardian is hardly known for its pro-business, Eurosceptic editorial line.

But even its financial editor warned that the CBI ’s position “will be exploited by any half-alert EU politician or Brussels bureaucrat.”

Now it would be easy to argue that a great many EU politicians and Brussels bureaucrats are not even half alert!

But the handful that are will have seized upon the CBI ’s stance and will use it to fight the Prime Minister all the way as he seeks lasting reform.

And make no mistake, the reforms we seek are the reforms your members need.

An expanding market that liberalises new sectors will benefit British entrepreneurs.

An EU open to trade, concluding ambitious deals with America, China and Japan will benefit all British businesses and consumers.

And, as the Prime Minister has said before, this renegotiation will not just benefit Britain.

It will benefit the whole of the EU too.

So we agree, we want to see reform.

We will make the case to European governments.

But we hope you will make the case to European businesses, striking alliances for reform, calling on other governments to back change.

Look at the stance taken by the Institute of Directors and the British Chambers of Commerce.

Like the CBI , the IoD and BCC are great cheerleaders for British business.

Like the CBI , they want the renegotiation process to deliver genuine reform.

But unlike the CBI , they’re waiting until that process is complete before recommending how to vote in the referendum.

When the IoD polled its members, 60% said that staying in the EU will only benefit their businesses IF there are major reforms to employment and company law.

And as the BCC ’s John Longworth said last week, “The business community cannot make a decision on the EU until it knows … what will be negotiated”.

For decades the CBI has been a champion of British business, and any friend of British business is a friend of mine.

But best friends are not afraid to be straight with each other.

So I’d urge everyone at the CBI , including your new President and new Director General, to think very carefully about what you want to achieve in the months ahead.

The Prime Minister’s goal is Britain in a reformed EU with the issues British people want resolved, fixed for good.

And Brussels is sitting up and paying attention.

We have a unique opportunity to build a better European Union.

A European Union that genuinely delivers for British business and for British workers.

That allows your companies to trade and grow and create jobs freely…

…breaking down the bureaucratic barriers that the CBI has fought so hard against for so long.

This opportunity has only come about thanks to the deadline of the in/out referendum.

And it is only the possibility of a British exit that will allow us to deliver the change we need.

So ask yourselves, do you want to be part of this process?

Do you want to seize this chance to fix what doesn’t work so we can continue to enjoy what does?

Do you want to take real action to tackle the problems you have done so much to highlight?

The concessions the Prime Minister is seeking will not easily be won.

No politicians, no bureaucracy, ever gave up power without a fight, and the European Union is no different.

Those of us who want change must work together.

We must speak with one voice.

And we must be unafraid to say that we could walk away if Brussels refuses to compromise.

The reform your members have long demanded is almost within our grasp.

With the CBI ’s support, I know we can reach out and bring it home for the people of Britain.

Thank you.

Speech: Digital priorities for this Parliament

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 11:12:47 +0000

I’m really pleased to be here today and to be able to speak alongside Neelie Kroes and Martha Lane Fox. Thank you for inviting me.

The very fact that you are all here today shows that you already get the importance of digital, so I’m not going to reel off the stats about the size and impact of digital on the UK economy. I’m just going to quote the slogan of that well-known chocolate bar and to note that digital is having an increasingly significant impact on the way we work, rest and play.

In line with the Chancellor’s recent Mansion House speech, it is worth reflecting on digital technology as an important driver of productivity. It can reduce costs, and create efficiencies. But it can also radically change the way we do things and create new opportunities – from driverless cars, to block chain technology, to the exciting possibilities of quantum computing. Indeed I was intrigued to discover that according to the Chief Executive of Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS ), their busiest branch is not on some high street somewhere but is now their mobile app on the 7:15 train to Paddington.

I want to use this speech today to set out my priorities for digital and identify where I think the key opportunities are for the UK over the coming years.

One of the first things the Prime Minister David Cameron announced after the election was his decision to put all of the Digital Economy Unit into the Department for Culture, Media and Sport ( DCMS ). This means that I, as a joint DCMS /Business, Innovation and Skills ( BIS ) Minister, and my team of officials now have a clear lead across the digital policy agenda. I believe this will bring real coherence and more clout to this agenda.

Europe

But it is not just greater coordination at a national level that is required to reap the benefits of the digital economy. A European digital single market, in conjunction with effective free trade agreements, will ensure that the UK and Europe can reap the benefits in the years ahead as we export to the world the fantastic technology developed across this continent.

The government wants to make it easier for consumers to shop online, across borders by breaking down barriers. We also want to remove unnecessary regulation burdens which prevent incumbent businesses as well as start-ups from transacting throughout the European Union ( EU ).

To make the digital single market a success, we need UK businesses to help us have a strong and compelling voice in Brussels negotiations. We need you to tell us know what you think is important.

Digital infrastructure

Another key element of a thriving digital economy is the digital broadband and mobile services. These services are vital for the economy and social cohesion, and we need a digital communications infrastructure that meets the needs of users, including ubiquitous availability, reliability, speed, affordability and resilience.

We have made good progress on improving fixed broadband and mobile infrastructure. Superfast broadband is currently available to over 80% of homes and businesses in the UK and we will have achieved 95% by 2017. We have also issued over 25,000 broadband vouchers to SMEs in cities across the UK, so they can reap the benefits of connection to better quality, high speed broadband

Every one of us here today will have experienced the frustration of being somewhere and not having a mobile signal. That’s why we are holding mobile operators to their legally-binding commitment to ensure that 90 per cent of the UK landmass will have voice and SMS coverage by 2017 from each operator. It is why we included a licence obligation in the 4G auction, that was won by Telefonica, to require indoor 4G coverage to 98% of UK premises by 2017. And it is why we are also continuing to invest in mobile infrastructure to help deliver coverage for voice calls and text messages for the final 0.3 to 0.4% of premises that do not currently have it.

New technologies

Government is also supporting how new technologies like data analytics are changing our everyday lives – from how the government delivers its services to how companies engage with their customers. At a time when British businesses earn one in every 5 pounds from the internet, UK data-driven firms are now 40% more likely to launch new products and services than their rivals.

Last month, we announced a new £300 million joint research programme between the Hartree Science and Technology site in Daresbury and IBM. Hartree is now one of the world’s most advanced high performance computing facilities. It provides data analysis, modelling and simulation expertise that is saving UK companies time and money when developing new products. This autumn will also see the launch of the new Alan Turing Institute. The Institute, which will have its head quarters at the British Library, will work with industry to generate new opportunities from data analytics.

The sharing economy is another example of radical digital disruption. From homeowners able to make money from their property by renting out their spare room or driveway, to festival-goers able to save money by sharing a ride with a stranger, new platforms can help us use our assets more efficiently and productively. That’s why we are supporting the sharing economy, by supporting tenants that want to share their space and opening up government procurement to sharing platforms. We have also announced £700,000 to support ‘sharing city’ pilots in Manchester and Leeds, to see how the sharing economy can support local communities and public services

Cyber and consumer protection

It is also essential to ensure that UK businesses and citizens are aware of the threats arising as a result of the shift to a more digital economy. Government wants the UK to be one of the safest places in the world to do business.

According to our annual breaches survey which was published last week, 90% of large companies and 73% of small companies suffered an information security breach last year. To help raise awareness for businesses, our Cyber Streetwise campaign highlights the potential dangers and our Cyber Essentials scheme sets out steps that organisations should take to protect themselves against the most common cyber security threats. It is now mandatory for the suppliers of many government contracts to hold a Cyber Essentials certificate, so I urge all organisations to adopt Cyber Essentials so they can protect and promote themselves online.

We also recognise the importance of protecting consumers too. Earlier this year we announced a £3.5 million package to combat nuisance calls. This will help develop innovative call blocking technology and raise awareness of how to reduce and report nuisance calls.

Digital skills

Before you break off into your session on digital skills, I want to end my speech today to talk about how the UK can develop the right digital so that every individual has the confidence and ability to get online safely and that employers are getting the skills they value and need.

These are issues facing every developed country but here in the UK, we have a unique vantage point. We have 6 of the world’s top 60 engineering and technology universities and over twenty individual tech clusters, which are hot beds of specialist skills and expertise. The digital sector is a UK success story. It’s employing over 1.3 million people and we estimate needing a million new people for digital roles in the workforce within a decade.

But we cannot underestimate the scale of the challenge. The pace of technological change is rapid, which is why the government is committed to working in partnership with all sectors to put the UK in the strongest position it can be.

Digital inclusion

This starts with making sure that every individual has the basic digital skills and confidence they need to safely get online. In the last 4 years and working with partners, we have supported 1.5 million people to get these skills and start to realise the benefits of being online. Our ambition is to reach another one million people over the course of this parliament.

Upskilling the workforce

Ten years ago, who could have predicted that people would be employed to maintain a company’s Twitter account? So what is government doing to prepare the workforce for jobs that might not even exist yet?

The new computing curriculum is at the heart of creating a more digitally confident and adaptable population. We keep hearing about coding and, yes, teaching this is a key part of the change. But the new curriculum goes further, helping young people to think critically and analytically and to solve problems in the real world. What’s more the new curriculum signifies a belief that digital skills are important for everyone – regardless of background or gender.

High level technical skills

It’s essential that government works with industry to make sure we’re also providing the skills they need for specialist digital roles across the economy. Employers tell us that apprenticeships are really delivering what they need; and this confidence has seen them collaborating to create new standards for digital apprenticeships. From this year, innovative degree apprenticeships, delivered in partnership between universities and employers, will equip individuals with the highly prized mix of high level technical skills and on-the-job learning. As an apprenticeship, this is two thirds funded by government with the remaining third and a wage paid for by employers, making it attractive to individuals from all backgrounds.

We have also established the National College for Digital Skills, which is due to open its doors to full-time students in 2016, raising the bar for high quality provision. This aims to reach 5,000 learners within 5 years, providing a vital pool of digital talent and expertise.

Working in partnership

What is clear, is that the scale of the digital skills challenge needs us all to work together. Last year, we provided £18.4 million of funding, alongside employer support for the Tech Partnership. This industrial partnership is enabling employers to come together to voice and address their digital skills needs.

We’re also supporting innovative ways to reach more people. The BBC’s ‘Make It Digital’ campaign is a real testament to how bringing together a number of organisations and voices, can really drive awareness of the digital skills agenda.

The government is working in concert across a number of departments to deliver its truly digital agenda. At the heart of this is working at pace to embrace the changes and ensure that the UK is firmly on the map as the best place for digital skills. I look forward to working with you all more closely to make this the reality.

Speech: The future of the Green Investment Bank

Thu, 25 Jun 2015 10:18:00 +0000

In the spirit of the GIB I was going to come along today with a speech that is 100% recycled.

Unfortunately my officials thought that my notes from last week’s Citizens Advice Parliamentary forum wouldn’t be that interesting for you!

This magnificent building, the masterpiece of Victorian architect John Gibson, celebrates its 150th aaniversary this year.

It was once the home of the National Provincial Bank, an institution whose roots run back to 1833.

A time when slavery was legal, Charles Dickens was an anonymous first-time author, and Earl Grey was better known as the Prime Minister than as a blend of tea.

And set against a timeline like that, when you look at the Green Investment Bank – established in 2012 – it looks like a tiny blip in Britain’s financial history.

Yet what GIB lacks in age has been more than made up for in impact.

The renewable energy projects in the GIB portfolio generate enough electricity to power the city of Birmingham twice over.

In 2014, GIB-backed initiatives led to CO2 emission reductions equivalent to 1.6 million cars being taken off the road for 12 months.

And every year GIB investments will see 720,000 more tonnes of rubbish being recycled, with almost 2.1 million fewer tonnes being sent to landfill. Not bad for three years, but of course this is only half the story.

Because GIB’s ‘double bottom line’ guarantees that all investments deliver for the environment AND for the British taxpayer.

GIB exists to make serious investments in serious business projects.

Projects that create skilled jobs for more British workers.

Projects that deliver reliable electricity for British homes and businesses.

And projects that help local authorities spend less on energy so they can spend more on their frontline services.

The bank’s business model has proved so successful that it is already in profit less than three years after opening its doors.

The public money the bank has invested has been supplemented by almost three times as much private capital.

And the rate of return on its portfolio is already at 9%.

It’s an incredible record of success in an incredibly short time.

The bank, I think it’s right to say, has exceeded all expectations.

And let me now take this opportunity to thank Lord Smith, Shaun and their teams in Edinburgh and London for everything they have done to make this happen.

The challenge now is to build on this success.

To give GIB the room and resources it needs in order to keep growing.

It is no secret that we have always planned to bring private capital into the GIB when the time is right.

With the great progress that the bank has made, and its healthy portfolio of profitable investments, it’s clear that time is now.

So, along with my counterparts in the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we have decided to begin moving the Green Investment Bank into private ownership.

The detail and timing will depend on the outcome of discussions, but our plan is now very clear: to sell at least a majority of the Government’s shares to private investors during the lifetime of this Parliament.

Now I’m sure some people will say this shows the Government is reneging on its environmental commitments.

That we’re somehow throwing our green credentials into a coal-fired furnace.

But such cynics could not be more wrong.

The bank will still be green, it will still be profitable, it will still be a market-leader in financing environmentally sound infrastructure.

But it will be free from limitations on where it can borrow money, and free from EU regulations on state aid.

The bank will be able to access a much greater volume of capital and deploy it across a much wider array of green projects. And that means more money going into green innovations.

More support for environmental entrepreneurs

More resources dedicated to renewable energy and waste management.

That’s why the GIB’s board and management fully support the move to private capital – it’s good news for the bank and it’s good news for the environment.

But the benefits of privatisation will go much further than this.

Today’s announcement has the potential to help turn green investment into a truly global sector, and bring the vast resources of private finance to help create a more sustainable economy.

As the Prime Minister recently said, “it’s time the market got to work on climate change”.

If we’re going to make a rea difference, make worldwide progress in cutting carbon emissions, then we need more than government action.

Now politicians can make grand statements and set bold goals, but we need the private sector to get on board and deliver business-led solutions to help deal with the challenges we face.

There are no shortage of innovative entrepreneurs out there who would love to do just that.

But too often they’ve found it hard to secure the private finance they need in on order to make that difference.

In banking circles – and I know this from my own time in that sector – the phrase ‘green investment’ has long been seen as something of an oxymoron.

It brought to mind unviable technology requiring grant funding to survive, or a kind of ‘knit-your-own-yoghurt’ enterprise incapable of delivering a profit.

A nice way, perhaps, of ticking your corporate/social responsibility box, but not a serious investment prospect.

GIB has begun to change all of that.

Its rigorous, commercial approach to investment has helped attract sovereign wealth funds, pension schemes and private equity investors to the sector for the very first time.

And that has proved to the world that green investments don’t have to be the sole preserve of public money.

That environmentally friendly technology can not merely survive in the markets, but is capable of providing a lasting and a lucrative return on serious investments.

And finally, GIB provides us with a model of that rarest of things – a government successfully involving itself in the markets.

Unlike so many similar attempts at creating state-run businesses, the bank has succeeded because it was never about picking winners, betting on white elephants or using taxpayers’ money to prop up failing companies.

We simply identified a need that wasn’t being served by the market and showed the world how that gap could be filled.

Now, after less than three years the investment has been paid back, with interest, and we’ve helped create a market that can stand up on its own two feet.

GIB has grown up. It’s time to let it go.

It’s important that we do so, for all the reasons that I’ve explained today.

But also because I don’t want to see GIB become just another government initiative.

A short-term project subject to the whims of politicians, reliant on funding that could vanish overnight with a change of policy or a change of government. And I do hope we don’t have a change in government! No. I want GIB to become a permanent, lasting fixture in the world of British banking, and that will only happen with the support of the private sector.

I can’t say whether, like the company this hall was built for, GIB will still be doing business almost two centuries from now.

But I do know that by setting GIB free from the shackles of state ownership we are giving it the opportunity to fulfil its potential.

To create a global market and help lead it, putting this country at the forefront of green investment.

And that’s good news for GIB, good news for the environment, and good news for Britain.

Speech: Celebrating 60 years of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)

Fri, 19 Jun 2015 08:47:56 +0000

Let me start by congratulating the Institute of Economic Affairs ( IEA ) on its 60th birthday.

We all know how hard it is to get economists to agree on anything.

As President Reagan said, if Trivial Pursuit was designed by economists it would have 100 questions…

…and 3,000 answers.

But I’m sure everyone here tonight agrees that it’s an amazing achievement for a think-tank to reach its diamond jubilee.

For 60 years now you’ve been thinking the unthinkable…

…winning hearts and minds and influencing governments from Westminster to Washington to Warsaw and everywhere in between.

Of course, it could have all been very different.

After leaving the RAF a young Sir Antony Fisher was set on a career in politics.

But Friedrich Hayek told him that if he really wanted to change the world he should forget about becoming an MP…

…and start a think-tank instead.

I don’t know if that means I’m in the wrong job!

But I do know that we should all be very grateful for Hayek’s intervention.

Because the think-tank Sir Antony established, would go on to play a huge and important role in political and economic history.

When I was born, the IEA was already a teenager.

By the time I joined, as a student down in Exeter, it was well into middle age…

…and was probably one of the most influential think-tanks anywhere in the Western World.

The Institute’s work really resonated with me, taking the theories of the economists I admired…

…Hayek, Friedman, and Minford…

…and showing how easily and practically they could be applied in the real world.

It both reflected and deeply influenced my views, helping to develop the economic and political philosophy that guides me to this day.

And its back story spoke to me too, showing that you don’t have to be fabulously wealthy to think capitalism is a good thing.

Like Ralph Harris I’m a working class kid who grew up on an inner-city estate.

Like Ralph Harris I saw first-hand the realities of poverty.

And, like Ralph Harris, I have never been in any doubt that free enterprise is the best way to bring prosperity to as many people as possible.

That the free market can solve not just economic problems, but social ones too.

That was true back when I was a student and it’s true today.

Our economy is growing faster than any of our G7 rivals, and more people are in work than ever before.

But if that success is going to be maintained and built on, we cannot afford to stand still.

We need to increase productivity, drive investment in industry, grow our exports.

Not just to make individuals better off, although that is a noble aim in itself.

But also because a strong economy allows us to protect our most vulnerable citizens.

To pay for the NHS, for our schools and armed forces and police.

To build roads and railways, and to give our young people the skills they need to get on in the modern world.

None of this can be achieved without a strong economy.

And a strong economy will never be delivered by attacking big business, or by endlessly raising taxes, or wrapping innovators up in red tape.

That’s why my Enterprise Bill will free businesses from another £10 billion of needless regulation.

That’s why we’ll keep on cutting taxes.

And that’s why I want Britain to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

During the Cold War, the physical bulwark against Communism was provided by the formidable military might of the NATO alliance.

But throughout that time the ideological bulwark, the theoretical and philosophical defence, was brigaded by the likes of the Institute of Economic Affairs.

While our troops and bombs and planes protected the West from the Red Army, in the battle for ideas our generals were Sir Antony, Lord Harris and Arthur Seldon.

Today the Cold War is rapidly becoming a distant memory, consigned to the textbooks of political history.

Most economics students arriving at university this autumn will have been born 8 years after the Berlin Wall fell.

But the work of the IEA is just as important as ever.

Because the free market is the most efficient, most enduring, most effective system ever devised by mankind.

Since the 1970s the number of people in the world living on $1 a day, adjusted for inflation, has fallen by 80%.

That’s the biggest increase in prosperity the world has ever experienced.

And it didn’t happen because of international aid, or thanks to the IMF or World Bank.

It was brought about by the spread of capitalism.

The free market is the greatest force every created for lifting people out of poverty.

But we must not lose sight of the fact that it’s an artificial creation.

It is not the natural order of things.

We have to consciously choose to embrace it, choose to continue its legacy.

President Reagan was talking about democracy when he said that that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.

But his idea – that freedom is not passed on but must be fought for, protected and defended – applies equally to free market.

We neglect it at our peril and if we fail to support it, it could still crumble in the face of countless tiny attacks.

Or, as George W Bush put it in slightly more succinct terms during the global financial crisis: “this sucker could go down”.

If the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, then we will always need the likes of the IEA to be the watchmen for capitalism.

We will always need the heirs of Fisher, Harris and Seldon to make the case for free enterprise, to be its last line of defence and first line of attack.

That is the role the IEA has played for the past 60 years, and you have much to celebrate tonight.

But I’ve always believed that the best birthdays are those that have yet to arrive.

And I know that, in spite of everything it has achieved since 1955, the Institute of Economic Affairs’ best years are still to come.

Speech: Creating jobs and driving growth: 20 years of the Alternative Investment Market

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 12:14:00 +0000

The British economy growing strongly after emerging from a deep recession. A Conservative Prime Minister with a small but workable majority. And the Westminster bubble dominated by talk of Britain’s future in Europe.

Yes, June 1995 was a very different time…

But during that long hot summer the London Stock Exchange changed forever with the arrival of the Alternative Investment Market ( AIM ).

It’s been said that while good companies meet needs, great companies create markets. Over the past 20 years more than 3,000 great companies have done just that, creating, in the AIM , a market that is the envy of the world.

And with AIM -listed companies contributing almost £15 billion to our economy each year, it’s no surprise that the model has been imitated by other exchanges in Europe and beyond.

But the British model will always be the original and best.

And this government will always support innovations like the AIM and the kind of entrepreneurs who make them such a success, many of whom are here with us this evening.

Over the past 20 years, well over £90 billion has been raised by companies listed on the AIM . That’s £90 billion invested in the future of exciting, ambitious businesses. £90 billion that has allowed innovative, growing companies to reach their true potential. And most importantly, £90 billion that has helped create hundreds of thousands of jobs for hardworking people right across the UK.

When the AIM does well, when entrepreneurs do well, the whole country does well. And I’m proud to say that this government has a long record of helping to make that happen.

We’ve changed the rules so that AIM shares can be held in ISAs, and abolished stamp duty on share purchases made on equity growth markets.

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, introduced in 2012, has already supported more than 2,700 companies, helping them raise almost a quarter of a billion pounds of investment.

We’ve significantly expanded the qualifying limits to attract investment through the Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Venture Capital Trust.

We supported the creation of the £2.5 billion Business Growth Fund, which invested more than £200 million in growth finance last year.

And of course we set up the British Business Bank, which is helping thousands of small, dynamic businesses unlock the finance they need in order to grow and create jobs.

That’s what we’re all about – supporting economic growth and job creation. So far we’re doing pretty well. More people are in work than at any point in British history, our economy is growing faster than any of our major rivals, and our Enterprise Bill will do even more to support British business. It’s due to be published later this year.

But it’s important to remember that the government simply creates the conditions in which private enterprise can thrive. For all the rhetoric you hear from politicians, governments don’t create jobs – businesses create jobs. Entrepreneurs create jobs. YOU create jobs.

Tonight I’m delighted to announce that the LSE Group is launching a new scheme to create high-quality apprenticeships for talented young people with the potential to excel at AIM -listed companies.

Run in partnership with the charity City Gateway, the scheme will bring together the innovative new companies that are the future of British business, and the hardworking young apprentices who are the future of the British workforce.

Because apprenticeships are not some kind of second-best option for working class kids who can’t get in to university. Apprenticeships provide young people with the opportunity to learn on-the-job while earning a proper wage. And they give employers like you the chance to train the skilled, loyal workforce you need in order to compete on the global stage.

Two million apprenticeships were created during the last Parliament. Between now and 2020 we want to see another 3 million starts. The AIM Apprenticeship scheme is exactly the kind of project that will help to make that vision a reality.

It’s a great initiative, and I’d urge everyone here to support City Gateway so it can help as many young people as possible.

We’re gathered here this evening at the home of the Honourable Artillery Company ( HAC ). With former HAC members ranging from Samuel Pepys to Edward Heath, I’m sure this square has seen some interesting sights over the years.

But I doubt any could compare to the spectacle on 15 September 1784, when 200,000 people turned out to watch the start of England’s first-ever manned balloon flight. After running a massive marketing campaign to attract support, an Italian named Vincenzo Lunardi took off from here and floated all the way to Ware in Hertfordshire.

His early efforts helped pave the way for other pioneers who would change the world forever. Because when innovative individuals have the right backing they can achieve incredible things. It was true in Lunardi’s day, and it’s still true more than 2 centuries later.

That’s why the AIM has been such a triumph. It brings together enterprising companies and the financial backers who can propel them on to greater things. For 20 years the AIM has fuelled innovation, driven growth and created jobs.

Congratulations to everyone who has helped make that happen – and here’s to many more years of success.

Speech: Happy customers are good for business

Wed, 17 Jun 2015 15:07:45 +0000

Thank you Pete for that kind introduction, and congratulations to everyone who has won an award so far. I think there are still a few more to come!

When I stopped being Culture Secretary, most of my kids decided that my brief period of being “Cool Dad” was over.

They liked it when I was working with music, film, TV and sport… Just think of the invites I got, which the kids sometimes thought were invites for them, too!

For some reason they don’t find things like local enterprise partnerships and the Enterprise Bill so exciting. And they don’t seem to want a behind the scenes tour of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The exception is my 14-year-old son, Suli. Because and I promise you this is true, I’m not making it up, for years now his favourite magazine has been Which?.

I’m not quite sure how this came about!

Just last week he was revising for his exams. And when my wife and I said he’d done enough to earn a break, he rushed downstairs and – for fun – started devouring the latest edition.

And people say I’m a bit of a geek!

So I want to start today by saying a really big “thank you” to Peter and everyone at Which?. Firstly for giving Suli such a happy childhood! But also because, for almost 60 years now, you have been helping the British do something that really doesn’t come naturally to us. Complaining.

Let’s face it, British people are terrible at asserting their rights as customers. I think we just find it unbecoming.

So many of us will ‘tut-tut’ and maybe mutter under our breath and even tell our friends how awful our experience was. But we’ll say nothing to the people who are actually responsible, the people in charge.

I only really noticed this when I moved to New York straight after university. I was sat in a diner there, and discovered that even a minor delay in getting your complimentary glass of iced water refilled would prompt a level of outrage that you’d only see in the UK if somebody jumped the bus stop queue, or something.

This isn’t just anecdotal.

A recent survey by U-Switch found that 65% of us regularly experience poor customer service, but only a quarter ever actually raise concerns about it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they won’t do anything in response. The 21st century high street is a very competitive place, there’s no shortage of options for disgruntled customers.

Growing up in my parents’ shop, Kaiza Fashions, I learned from an early age that if we couldn’t give a customer what they wanted when they wanted it they would quite happily walk down the road and go into a rival business. And one more customer for our rivals meant one less customer for Kaiza – something that has a real impact on a small business.

Even the largest employers can’t afford to lose business because of poor service. As Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton put it: “There is only one boss – the customer. And he can fire everyone in the company from the chairman on down simply by taking his business elsewhere.”

In fact when I was a minister at the Treasury I took great pride in helping customers do exactly that, working with banks to create the seven-day switch guarantee. By making it easier for disgruntled customers to leave, the guarantee forced the banks to raise their game.

It’s a lesson that all businesses of any size should learn from. Because the simple truth is that without happy customers there are no businesses. Without customers there are no profits, no exports, no growth.

That’s why the Department for Business could just as easily be called the Department for Customers.

Now Nick Boles is doing a great job on the consumer protection portfolio. But I don’t want you think that our commitment to customer service begins and ends there.

Helping businesses deliver for their customers is at the heart of everything we do in my department, whether it’s helping companies develop novel and new products customers demand, giving employees the skills they need to serve customers better, or tearing up the red tape that all too often makes it harder for customers to do business with you.

Recently I heard about a 9-year-old girl who had gone along to her local bank to open a savings account.

She wanted somewhere to keep her pocket money safe, and her parents wanted her to learn the virtue of saving money rather than spending it. Responsible behaviour that I’m sure we’d all like to encourage.

But before she could open her account, the bank insisted that she watch a video, designed for adults explaining the concept of variable interest rates. She started to fidget when she had to listen to her first-ever initial disclosure statement. And then the bank carefully explained her right to shop elsewhere for buildings and contents insurance, presumably for her wendy house.

Finally the girl who, remember, is only 9 years old – was asked to sign a disclaimer to say she understood that her personal information would be managed in line with the Data Protection Act, that the bank reserved the right to run a credit check on her, and that her savings were protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. But only up to the first £85,000.

Either that last bit was a little unnecessary, or pocket money has gone up a lot since I was a kid!

The poor thing was sent away with 3 separate booklets outlining her account’s terms and conditions. Not surprisingly, when she got home she asked “Mummy do I really have to read all this?” To which of course the answer was “No dear. Nobody ever does”.

Now I’m sure that if I was to name the bank involved, they’d say they’re only doing this in the first place because of government regulations. And I think that’s a very fair point – and it’s something I’m determined to change.

When people talk about tearing up regulations they normally just mean ones that cause trouble for businesses. But I want to cut red tape that ties up customers, too. I don’t want anything to get between you and them. When they choose to spend their money with you, they should be able to do so without government rules getting in the way.

The Enterprise Bill is going to get rid of at least £10 billion of needless red tape. Regulations that do not genuinely serve customer needs, which are bad for business and a barrier to growth.

So if you find that your customers are sinking under the weight of bureaucracy, I want to know about it. If your customers tell you that a wall of Whitehall-mandated terms and conditions are getting in their way, I want you to pass that information on to me. How can we focus on the really important stuff that really matters to your customers? In short, how can we get out of your way and help you do business?

That’s why, when I was in charge of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, I worked with the telecom companies to ensure mobile phone coverage across 90% of the UK.

Now the easy thing for me would have been to force through some new law that simply mandated it. But by sitting down with the operators and letting them take the lead, I was able to negotiate a £5 billion legally binding agreement that delivered for customers without burdening the companies.

Some people believe that I’m completely against regulation and intervention of any kind, that I think businesses should just be left to get on with it. That would not be entirely true.

I’ve always believed that regulation has 2 very simple roles to play. First, it should benefit and protect customers. And second, it should give companies a fair and transparent framework to operate and compete in. And that’s exactly what the new Consumer Rights Act will do.

Developed with help both from businesses and from consumer organisations including Which?, it comes into force in October. And it will require that important terms and conditions are included up front, in plain English. Crucial issues written in legalese and hidden away in the small print won’t be legally binding.

This isn’t about catching businesses out, or creating another set of rules to follow. By guaranteeing plain English and due prominence, the new system will actually help companies. It will focus minds on what really matters and make it easier for you to develop better, clearer terms and conditions.

The new act will also clarify the muddle of statutory rights. It will help employees from the shop floor to the boardroom understand what is expected of them, and it will let customers know the standards they should be demanding and the means by which they can seek redress.

And, bizarre as it sounds, you actually want those individuals to complain when they have a problem. You don’t want them to be terribly British and suffer in silence. If that happens, your service will never improve.

I think it was Bill Gates who said your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. If they tell you what you’re doing wrong, you can do it better.

So we want to get British customers complaining because assertive customers make businesses better. And better businesses grow faster and do more to support the sustainable recovery we’re building in this country.

But I don’t want you to think that building good customer relations begins and ends at the till. Businesses don’t exist in a vacuum. Whether large or small, on the high street or online, businesses are a vital part of the communities they serve. They provide jobs and services, obviously. But they are also uniquely placed to support their communities in many other ways.

Just last week I heard that a company in my Bromsgrove constituency, Hugo Technology, is generously supporting a new local rugby team. But the contribution that business makes doesn’t have to be financial – over the years I’ve seen businesses organising litter patrols, helping with charity fundraising drives, even hosting political hustings.

There’s literally no limit to the ways businesses of all shapes and sizes can give back to their communities. And, as we recover, as a country, from the depths of the record-breaking recession, and the economy continues to grow, your ability to invest in your community grows too.

There’s a moral case for doing this, obviously. But it’s also yet another opportunity to engage with customers, to show that you care about their wider needs. To keep them happy.

That’s what today is all about, and it’s what I’m all about. As Secretary of State, I’ll be doing all I can to help you serve the most important people in any business – the customers. Because happy customers are good for business. And what’s good for business is good for Britain.

Thank you.

Speech: Speech to UK Israel business annual dinner

Tue, 09 Jun 2015 13:46:00 +0000

Good evening, and shalom aleichem.

It’s a great pleasure to be with you tonight to celebrate the ties between our countries, and the very best of UK and Israel business.

Golda Meir said that Israelis only have one complaint about Moses.

That he led the Jews through the desert for 40 years – then finally stopped at the one place in the Middle East that doesn’t have any oil!

But I guess necessity is the mother of invention. Because over the past 67 years, Israel really has made business bloom in the barren desert.

It’s one of the many reasons I have long admired the country. I’ve travelled there extensively, both for business and with family. And over the years I’ve taken a great interest in its affairs. Because the values that have made Israel such a success are values that matter a great deal to me.

I share Israel’s love for freedom and democracy. I admire its tenacious determination when the odds are stacked against it.

And, like millions of Israelis, I have a mother who’s still waiting for me to get a proper job!

So we have a lot in common. And that’s why I’m heartened at the growth of British and Israeli trade links.

Business has always been a part of my life, not just the 20 years I spent in international banking, but the heart and soul of my childhood, growing up in a small flat above the family shop.

And throughout that time I’ve seen how business can do a great many things.

It doesn’t just provide jobs and local growth. It lifts individuals, communities and even countries up to be the best they can be.

That’s why tonight we should celebrate the ever-closer business links between Britain and Israel.

The total value of trade and services between our 2 countries is now well over £4.5 billion a year.

Last year alone, 25 Israeli companies set up or expanded their operations in the UK. Israeli-owned CinemaCity amalgamated with the UK’s own Cineworld. The Helios Energy Fund committed £30 million to set up 30 biomass installations in the UK. The Noy Fund announced plans to invest £50 million in UK waste-to-energy projects.

There are now over 300 Israeli companies with a physical presence here, responsible for thousands of jobs.

But this is not a one way street. Great British businesses like Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation ( HSBC ), GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK ), Barclays, Rolls Royce and others have invested more than £1 billion in Israel. Our exports to Israel are increasing rapidly – and the UK is Israel’s second biggest export market.

In addition, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of Israeli companies showing interest in raising capital on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ). Nine Israeli companies carried out IPOs on the LSE last year – second only to the UK itself.

So the past few years have been a golden era for Anglo-Israeli business. But what really excites me are the possibilities offered by the years to come.

Collaboration on science and technology is the cornerstone of our shared relationship. As we all know, only Silicon Valley can rival Israel when it comes to developing leading-edge technologies.

We look towards Israel to benefit from its world-leading expertise in cyber security. And equally, we want to support Israel as it exploits recent discoveries of natural gas in its waters – through strategic partnerships, project finance and supply chains.

And we must continue to work together on achieving medical breakthroughs – whether through, the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership ( BIRAX ), or as GSK and Technion are doing, or the National Health Service ( NHS ) and Teva Pharmaceuticals, through a £12.5 million joint-research agreement.

The UK-Israel Tech Hub in the British Embassy in Tel Aviv has also fostered promising collaborations in agriculture, water technologies and in finance, with 14 Israeli start-ups coming to London this March to meet major City players. And initiatives like the Israel Investor Summit are helping to bring together businesses in both our countries.

It’s a great relationship, and not one we should ever take for granted.

But sometimes we do. You may have heard that Britain’s National Union of Students recently passed a motion committing itself to a complete boycott of Israel. Last year the same body rejected a motion calling for a boycott of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ), which I think speaks volumes.

Last December, as Culture Secretary, I made a speech to Britain’s Union of Jewish Students. And I told them that I had no time for the boycott campaign. Because for me, freedom is an absolute concept.

At the time I spoke of artistic freedom. Today I talk of the freedom to trade, the freedom to go about your business in peace. Today I talk of the idea that underpins my entire political philosophy, that of free enterprise. It simply doesn’t make sense to say “I believe in the free market, but…”

Let me be very clear – I don’t believe in boycotts. Nor, I’m proud to say, does my party, my Prime Minister. Or, for the most part, my country.

On the contrary, my department – including United Kingdom Trade and Investment ( UKTI ) – will be working hard to boost Anglo-Israeli trade and investment. And, as Business Secretary, I’ll do anything I can to support and promote it.

So my message to you is clear. Where there are business opportunities, we should actively explore them – just as the winners of tonight’s awards have done to such great effect. And let me, if I may, single out Sir Harry Solomon for his award this evening: congratulations.

We look forward to working with our Israeli partners in the future.

Thank you, and todah rabah.

Speech: International higher education

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 10:33:57 +0000

Thanks Ciaran for that introduction and for inviting me to open Going Global. It’s a highlight in the annual international education calendar - a pleasure to welcome it back to London in my new role.

As someone lucky enough to do post graduate study in France and Belgium, some 15 and 20 years ago, I’m delighted that more and more UK students are now seizing the chance to broaden their horizons.

When I went off on the ferry to the Université Libre de Bruxelles in the mid-1990s, and a few years later to INSEAD in the forest of Fontainebleau, it was a niche move.

Today, the British Council’s research tells us that over a third of UK students are interested in studying abroad.

And while the increase in the number of those who actually take the leap is encouraging - almost 29,000 students last year – we need to do more.

CBI surveys show our businesses remain unhappy with UK graduates’ overall foreign language abilities and disappointed by their general cultural awareness. We must do more to prepare ourselves for the globalised world.

I welcome the strong demand for the EU ’s Erasmus Programme and for the British Council’s Generation UK Programme, which aims to send up to 80,000 UK students to China and 25,000 students to India by 2020.

We must build on these important programmes, which both increase students’ employability and support the UK’s ties overseas.

A warm welcome to international students

The UK of course values international students who come to this country too. We recognise that competition for the brightest and best students from other countries is intensifying.

We will continue to ensure that our excellent education system remains a magnet for brilliant minds.

Today, we have more than 435,000 international higher education ( HE ) students, which means that nearly 1 in 5 students in our university population is from overseas – and over in 4 in our capital city.

They come for the world class quality of our education and the opportunities for research. We have more top ranking universities in London than in any other city in the world. With 4 universities in the global top 10, we rank second only to the US.

Our research base is world leading, our universities are world-class, we develop and attract the world’s brightest minds and we are second in the world when ranked by Nobel prizes.

The benefits to the UK

International students enrich this offering.

They contribute to our research capacity. And the £3.9 billion they bring in tuition fees helps our universities invest in first class facilities and provision. International students also stimulate demand for courses where domestic demand alone can be insufficient to sustain them, ensuring that a wider range of courses are available for all students and that some strategically important courses remain viable.

In particular, they help us maintain our first class STEM provision: 47% of post-graduate level students in subjects such as engineering and technology are from non- EU countries.

International students also provide a cultural cross-fertilisation that benefits everyone. In a recent survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan, 87% of university applicants said studying alongside international students would give them a better world view and 85% thought it would prepare them for working in a global environment.

Tapping top-flight student talent globally will not just mean the UK gains in terms of innovation, research and a broader science and skills base. Greater exchange of students now will mean stronger relationships later.

Today’s international students are tomorrow’s world leaders. They take friendships and loyalties home with them that later become trade links, cultural bonds and diplomatic ties. Nearly 80% of students anticipate developing professional links with the UK.

The immediate economic benefits from international students are real too - for every 100 non- EU students, 45 full time equivalent jobs are created and £4.6 million generated in UK businesses – and they are felt right across the UK.

London is the most popular destination in the world for overseas students, but 23% of non- EU students are in the North of England, 16% in the Midlands and 9% in Scotland.

These benefits are reflected in public attitudes. A number of polls, most recently one by YouGov for The Times, show the great majority of the British public (72% in this case) think we should have the current number of international students or more. Not fewer.

A clear message from the Prime Minister

I want students from across the world to understand our commitment:

We will roll out the red carpet to the brightest and best, to the talented workers and brilliant students that help Britain’s success.

There is no cap on the number of overseas students that can come to study at our universities.

That’s not just me, but the Prime Minister, speaking just a few days ago.

Sometimes people worry that they are taking places from British students. There used to be a limit on the number of British students that government would fund.

But we have a sustainable graduate repayment scheme in place, and we are in a position to remove limits on the number of UK students that publicly-funded universities can recruit, lifting the cap on aspiration.

No longer will there be young people eager to go to university, young people that universities wanted to teach, who cannot get places because of a limit imposed by Whitehall.

Genuine students

Government’s welcome to international students is genuine. But it is to genuine students.

It is right that we are clamping down on fraudulent applications and bogus colleges – we have stopped over 870 of these institutions from recruiting international students since 2010 and will take all steps necessary to protect international students from rogue providers and dodgy operators.

That’s why I can announce today (1 June 2015) that we have taken further action by appointing Graduate Prospects to help us expose unscrupulous organisations and remove misleading websites wherever they make an appearance.

Such changes are in the interests of all legitimate providers because they protect the reputation of the UK as a provider of high-quality education.

It is also right that we have reformed the student visa system to ensure that students who are not genuine cannot abuse the system. And we will take proportionate action to deal with overstaying wherever our new system of exit checks shows it to be an issue.

Strengthening our HE system

The best way to attract good quality students, from all over the world, is to maintain our world class higher education sector. And this we have.

But we are not resting on our laurels. We have introduced important reforms to our higher education system from 2012.

The OECD considers us to be one of the few countries in the world to have established a sustainable approach to higher education funding.

Increasing international student recruitment

So we have a strong offering to the world, which explains why we are currently the second most popular destination for international study, after the USA.

But I am concerned that some feel the UK does not welcome students as warmly as we once did and that there has been a decline of student numbers from some of our key partners, most notably India.

It is a personal aim of mine to overcome misconceptions about the UK in such important countries.

Data tells a good tale. Once here, Indian students’ satisfaction rate is 90%. And most of those say they would recommend their universities to others.

We will engage and explain. We will make clear that there is no cap on the number of students who can come to study in the UK and no intention to introduce one.

Nor is there any cap on the number of former students who can stay on to work - as long as they have a graduate job.

Across all our international education activity, we have an ambition to grow.

We are committed to increasing education exports from £18 billion in 2012 to £30 billion by 2020. We will not achieve that goal unless we continue to attract the brightest and best from around the world.

We are expanding our scholarship programmes. Last year we tripled funding for Chevening scholarships. This year the government will spend over £70m on scholarships in the Chevening, Commomwealth and Marshall schemes.

Enabling over 2500 scholarships and support for 60,000 alumni, these schemes help forge life-long links between our nations.

Conclusion

The breadth of attendance today is testament to the importance we all attach to international opportunities.

Global education leads to wealth, health and mutual understanding. It builds foundations for cultural and economic enrichment.

Going Global provides an ideal forum to discuss how we can make our ambitions a reality and I wish you all the very best for a successful conference.

Speech: Role for the EU single market in the digital economy

Thu, 26 Mar 2015 18:15:49 +0000

I would like to begin by thanking the presidency for the opportunity to share some thoughts on the digital single market, one of the major issues facing the EU today. We have been impressed with the prominence given to the DSM by the Commission and the Presidency, particularly through the engagement of stakeholders and the development of the evidence base on the digital economy.

We’ve heard today why the digital single market is so important. We were asked about our priorities, and I can be clear about this: consumers want to do more and more online, as easily as possible. Firms want to establish themselves, grow, and sell across the whole market place. Our priority is to enable consumers and businesses to take advantage of these opportunities.

The digital revolution has challenged established business models and well-worn regulatory frameworks. Not only are purely digital businesses becoming more and more important to the economy, but digital tools and processes are radically transforming traditional manufacturing and services. Online and offline industries are converging.

We see this in the ‘internet of things’, one of the most exciting developments on our horizon, which the UK is stimulating through new investment in demonstrator programmes, business incubator space and a research hub. And we see this here in Latvia, where advanced technology is powering the use of traditional materials in new ways. Amber, used in jewellery for thousands of years, is now being employed in the textile industry to make fashion garments, and is even being used in the manufacture of medical equipment.

Digital has disrupted our ways of doing things, and it will continue to disrupt them. But we have a choice to make in our response to this disruption – we can respond in fear or in hope.

A response of fear would see us seek to regulate aggressively, to penalise innovation, to protect incumbents from new challengers. It would see us ignore opportunities to harness the digital single market to create consumer choice, jobs, and growth.

We see this on platforms, where fear of market dominance could lead us to regulate impulsively – without clarity on what we want to achieve, or the evidence on how we could achieve it.

Yes, there are genuine concerns about market abuse which must be addressed. We would like to see changes to speed up the Commission’s application of the current competition rules, and would welcome a review of whether the existing framework is fit for the digital age.

But knee-jerk, quick-fix regulations could harm the very European start ups that we’re hoping will challenge the status quo.

Before we rush to regulate, we need to think carefully about what the issues are, and what the best way to address them is. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is undertaking interesting work in this area, examining online reviews and endorsements, and the commercial use of consumer data. It is important that we consider all the evidence available, and think through different options including alternatives to regulation. I believe traditional, inflexible, top-down regulation will not allow us to keep pace with the digital revolution.

Instead of introducing one-size-fits-all rules which could stifle innovation out of fear, we must respond with hope, to allow creative and digital industries to flourish. In the UK, digital growth is driven by tens of thousands of exciting tech businesses – the vast majority of them small businesses – situated in digital clusters across the country which specialise in particular sectors, technological capabilities and talent. And these clusters exist right across Europe – I know Riga is home to a thriving IT sector.

Some of the actions needed to support these sectors – such as developing digital skills – work best when they are tailored to local circumstances, and therefore should be left to member states. But where the EU can have the most impact is through making it easier for digital businesses to scale up, expand and add value to the whole economy. For example, we should ensure that there is a single digital process for every step required to set up a company and operate online. And once a company has gone through that process in one member state, it should be valid across the EU .

Hope is also about empowering our consumers and giving them greater choice and confidence. We must bring our consumer rights framework up to date and ensure we can handle questions over digital content quickly and fairly. We must also benefit consumers by championing data portability. This would help create more innovative and competitive markets, supporting challenger businesses and putting more power into the hands of consumers.

We see this choice between a response of fear and a response of hope also on copyright, where the fear of harming our creative industries could lead us to ignore new opportunities and consumer demands.

I am passionate about supporting and developing our creative sector. Europe’s creative output is one of its biggest assets. We must continue to ensure our creative industries go from strength to strength.

This is entirely consistent with embracing the need to update our copyright framework for a digital age. This doesn’t mean we should introduce a single copyright title, but we do need targeted reform. We want to see a digital single market where there is greater availability of legitimate content on fair and reasonable terms, where consumers can access their digital downloads and streaming services when visiting any member state. And this, in turn, will reduce incentives for copyright piracy and ensure that creators get the rewards they deserve.

My response to the digital single market is one of hope, of optimism. We can find a way of protecting consumers and ensuring a level playing field, without shutting the door to new approaches that give benefits to consumers and the wider economy alike. We need to think, ‘What do we want to achieve?’ rather than ‘What do we want to stop?’ Only in this way will we help businesses grow.

And this also gives consumers what they want – tailored services, innovative ideas, lower prices, and choice.

Let me suggest 3 concrete things that we can do:

First, make life easier for business

We need a regulatory framework that protects our citizens and enables our digital businesses to thrive. We must apply better regulation principles at national and European level to ensure that we remove existing barriers to a digital single market, and do not erect new ones. As suggested in the Presidency’s paper, all European legislation should be subject to a ‘digital test’ to check that it is suitable for today’s digital economy. We must provide clear, accessible information about how to set up and do business across Europe, and we should make our required procedures for businesses as simple as possible, and available to complete online.

Second, create the right incentives

As well as making new legislative proposals to bring the copyright framework up to date and encourage the growth of new services, we must ensure that investment in intellectual property is rewarded. This includes making sure that we take action to enforce copyright rules, so that creators are paid for their work. The only way we will ever agree a package on copyright is if we can demonstrate that it works for consumers and the creative industries alike.

Finally, engage

We need to be humble enough to recognise that we as policy makers do not fully understand this technological revolution, nor can we predict the directions that it will take. We need to continue to listen to the new entrepreneurs and to the mature businesses, to citizens and consumers – and together design the legislative and non-legislative framework that the digital single market needs to flourish.

Speech: Creating the best IP framework

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 09:30:13 +0000

Welcome

I would like to congratulate you on your conference today and thank you for the opportunity to speak before such an august audience - I’ve already spotted Dame Helen Mirren, Mo Farrah, George Clooney - I believe the Prime Minister is here somewhere so I had better mind my Ps and Qs.

I include you, the members of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, in the list alongside the greats of world leaders, music, theatre, science, sport, film, politics, Bollywood [and heroes from a galaxy far, far away].

My 17 years in business taught me the importance of trade marks, design and brand identity. Every company has at least one trade mark – and most will have many more. Of course getting a trade mark or design doesn’t bring in the money. Companies have to work hard to protect the investment in their brand, to continue to innovate and keep up to date with their customers – without that, brand loyalty will wane.

As consumers, whether it’s choosing cleaning products, buying a new car or choosing where to shop, we form an emotional connection to a familiar brand. That is why it matters that businesses can protect their ideas, can spot and seize new opportunities, and can exploit them both at home and abroad.

And that’s where all of you play a vital role! Businesses would struggle to protect the investment in their IP without the expert guidance provided by IP specialists.

Creating the best IP framework

Of course the legal framework has to be right too – and as Minister for Intellectual Property, that’s where I come in. I am committed to helping businesses recognise and capitalise on the economic benefit of their IP and their brand. It is something that I am passionate about. Not enough people put passion and IP in the same sentence!

I believe that a strong IP system is key to encouraging innovation and delivering continued economic growth and jobs.

We already have a good legal framework of rights. And I know we are all delighted that Taylor Wessing’s Global IP Index judged the UK to be the best place in the world to obtain, exploit and enforce IP rights.

But we can do better and I would like to focus on 3 points today – enforcement, Europe and International and the performance of the IPO - a strong and almost unique institution because it has the vigour that comes from having the different aspects of IP under one roof – even the Chinese are jealous of that.

Enforcing and supporting trade mark and design rights

I mentioned enforcement earlier. If businesses cannot enforce the IP rights they own, those rights become worthless bits of paper or entries on a computer register. So businesses, legal professionals, enforcement agencies and Governments must work together to support legitimate users and make life difficult for counterfeiters.

We were recognised as global leaders in tackling IP crime, with the best ranked enforcement framework in the world in the US Chamber of Commerce rankings last month.

I was delighted last autumn to announce additional funding from the IPO for the Police IP Crime Unit, securing its future until 2017. It has already suspended 5,500 infringing websites - importantly, over 98% of these were suspended for selling counterfeit goods. And since July last year, PIPCU has diverted nearly 9.4 million views from IP infringing websites to their warning and domain suspension page.

Those viewing the website are receiving an official message from the City of London Police – warning that the website they are trying to access is currently under investigation.

We have also made it a criminal offence to intentionally copy a registered design – this strengthens protection for the UK’s hugely important design sector.

But sanction without enforcement is worthless. To raise awareness and understanding of this new criminal offence my officials have been providing training to Trading Standards Offices. 12 regional sessions have taken place across the UK, with 383 officers attending.

We need to reduce the oxygen of demand for fakes. So we are also working to educate consumers about the value of IP and the danger from counterfeit goods and the economic damage they cause to the economy and the jobs lost. With that in mind I am delighted that this Government has made a significant investment in the Creative Content UK educational campaign which will be coming to a location near you later this year.

And we continue to implement our commitments in the IP Act. Earlier today the consultation on the new Design Opinions Service was launched. This new service, which will be introduced in October, will enable businesses to make informed decisions about how to enforce their rights and reduce litigation costs.

The consultation considers how the service will work, and I would encourage as many of you as possible to comment.

Changes in Europe

Businesses do not trade solely in the UK. They must have the choice to access the European and global markets.

As a profession you have told us that the current European trade mark system is already working well. We need to reform not rewrite and the system needs to be updated to reflect modern business practices and reduce inconsistencies.

I remain hopeful of an agreement on trade marks under the Latvian Presidency.

Whilst there may be some compromises needed to secure agreement I believe that the current proposals represent some real improvements for owners of trade marks, for example;

a. The removal of the requirement that a trade mark must be capable of graphic representation on the register opens the door for new and innovative trade marks - such as smells.

b. The introduction of one class one fee should help address the problem of a cluttered trade mark registered; and

c. We seem to be reaching a balanced solution to the issue of goods-in-transit. The UK has a proud heritage as a free trade nation. We take a hard line on counterfeiting and believe it is important to protect legitimate trade. The current proposal in this area supports both these aims.

Global challenge

Having operated in Asia myself as well - and the US - I know that investing and operating in foreign markets can be challenging especially in respect of Intellectual Property. So our specialist IP attaches who help UK business in China, Brazil, India and South East Asia are very important. Since 2011 they have provided 1:1 practical help and support to 537 UK businesses experiencing IP issues, with an estimated value at risk of around £400m.

Last year I led a delegation including Justice Birss, Catherine Wolfe, senior IPO officials and over 50 British businesses to Beijing in September for the 2nd UK-China IP Symposium. This dialogue with China means that the UK is now one of China’s primary partners for IP cooperation.

During the visit, UK and Chinese counterparts shared best practice from our respective IP systems, focussing on bad faith applications, opposition proceedings, non-conventional marks and design rights.

They were very struck by what can be achieved by Government and professionals working together – presenting a united front, a consistent approach. This seemed to be a new concept in China and we are hoping to arrange the next event here in London.

IPO performance

So I turn to my final theme, the IPO.

I visited the IPO in South Wales in my first week as Minister. I have been repeatedly impressed by their commitment to providing a timely and high quality service. My officials at the IPO continue to rise to the significant challenge of demand for trade marks in the UK. 48,938 trade mark applications were received in the last financial year – a rise of 19% and - this year we expect to receive over 50,000 applications.

Time to first examination of applications is currently under 10 working days. I understand that in many jurisdictions it can take considerably longer – even up to several years. This is a fantastic achievement and the result of the investment and efficiencies introduced for example the new e-filing system and of course the dedication of the people.

Time is money and I should highlight the IPO’s role as a Tribunal, promoting mediation, holding case management conferences and in reaching a resolution of disputes. Next year the target will be tightened from 15 months to 12 months – just a couple of years ago the average was 3-4 years. I know a year still seems a long time. But we are of course dealing with legal disputes where each party has a right to present their case and be heard and the scale of transformation is very encouraging. And I know many people here this evening have a strong relationship with the IPO and will agree with me.

In conclusion

I am keeping you from your dinner. So can I just say that I enormously value the work of ITMA, the experience you bring and the work you put into our consultations and of course thank you for holding us to account.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for listening.

Speech: Speech given at BAE Systems by Prime Minister David Cameron

Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:00:00 +0000

It’s a huge privilege to be here today, and I want to start by congratulating BAE for taking on 800 apprentices this year. That is a record in your company’s history. I think it’s a really great achievement. It’s going to be great for the people involved but it’s also really, really important and good for our country.

And I want to say, before I really start, just when I look at this company and what you do, and I have the huge privilege of being Prime Minister and seeing what you do, I think you should be incredibly proud of what this company does. Right now, you are building some of the biggest warships the Royal Navy has ever had, including the 2 aircraft carriers. You’re launching submarines from Barrow that are some of the most advanced and silent and brilliant anywhere in the world, that enable us to keep our country safe. Here you’re making the Typhoon, an aircraft that has proved itself again and again in the skies over Libya, over Iraq, over the skies of our own country, and I get to see that first-hand. So this is a brilliant manufacturing technology and engineering business, and you should be really proud of what you do.

Before taking your questions – and that is what today’s about, your questions and I will try and answer them – I just wanted to make 3 points. The first is that we have a plan in our country, an economic plan, and the plan is working. It’s a plan about getting the country back to work. It’s a plan about getting our economy growing. It’s a plan about getting our deficit and our debts under control and it’s a plan about rebalancing our economy between south and north so we have a genuinely balanced economy, not so reliant on finance and services, but also reliant on manufacturing and technology.

Now, I can’t claim that in the last 5 years we’ve solved all those country’s problems – that would be wrong – but we have created 1,000 new jobs every day. We are now the fastest growing major economy in the Western world. We got the deficit down by half as a share of our economy, and jobs and livelihoods are growing in every part of the country, not just the south. Indeed, there have been more apprentices created in the north west, and, over the last year, the claimant count has fallen faster in the north west than anywhere else in the country. So we got a plan. The plan is working. We should stick to the plan.

Second point is that BAE Systems is actually a key part of that plan. I say we need to train more young people and you are investing in apprentices. I say we need to export more to other parts of the world and you are blazing a trail with your exports up over the last 5 years, and I believe more to come. I believe we need to rebalance this economy between south and north, between finance and manufacturing, and that’s exactly what you’re doing with your training, with your investment and with your future plans. So you’re a key part of the plan that is working that’s creating a stronger economy.

But the third thing I wanted to say is I want us, as a country, to be more ambitious, and more ambitious in a couple of really important regards. Yes, we’ve got more people in work in our country than ever before but we should be aiming for full employment, for anyone who wants a job, should be able to get a job. We don’t have that situation yet but if we stick to the plan, we keep investing, we keep growing, we can get there.

But I also want us to be more ambitious – even more ambitious on apprenticeships. We created 2 million in this Parliament. [Political content removed]

And there’s a new way that I’m announcing today that I want us to be even more ambitious. And that is I think that when young people leave school, they should either be going into an apprenticeship – as many of you have done – or going on to university to study a degree. That’s the aim. Everyone should have 1 of those 2 opportunities. So increasing apprenticeships but we’re also uncapping the number of university places. And today I can announce a new idea, a new scheme which is actually to bring the two together. To have a degree apprenticeship, so, as you leave school at 18, you would become an apprentice and you would start studying for your degree at the same time. Your fees at university would be paid for by a combination of the government support and the company that would be backing you.

Now I think this is really exciting because, of course, today you can do a degree and then you can do an apprenticeship. Or you can do an apprenticeship and then you can do a degree. But bringing the two together and being able to do the two at the same time, earning while you are learning, I think is really exciting. I think it will be very good for the young people involved because you get a degree, you get the skills without having to pay the fees; you’re earning while you’re learning.

It’s good for the companies because I think companies are keen to get hold of talented young people and train them up, and many can’t manage to attract the best graduates but under this scheme they’ll be able to get them, train them and work with them before they become graduates. And it will be good for our country because the basic truth is this: we are in a global race, global competition with other countries and we’ll win if we have the most skilled, most trained, most motivated workforce in the world. And that is the vision that we should have.

So I wanted to make that announcement today about being ambitious: ambitious for full employment, ambitious for more apprenticeships and ambitious for degree apprenticeships, the new scheme announced today.

That was what I wanted to say. Thank you for the welcome. Congratulations on appointing 800 apprentices this year. Thanks for what you’re doing, building these extraordinary aircraft and all the other work across BAE Systems. And with that, who wants to give me the first question.

Question

What will you do to ensure that the aerospace industry in the north west is not only secure but grows?

Prime Minister

What will I do to keep it growing? Well, the first thing I can do is to carry on in the job that I have. I’m Prime Minister but I’m also – I joke with Ian – I’m one of your unpaid sales staff. I like to get out around the world and encourage people, our partners and our allies, to buy the great equipment that we make.

And I want to make this point quite frankly. No one should be embarrassed or worried by the fact that we make defence equipment and we sell it to our allies around the world. It is an absolutely legitimate business. And I tell you why it is legitimate, because sometimes people forget this. We have a right in our country to self-defence, don’t we? We can invest in our defence industries and in our armed forces to defend ourselves. Other countries have that right too and you can’t expect every country to produce every last piece of equipment that is necessary for their defence. So we have one of the most tightly-controlled and licensed defence sales businesses in the world but it is a legitimate business. [Political content removed] So get out there and promote the great kit that we’ve got.

Second of all, the apprenticeship scheme, the skills, is absolutely essential. But third, and perhaps most crucially, is that people will only believe that we have great equipment if we are investing in it ourselves. And so I have said that the £16 billion that we spend every year on defence equipment, we are committed to that for 10 years. So you have a £160 billion defence equipment budget that will go up in real terms each year so we can plan for the future because it’s no good if you chop and change your defence equipment all the time. We need to know that we can afford those aircraft carriers, those Type 26 frigates, those submarines that you’re building at Barrow-in-Furness. We need to know that the money is there. So the equipment budget is sacrosanct, is protected, and so I think the combination of the equipment budget, the skills we’re investing in, the work we do with our allies overseas, I think there’s a very bright future for aerospace. We’re the number 2 in the world after the United States, and, I think, if we go on doing those things, there’s no reason why we can’t keep that position for the future.

Question

Hi, what I wanted to know is what kind of message would you give to young people who may not utilise their vote in the general election?

Prime Minister

What I would say to everyone, please vote, even if you’re not going to vote for me. Vote because it is important. There are people all over the world who, you know, would love to be able vote and people who have died for the right to vote. And so I would say, if only for that reason, get out and vote and make your choice and read up about what the different politics and policies and parties are.

But I would also challenge the whole kind of Russell Brand nonsense about voting doesn’t matter or doesn’t make any difference. I think he’s completely wrong. It does make a difference. You know, you might agree with me, or you might agree with the other guy, but we have very different ideas about the future of the country. [Political content removed] I’ve got a vision for the future of the country. Now his vision’s different. So don’t let anyone say there aren’t differences between the politicians. There are. You choose.

Final point I’d make – odd one maybe for a Prime Minister to make. One of the great things about voting is you can get rid of people you don’t like. In our system, you know, whether it’s your local council, whether it is your Prime Minister, your Member of Parliament, you can chuck them out, literally. You know, if you vote against me on 8 May, I’ll be driving a removal van up Downing Street and packing up and going. That’s the way it works. It’s incredibly valuable. [Political content removed] But it is a really powerful thing so don’t let anyone tell you voting doesn’t matter. It does. It’s a privilege. It’s not compulsory – we shouldn’t do that – but it’s a privilege and you should make the most of it.

Question

Hi, my question is to you is what are we going to do about the Russian Bears invading our airspace?

Prime Minister

Right, okay. Good point because, of course, when these Russian aircraft fly close to British airspace, as they have done on several occasions this year, 1 of these or 2 of these fantastic Typhoon aircraft are immediately up in the air and escorting those aircraft away from British airspace, and so it’s a reminder of just how essential the Typhoons that you build are to our air defences.

What are we going to do about it? Well first of all, I think we should recognise that the Russians are probably trying to make some sort of point here. They’re showing off their capabilities. We shouldn’t overreact because these planes haven’t actually come into our sovereign airspace. They’ve been flying around it. But we should keep our defences strong. We should make sure we can scramble these Typhoons at a moment’s notice and escort them away from any danger. So keep our defences strong, make clear to the Russians that they might be trying to make some sort of point, but frankly we’re not very impressed by it. And make sure that we have the capabilities to keep our air defences strong, which we do.

And these are extraordinarily capable aircraft, and I know that because when aircraft fly into a British sovereign airspace that we don’t know about, I know exactly how fast these things can get up in the air and get alongside any aircraft, whether it is rogue or unknown or whatever, and how quickly we can take action. So we should be very proud of the capabilities we’ve got right here.

Question

Do you believe that research is important, not only to manned but unmanned aircraft for us to keep in our – keep our level in this year – in this – in the country and in the world?

Prime Minister

I think this is a really important point because the truth is that the next platforms are likely to be more unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs. And if you are going to be a front rank defence player, you’ve always got to be thinking of the next development. So let’s be incredibly proud of the Typhoon. It’s a world-beating aircraft. I think you’ve got forward orders of some 370 and hopefully will have some more as we show it off around the world, how capable it is.

But we should be thinking of the next step, and the next steps are even more stealthy aircraft, more unmanned aerial aircraft, and for that what we should be doing is working out who to partner with so that we can jointly invest in the research and development, but make sure there’s a really big British footprint involved in it. And so I signed something with the French called the Lancaster House Agreement, and I think France and Britain, as the 2 major military players in Europe, I think there’s a real opportunity for us to work together on this future technology.

There’s vital work you’re doing here, there’s a commitment from the government to the research and development, there’s a knowledge that future aircraft are quite likely to be unmanned. I wouldn’t say the age of the piloted fighter jet is over, not least because of course we’ve got the Joint Strike Fighter coming up next, which many of you will be working on. But clearly, more unmanned aircraft drones, ISTAR, intelligence gathering aircraft – these are going to be a vital part of the future and we have to be doing the research now, otherwise we’ll be left behind.

And this leads to a really important point that sometimes I think people don’t get about defence. Your defence budget – it’s no good if you just keep it where it is and keep the capabilities that you have. You have to keep thinking to the future: what is it we’re going to need? And I can tell you, as Prime Minister, when we’re thinking about how do we help the Nigerians rescue the Chibok girls, or how do we try and help recover a hostage on the other side of the world, or how do we help our allies in Iraq and Syria to deal with terrorists on the ground, more and more what we need is intelligence, surveillance, information gathering, we need forces that are very mobile. So if you just stick with what you’ve got – if we stick with, you know, battle tanks rather than drones, we’d be making the wrong decision. Of course you need both, but the job of government is to get the balance right, and the balance needs to shift more in favour of research development and the future capabilities because otherwise we won’t be able to intervene in the ways that keep our country and our people safe.

Question

Hi. My question is, you said this company is a key part to your plan, but I’m guessing that means the Successor Programme as well, and I was just wondering what you’re doing to sway the voters who are against the Trident replacement.

Prime Minister

Okay, very good point, Trident replacement. Well, first of all, thank you for what you’re doing at Barrow with the hunter-killer submarines. They’re absolutely vital. But we must, in my view, replace the Trident submarines and renew our nuclear deterrent.

And it’s worthwhile, for a moment, sort of standing back and considering why this is necessary. It’s obviously a lot of money, it’s a big investment, but I have quite a straightforward view about it, which is we live in a very dangerous world, the nuclear deterrent is our ultimate insurance policy against blackmail, and you’ve got to recognise that there are lots more states in the world that are trying to attain nuclear weapons. So to me, the idea of giving up our nuclear deterrent or weakening our nuclear deterrent at a time of uncertainty and danger, when you’ve got countries trying to acquire nuclear weapons, that is a risk we shouldn’t take.

So if you’ve passed that question, you’ve then got to ask, ‘Well, what does a replacement to Trident look like?’ And I’ve looked at all the arguments, and it seems to me incontrovertible that the best form of deterrents is a submarine-based system that can be continuously at sea, so that it is undetectable and can always give you the assurance that your deterrent is inviolable. So to me, it has to be continuously at sea, submarine-based, and we have to replace it in full. Now, the argument that I will make, and I’ll make it all over the country, is simply that – that, you know, in a dangerous world, you need the ultimate insurance policy and the price you pay for that insurance policy is fair, given that if you gave it up, you’d never be able to regenerate it.

[Political content removed] It also means jobs, it means technology, it means research and development. I think it’d be very difficult to maintain some of our other capabilities if we didn’t have this capability. But those are all secondary arguments, but I will make the first principle argument: Britain’s a front-rank power, we should have that insurance policy, and that means renewing Trident. [Political content removed]

Question

Hi. I’d like to know how your plan for apprenticeships is better than what other parties are offering.

Prime Minister

Well, I think the good thing is that everyone is interested in apprenticeships. Everyone recognises this is a model that works. And what we did as a government is obviously we had to make some difficult decisions and there were some areas we had to reduce some spending. So for instance, we said to the police, you do a great job but we want you to do it with a lower budget, and they’ve done it and crime has fallen. They’re done a great job. But we looked at apprenticeships and thought actually this is an area where we really should be expanding. [Political content removed]

I think second thing is, this degree apprenticeship – I don’t know what the other parties think, but this is work that we’ve done, listening to businesses, particularly maybe slightly smaller businesses than BAE, maybe some of your suppliers, some of whom have said to us we really want to hire bright graduates, but we sometimes lose out against the big companies because they can do the milk round, they can attract very bright graduates, so we would like to invest in graduates before they even go to university. And so I think this is a very neat scheme which we are particularly pioneering.

So I think it’s good there’s sort of cross-party agreement, apprenticeships are good, but I would argue we’ve thought it through, we’ve put a number on it, and crucially, you know, you can only afford things like apprenticeship programmes if you’ve got a strong economy, and because of the policies we’ve pursued, you know, we’ve created the jobs, we’ve got the economy going, we’re getting the deficit down – a strong economy can support skills and universities and good schools and the rest of it. A weak economy where you don’t get hold of the debts, then you get into trouble.

Question

Hi. I’m curious what you’re doing to try and make housing both more affordable and make sure that it goes to young people.

Prime Minister

Yes. Yes. Very good question. The bold truth is, we just haven’t built enough homes in Britain for many years. Housebuilding has basically declined every decade since the 1960s. So there’s a fundamental problem we’ve got to get to grips with, and that is one of the reasons we have reformed the planning system. We replaced a thousand pages of planning rules with just 50 pages and now we’ve seen, I think, in the last year 240,000 planning permissions go through, so we are building more houses.

But I don’t think that’s enough just to build houses. We need to change the system, and there are two fundamental things we’ve done that I think will make a big difference. One is Help to Buy. This is a scheme that basically recognises many of you in a couple of years’ time with a well-paid job and a partner in a job – you could afford a mortgage payment, and so you could afford to live in a house you own, but you might struggle to get the deposit together because the banks and the building societies recently have only been offering 70%, 80% loan-to-value mortgages.

So Help to Buy says, if you can afford the mortgage payments, we will help you by ensuring that part of the mortgage that takes us up to 90% or 95%. So this has enabled 88,000 people in our country in the last 3 years, young people mostly, to buy their first home because they’ve been able to have a small deposit, maybe £10,000 or £15,000, and then they’ve been able to afford the mortgage payment. So Help to Buy is absolutely crucial and we’ll keep that going in the next parliament.

Second thing we’re going to do is build starter homes for sale rather than for rent. I think most people want to own their own flat or their own home. They don’t want to rent forever, and so we need to build homes that young people can afford. So these homes, they’ll be 80% of the normal market value. We won’t make the builders have to build so many other affordable homes at the same time to keep the price down. They’ll be reserved for people who are under the age of 40 so they can’t be bought by buy-to-let landlords, they can’t be bought by foreign property investors, they are reserved for young people living in Britain who want to get on the housing ladder.

So I think those 3 things: change the planning system to get Britain building, build starter homes, and have Help to Buy so you don’t need a massive great deposit. Those 3 things I think will make a real difference, because I want us to be a country where people who work hard, who do the right thing, can afford to buy their own home, and at the moment not enough people are able to do that, and it needs to change.

Question

Thank you. Some professional staff across several companies feel that apprentices are being brought in to replace their jobs. How do you propose to create the harmony to, you know, encourage new apprentices to come in but also to restore the faith in all these people who are building these things?

Prime Minister

I think – yes. Look, I think that’s a really good point because there is a danger, of course, that companies will hire apprentices in order to have relatively low-cost labour to replace people who are working very hard. And that’s why we have to make sure that the apprenticeship schemes are quality schemes, that there is real training and education involved. And the apprenticeship minister is sitting right in front of me, Matt Hancock, and that is a very important part of his role to make sure that we don’t let companies do that. So they have to be good schemes, good quality, good education.

So, yes, the company’s benefiting, because they’re getting bright people to work for them, but the individuals are benefitting too because they’re getting training and they’re getting skills. And that, I think, is the key because we’ve got to make sure that, as you leave your apprenticeship, you’re going to get a well-paid job. And I was asking here, you know, what the figures are, and actually they compare very well – better – 4 years of an apprenticeship here, at BAE Systems, you’re earning more than a university graduate going into a graduate job typically would get. So, you know, I think it is working, but we’ve got to keep our eye on the quality of the apprenticeships. And also, I think we need to look at the minimum wages that are paid, including the apprenticeship minimum wage, which I want to see rise. I think it’s time for that to rise, and I hope we can make some progress in the coming days.

Question

Hi. I’m just wondering with the US saying that we – they were worried about how much we spend about defence. Do you think that we need to spend more on, you know, BAE or defence as a whole?

Prime Minister

Yes. Look, I think the defence budget is absolutely a crucial part of our national security. There are other parts too. We’ve got to invest in our security services, intelligence services, GCHQ, policing. These things are all about our national security. Our defence budget is the second biggest in NATO. We’re one of the only countries in Europe that spend 2% of our GDP on defence. And what I’ve said very clearly is, look, the most important thing is that we are clear about the equipment budget for the next ten years, because that is really the key to having a – forces and capabilities that, with the Americans and others, we can make a difference in the world.

And so, I’m not saying all of it will go to BAE Systems. But the £160 billion over the next 10 years that’s going to pay for the aircraft carriers, the Type 26s, the submarines, the typhoons, the F-35s – in my constituency, I’ve got the Voyager aircraft, and the A400Ms at RAF Brize Norton. The money for those things is there, so we can have the confidence we’re going to be a front rank defence player with the Americans. We meet 2%. We meet it this year, we’ll meet it next year. The time to set the defence budget overall is at the next spending round, but I will be very cognisant of the fact that, you know, you get what you pay for in defence.

What we’ve done the last 5 years is that we basically kept the defence budget level, at about £35 billion: as I say, fifth biggest in the world, second biggest in NATO. And by keeping it level, we’ve had to take some difficult decisions, but actually we’ve got rid of the great black hole in our defence budget, where we were signed up to lots of things we couldn’t afford. What we’re now signed up to, we can afford.

And crucially, when you talk to our troops, when you talk to our navy, our RAF, and you ask them about their equipment, you know, they say we’ve now got some of the best equipment anywhere in the world. I always ask this question. I’ve been to Afghanistan, I think 13 times in the last 10 years, and the last time I went, you know, not a complaint about helicopters, about equipment, about body armour, about what we’ve got for our forces. So, I’m satisfied we have a strong budget. We’re going to have to set it at the next spending round, but the equipment budget is absolutely secured, and I think that’s the crucial part of the long-term deal for defence.

Question

Good morning, Prime Minister. I am an employer of apprenticeships and degrees as well, and I do consider there’s a – what you’ve announced today, I think it’s absolutely brilliant in terms of the linkages between apprentices and degree courses. But as an employer, we do find there’s a delta between the graduates coming out of university now, in having the appropriate skills that the universities are offering them, to the actual skills that we need as an employer in industry and in engineering. So, I was just wondering if more could be done to align the universities to engage with the companies to create those specific needs and work closer?

Prime Minister

I think that’s a really important point. You know, at the end of the day, the education system’s only working if we’re producing school leavers and graduates that can do the jobs that a modern economy is generating. And I think degree apprenticeships absolutely will help with that, because, in future, if you want, you can talk to a school leaver about doing an apprenticeship with you and a degree at the same time, and so you’ll be working with them through their university career. But that’s only 1 solution. I would say also we need employers to get stuck in with the universities and talk to them about the capabilities and the courses that would be most useful for them. I think that would make a difference.

Third thing is publishing better information. It’s disappointing we still don’t really have – we will have soon, but a proper database where you can search, ‘If I do this degree at this university, or this course at this college, what job and what pay am I likely to get?’ We should have a totally searchable database so that young people can see far more detail about what I will get out of the education I’m undertaking. I think that would make a difference.

Third and final thing. This is very basic, but the basics really matter. Lots of companies I go to, when I ask them how many apprentices they’re creating, they might say 10 or 20. And then I ask how many people apply, and they’ll say 100/200. And I say, ‘Well, how on earth do you decide how to take the 10 or the 20?’ And they say, ‘Well, the problem is, Prime Minister, that all too often lots of the people applying haven’t got the basic maths and English that are at the heart of any apprenticeship.’ And I do think we do need to make sure that everyone in our school is studying English and maths at least to GCSE level, so that they’ve got those basic qualifications. I think, in the past, sometimes people were almost told, you know, well there are vocation skills and there are academic skills. But actually English and maths are key vocational skills as well. So, I think instilling that into our primary and secondary schools is absolutely vital to solving the problem that you are talking about.

Can I thank you again for the very warm welcome? Can I thank you for what you do at this amazing company? Can I wish you well, all of you starting out or some way through your apprenticeships? I hope you find you’ve made really great choice, because in the end this is what this is all about. We can talk about policies and manifestos and facts and figures, but in the end what it’s about is: are we giving people the chance to get on in life and achieve their dreams, to get a decently paid job, to raise a family, to have a home of their own, to enjoy a decent quality of life in this great country? That, to me, is what apprenticeships are about, and that is what great businesses like this are all about. It’s a privilege to work with you here at BAE Systems [Political content removed] ] It’s been an enormous privilege over the last 5 years to get to know just some of what you do at this great business. Thank you very much indeed.

Speech: Managing intellectual property

Tue, 10 Mar 2015 10:55:00 +0000

Introduction

As Minister for Intellectual Property I am pleased to have been invited to give the keynote address at this important International Patent Forum. IP is important for us as a nation. £63.5 billion, over 4% of GDP , is invested in intellectual property rights. This is an investment in knowledge. Making the most of those intellectual assets, both in the UK and across the globe, is more important now than it ever has been.

When I was appointed Minister for Intellectual Property last summer I was struck by the importance of IP to our creative and scientific industries. I was also delighted to see that the UK was judged by Taylor Wessing to have the best IP regime in the world.

This was confirmed recently in the US Global IP Centre International Index which ranked the UK number one for enforcement, and recognised all we have done in the past year.

Some highlights are:

Bringing together copyright owners and search engines to reduce the number of infringing websites which appear in search engine results.

Securing additional funding for PIPCU , the IP crime unit in the City of London Police. This unit is the first of its kind in the world and is dedicated to tackling the sale of counterfeit goods and the availability of infringing websites online.

Engaging in Europe on collective rights management, trade mark reform, and trade secrets. We have also been building international relationships, for example with China, India, Brazil, Mexico and south east Asia where we have worked closely with local partners to help improve cooperation, identify business issues and increase enforcement capacity.

The IPO is also at the forefront of the government’s ‘digital transformation’ programme. Over 90% of patents are now renewed online; the online filing system for designs is due to launch next year; and work is underway to offer further digital services. And although less important for patents than other areas of IP we are very engaged in bringing our expertise to commission thinking on the digital single market.

Because IP can be a driver for growth and investment, I am therefore pleased to announce today that the IPO , working with industry and the financial services sector, has developed an IP Finance Toolkit. This will help businesses to present the security and financial worth of their IP when seeking finance and help banks recognise the value of IP in a business. It will assist businesses which are rich in intangibles, but lack traditional assets, to make a stronger case when they need to access the finance they need to grow.

Attachés

It is important that we help British business make the most of their IP by investing abroad. I know from my own business experience that investing and operating in foreign markets can be challenging for companies. They can be fearful of IP infringement and poor enforcement regimes overseas. I feel we can and should help with that. This means helping create a better system in the future to protect investments. And it means standing side-by-side with our companies as they navigate the global IP systems they find today.

The IPO works closely with UK Trade and Investment, and the Foreign Office, to help businesses understand the IP aspects of operating abroad. In addition, our specialist IP attachés support UK businesses in 4 important and challenging markets (China, Brazil, India and South East Asia). We have recently appointed Vijay Iyer to provide support to UK business in India, whilst our attaché Anshika is on maternity leave. We have also added Monica Su to the team in China to assist Tom Duke.

China

I witnessed first hand the vital part our attachés play in achieving successes in foreign markets during my week-long visit to China last year. I led a delegation from the UK including Justice Birss, a UK High Court Judge, senior IPO officials and over 80 British businesses to Beijing in September for the 2nd UK -China IP Symposium.

During the visit, the delegation visited 8 cities and brought together UK and Chinese counterparts at senior ministerial level, as well as at a technical level, to share best practice from our respective IP systems. There was engagement with top ministers and state secretaries.

I facilitated a landmark agreement between the China Britain Business Council (CBBC) and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba which will help address the tens of millions pounds lost to Chinese counterfeiting and piracy via the online platform each year. The agreement is enabling British businesses to gain easier access to Alibaba’s online enforcement mechanisms. This was one of only 2 IP agreements that Alibaba signed in 2014.

This was followed by a constructive exchange in November, when the IPO held discussions with Chinese officials on improving efficiency of patent examination and on civil procedures in IP enforcement. This builds on the UK -China pilot Patent Prosecution Highway, signed during the Prime Minister’s visit in December 2013. The UK is now one of China’s primary partners for IP cooperation, and our engagement is bringing significant benefits for UK businesses.

The Duke of Cambridge’s recent visit demonstrates the importance of the UK ’s relationship with China. Across Shanghai Prince William promoted the best of British creativity: film, design, architecture, digital healthcare, education and fashion. Our IP cooperation with China underpins business opportunities in all these sectors, and is building a platform for global business success in the years to come.

Global patent reform

The UK is also at the forefront of efforts to improve the global patent system to make it work better for business. Most of you will know John Alty, Chief Executive of the IPO , who is leading the B+ group. This is considering how to harmonise patent laws as part of an overall package.

Of course, harmonisation of laws between countries is a gradual process and hence improving the international Patent Cooperation Treaty system is a high priority for us. We recognise that small changes there can have a big impact because of the number of users and offices involved.

We continue to seek other ways to make the patent system more efficient for business. For example we are part of the 19 IP offices which form the Global Patent Prosecution Highway, as well as having a number of bilateral agreements in place. This allows companies to take advantage of the timely service on offer in the UK to speed up approval of their patents abroad.

The message from users is clear: harmonisation of patent issues such as the grace period is important - even if there is not yet consensus on the end result. And users have been equally clear that, to be worthwhile, harmonisation must be truly international. Group B+ provides an opportunity to harmonise across a wide range of key markets, something which cannot be achieved through bilateral trade agreements.

UPC /unitary patent

At the European level we are making progress on the Unified Patent Court and Unitary Patent.

I know one of your biggest concerns is how much this new system will cost. One of the principles we are seeking to get accepted is that any charges will reflect cost and, of course, that the system is sustainable. Renewal fees for the unitary patent will be set by the participating states in the EPO Select Committee. They have an ambitious timetable to reach agreement on renewal fees and other financial issues by the summer.

As far as the Court is concerned, the Preparatory Committee is expected to run a 3 month consultation on a draft set of Court fees this spring. This will be your opportunity to have your say, which I encourage you to do.

London will have responsibility for life sciences cases in the Unified Patent Court. This is a great opportunity for the UK life sciences sector, which is one of the most productive in the world, generating turnover of over £50 billion and contributing more than £12 billion a year to the UK economy.

Conclusion

All this shows the government is committed to helping protect the intellectual assets of British business in key markets abroad, through engagement with key decision makers and by negotiating for the best outcomes for UK business.

We also need to ensure that the IP framework in the UK continues to meet the needs of its users. I would like to finish by outlining my vision for IP with 3 themes.

Firstly, we must ensure that the IP framework encourages innovation by offering the correct incentives to foster creative thinking. To do this we need to have the correct legal framework and networks of good practice.

Secondly, there must be adequate enforcement mechanisms. In the UK we are strong in this area, for example PIPCU , and also more recently the reforms made to the Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court which are widely admired.

Thirdly, we need to reach out to the future creators by making sure they learn about the importance of intellectual property. The IPO has developed education strategy to make sure that IP awareness is increased amongst school children and also amongst those at university studying relevant.

By doing these things, we will ensure that the UK continues to have a world class IP system good for all of you involved with the Forum and good for our economic well-being as a nation.

Thank you for listening.

Speech: StudentshIP Enterprise Awards 2015

Thu, 05 Mar 2015 14:00:05 +0000

Hello. I am delighted to be here to launch our new online training package - Intellectual Property ( IP ) Tutor - and present the prizes for our StudentshIP Enterprise Awards. There are 3 important themes today:

helping people understand the value and importance of IP
giving people the skills they need to compete in a demanding employment market
ensuring growth that will create job opportunities for the future

Ministers are sometimes accused of only talking about success and of ignoring anything which does not fit into this happy pattern. I want to do the opposite and mention some of the reasons why it is essential we make progress on these 3 issues.

I take as my text a European Commission report of September 2014 on member states’ competitiveness. Say what you like about the Commission, they are good at putting together dispassionate, reasonably objective, accounts of how matters stand.

Some of their report makes uncomfortable reading. Our manufacturing constitutes a significantly lower percentage of Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) than it does in most member states; and manufacturing productivity is increasing more slowly than most. Our young adult population scores significantly below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) average on basic skills and qualifications. And whilst larger companies tend to provide training or education, most companies are small and just 15% of employers offer apprenticeships, many of which are low level. Plenty to work on there. And we are making good progress especially on apprenticeships and on improving the results in our schools.

Of course there are some good points in the report. For example on innovation we are recognised as above average.

That makes it all the more important that we press ahead energetically with advances like those we are discussing today. The only way to get better is to actively seek to improve.

I turn now to IP , our main subject.

The UK has a proud history of innovation and creativity and we also enjoy a rich cultural heritage in which the creative industries make a vital contribution.

As Minister for Intellectual Property I am clear that future generations should understand the ins and outs of intellectual property. This is important for everything from defending our biggest or newest brands to the copyright in pop music and the patents for life saving drugs.

I believe that every child should leave school with a basic understanding of IP principles and a respect for others’ IP . All graduates should know enough about IP to manage ideas effectively within their chosen field.

To achieve that goal we need to make IP an integrated part of learning from the earliest school years through primary, secondary and higher education. In a recent report, Mike Weatherley MP said the government needed to support education professionals, with online resources and lesson plans, so IP finds its way into the curriculum via other subjects.

From the earliest age, our children will be given opportunities to connect with the basic principles of intellectual property.

We have worked with Aardman Animations – a great example of a highly successful British company. We have developed a competition, aligned with the new film Shaun in the City, that allows children to explore the different types of intellectual property. Alongside this there are lesson plans and activities for teachers to introduce the concepts of innovation, creativity and IP in the classroom. These aren’t for standalone ‘ IP lessons’, they link to core curriculum subjects. By doing all this children will understand how IP links to the real world – from fiction and works of art to the world of fashion where designs and brands are a huge part of value created, to wearable electronics now used in sport or long term medical care.

Over the coming year, we will be extending this further by developing materials aimed at secondary school pupils. These will link into topics such as business studies, information technology and music. We will be building an online portal, drawing together resources, games and videos to support IP education for all students throughout their school and university life.

As children grow up it won’t just be school lessons that are important. It will also be the culture they experience in their peer group. We need them really to understand why IP is so important. Many young people aspire to careers in IP rich industries – even if they are not aware of it. The UK has an outstanding record in creative industries – music, computer games and television. We have a proud record in invention and design too – Dyson being just one house hold name that excels in this area. These businesses rely on intellectual property. By protecting their IP they are able to generate income for their business, build a competitive advantage and invest in future innovation.

We are working with partners to demonstrate the value of IP to businesses. The BBC’s ‘Dragons’ Den’ has inspired many would-be entrepreneurs to protect their IP from the outset. Working with UK Music we developed Music Inc, an app based game that allows people to experience the highs and lows of taking a new artist and nurturing them to become a star. In the year since we launched the game we have had over 190,000 players and we can see that, as they see the impact of piracy, their behaviours within the game begin to change – so we know this approach really can work.

You are here today representing the brightest and best of the UK’s talent - our university students. We know that they are looking to maximise their employment prospects and that the job market for student leavers has changed. Today’s graduates know that they can no longer rely on their core qualifications alone to secure graduate level employment.

For these reasons, giving them a sound understanding of business and professional conduct, along with nurturing entrepreneurial attributes is important. IP is a key element of this innovative enterprise and is now vital for University leavers.

A survey of students told us that 80% felt that IP was important for their future careers, yet only 40% think their knowledge is sufficient – clearly there is room for improvement here.

Over the coming years, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education ( QAA ) - will be reviewing the benchmarks for university courses. These set out the essential elements a degree course must cover. The IPO is working closely with the QAA to include IP in the relevant subject benchmarks.

Engineering is especially important. I know as my step daughter works on the international construction of a nuclear fusion reactor at ITER in the South of France, the biggest construction project in Europe on some metrics. An amendment has already been made to the benchmark for engineering degrees and all engineering courses offered from September 2016 will include a component of IP learning.

Today we are here to launch IP Tutor, an excellent online learning tool. You will have an opportunity to try it for yourselves later today. It covers all the basic forms of IP – patents, designs, copyright, trade marks and trade secrets. It has a number of different paths tailored to meet the needs of different disciplines. So, whether you are a student in a STEM subject or one of the humanities, specialising in business or law, or a creative arts student – there is an IP Tutor option for you.

Learning is a vital first step but we also need to help students put what they learn into practice. I will shortly be awarding prizes to the winners of the StudentshIP Enterprise Awards.

These awards promote and celebrate the practical application of IP skills. We had an excellent field to choose from. Competition was fierce, with some really strong entries and great ideas. And no one knows who is going to win!

We know that, right now, the IP education we are giving young people is not good enough. But this will improve. It must improve. Ours is an increasingly knowledge based economy – we invest more in intangible assets than in buildings or machinery. Future generations need to understand IP . It is through the development of new ideas, design and creativity that we will secure long term growth. And through this long term growth we will create job opportunities. Through integration of IP into the school room and university life we can achieve this. I hope you will join me in spreading the word – IP is essential for our future.

Speech: Future of manufacturing

Thu, 26 Feb 2015 11:03:00 +0000

It’s a pleasure to be here at the EEF today, and to be addressing you, the people who’ve designed, built, and welded together the British recovery. I want to begin by thanking EEF for inviting me to speak.

You are tireless advocates for UK manufacturing. Even though no-one knows what your initials stand for, we all know what you stand for: supporting the manufacturing businesses that are crucial for the future of our economy.

The people in this room, you enrich our society by exporting, by investing, by creating jobs.

Your success is mission critical to our vision…

Of a country that pays its way…

that is more balanced, by sector, by geography…
here we strive to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business…
in so doing become the most prosperous major nation upon this earth…

I am proud to be part of a government with this long-term economic plan at its heart, which strains day and night to champion your interests. We will back you, not just with rhetoric - though we will unashamedly do that. We will back you with action.

You told us you needed a more balanced economy, with more growth outside the South East.

We’ve listened and we’re creating the Northern Powerhouse, with jobs growing faster in the North East and North West than in London.

You told us you needed action on energy costs.

We’ve listened and introduced a £7 billion package of support, including compensation for energy-intensive industries to stop industry simply moving overseas.

You told us you needed more high quality, employer-led apprenticeships.

We’ve asked leading companies in aerospace, automotive, life sciences and food, to rewrite the apprentice rulebook. Already young people are starting on these new trailblazer Apprenticeships, rigorous and responsive to employers’ needs.

You told us you needed a modern industrial strategy: custom-made policy support for all industries which require government to take a long-term view.

From the new sector councils, to our Catapult innovation centres, to funding partnerships for the latest technology – in partnership, we are delivering.

And today we publish our Manufacturing Supply Chain Action Plan which sets out our next steps to strengthen supply chains further.

We believe in manufacturing, not because we see you as producers rather than predators, not because you’re a handy source of tax, but because we believe in British business.

I don’t care whether you’re a FTSE giant, a mid-cap mittelstand, or a micro-business you run off your kitchen table, whether you’re based in London or Londonderry, whether you work at a desk, a factory, or drive a white van. What matters to me - what matters to us - is that you provide things other people want to buy. You solve other peoples’ problems.

And my first question is ‘what can we do to make it easier to help you to do business?’

In some areas this means government doing less. Less taxing, less regulating, less spending the country can’t afford.

In this parliament we’ve delivered the most competitive corporation tax in the G20, doubled the annual investment allowance, and taken 400,000 small businesses out of employer NICs altogether with our Employment Allowance.

We’ve taken £10 billion off the cost of domestic red tape and are on track to be the first Government in modern times to reduce the burden of regulation.

I want to thank the EEF in particular for your strong support for our Focus on Enforcement programme in which you tell us how we can improve the way regulations are inforced.

Our action on red tape has included cutting employment tribunals by 80 percent, freeing thousands of firms from unnecessary inspections. It’s part of a wider drive to remove unnecessary burdens.

We’ve even removed the age restrictions on the sale chocolate liqueurs.

Because we all know the sad sight of a group of teenagers, sat on a park bench, off their heads on a box of Thorntons.

Tackling regulatory burdens will also form part of our plans to reform Europe, and address uncertainty over Britain’s unhappy relationship with Europe in the next parliament, once and for all.

And we’ve kept interest rates low and our economy safe by not deviating from our deficit reduction plan. I want to thank you, very personally, for the support you gave us when siren voices insisted we abandon course. You stuck with us and we saw it turn out right.

And you know it’s not enough just to stop at that. It’s not just about government doing less.

There are some things government needs to do more of: on skills, finance, infrastructure and science.

So we are unabashedly interventionist.

Take science. Working alongside business and using the best independent research, we have identified eight great technologies where the UK has the capability to become a world leader: from robotics, to regenerative medicine.

We are backing them and we are doing so alongside private sector investment.

For years Britain had a reputation as a place where ideas were born, but where commercial deployment happened elsewhere. We are ending that, supporting great ideas all the way from the lab to the marketplace.

On finance, we’ve introduced tough new regulations for the City, to clear up the mess from the crash.

And we’ve established the British Business Bank, the first of its kind in the UK, with a mandate to unlock new forms of business finance, including new challenger banks.

The Business Bank also manages our successful Start-Up Loan programme, which has helped start 25,000 small businesses so far.

On skills we have put in place radical long-term reforms.

When we came into government, so-called ‘programme-led’ apprenticeships meant that some apprentices were not required to spend any time in the workplace at all.

We’ve changed the rules so that every apprenticeship must be a paid job, in a real workplace, lasting at least 12 months, and with high quality off-the-job training.

Some predicted that tackling quality in this way would lead to a fall in the quantity of apprentices.

In fact, the number of people doing an apprenticeship has doubled since the election. We have already seen the two millionth Apprentice in this parliament.

I’m proud of this rejuvenation of an ancient concept - in the next parliament we have committed to three million high quality, employer-led Apprentices.

This pro-youth, pro-opportunity agenda is working. Youth unemployment is falling at record rates. Apprenticeships are a partnership between government and business for the betterment of both the economy and society. In that sense they are a metaphor for our wider approach.

Because you are the ultimate source of society’s prosperity, any sensible Government has an obligation to support you to succeed. After all, business, done right is a force for good in society. But businesses in turn have obligations to the free enterprise society of which they are a part.

Markets are free and competitive only in a strong framework - of law and reasonable behaviour. It’s a reciprocal arrangement, something for something.

Here’s the way I see this deal:

we’ll keep taxes low, but we expect them to be paid in full
we’ll keep Whitehall off your back, but we expect you to pay your suppliers on time
when the economy’s in a slump we’ll understand if you can’t manage a pay-rise, but when it’s growing that’s exactly what we want to see

I have huge faith in that partnership because of what it has achieved so far:

three quarters of a million new businesses, since 2010
1.8 million more people in work
2 million apprenticeships
the fastest growth in the G7
world number one for research citations
record numbers going to university
record numbers from the poorest backgrounds going to university
record numbers of women, young people, older people and people from ethnic minorities all starting their own business
business investment up
exports to China up
wages rising
energy bills falling
the deficit halved

Yes there is more to do. But. That is what is at risk if we were to abandon our long-term economic plan. And I want to talk very frankly for a second about that risk.I thought about whether to do so in this speech. It would be better if I didn’t have to. But I come from a small business background. I know from personal experience what it’s like when the economy goes wrong and it affects your business and your family.

And now, I’m privileged to be in a position to try to stop it happening to others.

We will to stand up for small business on late payment. We’ve already legislated to require large companies to publish their payment terms. This transparency will allow us to highlight the best, and also admonish the worst sort of behaviour. It will help us make prompt payment a boardroom subject, as it needs to be.

We must change UK payment culture. Unacceptable payment terms must stop. Why should long payment terms be deemed acceptable business practice here when they are not in many of our major competitors, like Germany?

From this week, all public sector contracts must by law pay on 30 days, and the 30 day terms must be cascaded down the supply chain.

Today I can announce we will go further.

I don’t want to legislate to interfere with a contract law that is used throughout the world. But I am not prepared to take further legislation off the table if payment culture doesn’t improve.

We are rewriting the Prompt Payment Code.

Now it will say that 30 day payment terms are to be the norm of acceptable behaviour in the UK, with 60 days as the maximum in all but exceptional circumstances. This revised Code will have teeth, with a new enforcement body which will be able to eject companies that fail to live up to the new standards, and potentially with the power to levy fines.

I have written to major firms to explain that new transparency measures will make a company’s payment terms a reputational issue. Now I expect all major UK companies to sign up to the tougher new Prompt Payment Code and tackle this problem once and for all.

For ultimately, a contract law people can trust, where agreements signed up to are reasonable, and are then followed, is good for businesses large and small.

We expect the very best of British business because of working with you and believing in you, that is what I see.

Over these past five years we’ve come a long way. Our country is heading in the right direction, thanks to that partnership with you.

Together we will lay the roads and rail our country needs to grow, we will equip our young people with the skills they need to succeed, and we will rebalance the economy so that it is divided not by wealth but by economic specialism.

And while the right policies are important, just as important is a government which understands that business is the ultimate source of our wealth, security and freedom as a nation. That without the entrepreneurial drive to solve other peoples’ problems, and be rewarded for doing so, without the constant transfer of ideas from drawing board, to assembly line, to catalogue and shop window, nothing else is possible.

We understand, and we know that with right support from us, you can make Britain the most prosperous major economy in the world. And in reaching that goal we will always be by your side.

Speech: Vision for a digital single market

Wed, 25 Feb 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Thank you for inviting me here today. I come from a country where freedom of speech is valued to another where the same is true. Sometimes there is a price to pay for freedom. In Copenhagen you have just paid a large price. Our thoughts and support are with you.

Today, I am here to reflect on how to unleash the potential in the European digital economy. The digital revolution offers massive opportunities for both businesses and consumers, but also generates concern about how best to handle the many issues related to the digital economy.

I will come back to some of the concrete measures that need to be taken in a moment. But, first I want to touch very briefly on some of the wider implications of that revolution.

As a consequence of the digital revolution many tasks are being either mechanised or are becoming subject to global competition.

Carl Benedikt Frey of Oxford University found that digital businesses require very little capital to get started.

In a recent survey of 96 mobile app developers the average cost of developing an app was €5700. WhatsApp, the instant messaging software firm started with $250,000. And was sold to Facebook for $19 billion. However, WhatsApp only employed 55 people at that point. That is thought provoking.

The digital revolution is transforming Europe’s economy and is changing the labour markets. Certain occupations will change or disappear due to automation whereas new jobs requiring digital skills will emerge.

We see all around us that those who are skilled and educated are doing better and better. Others are less fortunate.

As with other new technologies from the spinning machine to the railways, our societies will have to find a way forward which mitigates these effects. If we don’t we will be storing trouble for ourselves.

Digital is disruptive. It stimulates innovation, it allows for new business models, but can also upset the accepted practice of established businesses.

But the response cannot be to shut down the digital world or create reams of new regulations that stifle innovation before it has even had a chance to leave the page.

Nor can we simply allow the internet to be a virtual ‘wild west’, where consumers are unsure of their rights and feel unprotected.

Instead, we need to create a robust and thriving digital single market, within which unnecessary barriers are removed, and consumers and business are given the confidence to operate online across the whole of the EU.

I thought it right just to offer these comments on these aspects of the digital revolution. And now I turn now to talk about the concrete measures to take.

Today I want to focus my comments on 2 aspects of the digital economy that have particular economic potential:

e-commerce
the provision of digital services online

E-commerce

Like many of you, I have personal experience (during 17 years at EuroCommerce and elsewhere in retail) of the challenges the retail businesses face as consumers turn to online shopping, on PCs, on tablets and increasingly on smartphones, with e-commerce turnover growing across Europe at about 16% last year according to E-commerce Europe.

There are no easy fixes for the transition from physical shops to the multichannel world, but it is important to keep the potential in mind.

While 47% of EU consumers have purchased online from a seller based in their home country, only 15% have purchased online from another EU country.

Empowering consumers to shop online in other EU countries will help open up the European market and not limit, for example, Danish businesses to the 5 million consumers living in Denmark.

This is not only an opportunity for businesses. EU consumers could benefit greatly. One estimate by Civic Consulting suggests that consumers could benefit by over €10 billion per year from the lower prices and greater choice currently offered online.

How can we achieve these benefits? We believe that in order to empower consumers, we should consider the following:

introducing a common set of consumer rights tailored to the purchase of digital content
ensuring that EU consumer protection rules are easy for consumers to understand and act on, and properly enforced by all member states working together
ensuring that prices for digital products and services should not change unfairly on the basis of where consumers come from in the EU

This doesn’t mean that we should have one uniform pricing system across the EU – there are lots of good reasons why prices will vary across the EU – and companies should always be free to tailor their products to particular markets.

However, it doesn’t seem right in a single market that a consumer trying to rent a car should find that the price they are offered increases when they fill in the online form to say where they live.

We have some experience to bring to the party. In October our new Consumer Rights Bill is expected to come into force in the UK. This will set out clearly for the first time the rights and remedies that consumers have when they purchase digital content.

They can get some redress if the digital content doesn’t work as expected - firstly a repair or replacement, such as a new download, and in some cases some money back. But consumers won’t have the right to return faulty digital content, such as a download. This is because it is difficult to be sure that the software has not been retained by the consumer.

We think that this is a model that could possibly be applied at the EU level. After all, digital content doesn’t respect national borders.

So that is the consumer end, but to allow business to take advantage of the single market, sell online and grow we need to do 3 things:

First of all, we need to make it easier to establish a business in other member states.

This should be done by creating simpler company registration and making it possible to comply with all company law requirements in any MS online.

This also means continuing to look at the use of technology, such as the VAT One Stop Shop concept, to make it easier for businesses to register and declare VAT on cross-border transactions.

We should also make it easier to register a website by for example dispensing with the requirement for a physical address in the country providing the domain name.

Secondly, we need to make it possible to navigate national identity requirements through a secure, business-friendly, cross-border electronic identity process.

Finally, we need to give easy access to information on how to trade online in any member state. The public sector, that means the Commission, member states and local government, can lead the way here.

These are just some of our ideas on how to improve e-commerce across Europe – we have produced a discussion paper on e-Commerce that covers these suggestions in more detail.

Copyright

Selling physical goods is one thing. Digital services offer their own separate challenges.

Consumers and businesses increasingly and understandably expect to be able to access a range of creative content wherever they are in the EU. They also expect that travelling across borders should not place barriers to the use of that content.

I long for a day when I can access my Sky subscription and TV and BBC drama when I travel (to Aix en Provence). Europe’s creative output is one of its richest resources and those who want to enjoy it should be able to pay to do so, even if it isn’t available in their own member state.

We want to see a digital single market where there is greater availability of legitimate content on fair and reasonable terms. This should reduce incentives for copyright piracy and ensure that creators get the rewards they deserve.

At the same time, Europe needs to protect intellectual property and the incentives to invest in creating that intellectual property to ensure a flourishing and innovative creative sector. This will be a difficult balance to strike and it is important that we get it right.

In Europe, according to a joint study by the European Patent Office (EPO) and The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), 4.2% of the total EU GDP in 2010 was generated by Copyright-intensive industries. The equivalent figure for the UK is 4.7% and in Denmark 4.1%.

Our enforcement of intellectual property in copyright, the largest area, design, trademarks and patents, must also have teeth. The online world has created billions of pounds of opportunities for IP theft and the important work done by member states, Europol and Interpol must be factored in to our plans for the digital single market.

If we want companies to make their content more widely available they need to be confident that the enforcement framework should back them up.

So we want to see clearer rules across Europe, and targeted changes based on the best available evidence to ensure we have a copyright framework that supports economic growth, protects our creators, rewards creativity and responds to consumer needs.

Conclusions

This event is very important, because it is at the right time and in the right place. Several member states with key interests in the digital single market are here today. Present are also the businesses that will live and hopefully thrive in the growing digital world, and the representative bodies that support them. I look much forward to hearing your thoughts today.

Robert Madelin from DG Connect will also be speaking today. He will play a key role as we approach May when the Commission will put forward their strategy for the digital single market.

The UK is very keen to see an ambitious digital package which in brief helps Europe to catch up with Silicon Valley. Of course any proposal must as always be properly assessed against evidence, and costed.

I have outlined some of the problems as I see them, and some of the priorities the UK has for the digital single market. But it is immensely important that you as representatives of the European business sector make your voices heard and engage in the practicalities.

I believe that digital, harnessed correctly, can be a source for growth and productivity and of significant consumer benefits. There will, I believe, be many opportunities for small businesses as well as large ones in this process.

The market has changed, is changing and will change more - whether we like it or not. All my 4 children live online, frankly sometimes showing a lack of common courtesy. My little granddaughters scratch at magazines as though they were operating an IPad, digital natives to the core.

We need to make sure that we make that right decisions for these younger generations when regulating these very complex areas. We need to work together constructively and with a good knowledge base. That is how we can ensure that Europe reaps the full potential of the digital revolution.

Speech: Higher education: funding and co-operation

Mon, 09 Feb 2015 11:52:49 +0000

This is a formidable gathering, in a formidable setting.

The great William Beveridge, Vice Chancellor of the University of London, described this Bloomsbury campus as:

“Something that could not have been built by any earlier generation than this… an academic island in swirling tides of traffic; a world of learning in a world of affairs.”

A world of learning, but still, to be sure, distinct from the world of affairs swirling around it.

Any earlier generation than this, our own generation, could scarcely have dreamed of the centrality of the world of learning not only to the world of affairs today, but to the way that we live now.

In the mid-1920s when Beveridge was Vice Chancellor there were 60,000 students in British universities. Just 2.7% of the population entered higher education.

When Lionel Robbins wrote his report there were 216,000 students, and 8.5% of the population entered university.

This year half a million undergraduates entered university. And the UCAS end of cycle report tells us that, in England more than 40% of people who were 18 in 2013 were accepted to enter higher education by last October.

And from being places apart from the world of affairs, universities are now at the heart of our society and our economy:

directly and indirectly employing almost half a million people
generating half a million graduates and postgraduates a year without which – in quality and quantity – our economy would not be flying high in the global champions’ league, as it is, but rootling among the relegated
earning more than £9 billion in foreign exchange and benefiting from the talents of international students
running off a spring of discoveries that transform – not just the lives of Britons, but those of mankind
and most important of all, forming – directly and through onward transmission – a culture of inquiry, discovery, independence, empiricism and creativity that is enormous a part of what makes what we are as a nation

Universities are often the leading institution in our cities, towns and counties – and, increasingly, their leaders take their place in actual economic leadership of places.

None of this is a matter of sentiment. Your indispensability to the future is obvious.

Any nation – just as any person – needs to ask itself from time to time: “how am I going to make a living in the future?”

It seems to me to be a good way of answering this to first consider what you’re good at, and then consider whatever those talents and strengths are going to be in demand in the years ahead.

When it comes to universities, science and research we are exceptionally good at them – in fact, we are excellent. And as the world grows more educated, more technically accomplished, more wealthy, more free, more connected, these strengths are in dependably growing demand.

So the central feature of government policy towards universities is that you are not viewed from afar, as another world, Beveridge’s world of learning adjacent to the world of affairs; or as an interest group to be managed, or a line in a budget to be covered off – you are central to the long term future of Britain. Britain will not succeed to its full potential unless you flourish to your full potential.

What do you need to flourish in the future?

First, there has to be confidence and stability.

Whether it is in establishing and running programmes of research or in recruiting people into academic courses, or planning buildings for students. The decisions you take extend are beyond the life of governments.

You can’t invest in scientific infrastructure and commit to partnerships, or renew your facilities, without confidence in the stability of arrangements.

Last week I wrote the government’s annual funding letter to Tim and Madeleine. It confirmed that funding for teaching, for the next academic year would be exactly as planned a year ago.

Stability.

And the potential for growth for those institutions attracting new students.

In the face of the deficit, where big reductions in spending have had to be made, the reforms to the system of student funding has meant that teaching resource available for universities has increased from around £7.9 billion in 2011 to 2012 to £8.5 billion in 2013 to 2014 and £9.8 billion in 2015 to 2016.

The system is working, far from being put off, students have been attracted in ever growing numbers, especially from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. A 10% rise in a single year in the number of entrants from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Mary Curnock-Cook, the head of UCAS , called it “a stunning account of social progress” and she was right.

The reform of student finance has allowed the historic decision to be made to abolish the cap on student numbers, which amounted a policy to keep capable people out of university. We can’t afford to do that, as a society or as an economy.

As the OECD concluded, having examined higher education systems across the world:

“The UK is one of the few countries to have figured out a sustainable approach to higher education finance… and the investments pay off for individuals and taxpayer.” “England has got it right on paying for higher education.”

I don’t want to see university funding as an issue of division. This is a time for cool heads rather than rushed judgements.

I think it would be a profound misjudgement to throw away a system that is delivering – and which we can now confidently extend to postgraduates – and bring on the chaos of a permanent and fundamental uncertainty in higher education finance that would result from the need to go cap-in-hand to the Treasury every year just to maintain each year’s funding. And to find that whatever was eked out, year by year, came attached to a tangle of strings.

It would be wrong to have to ration student places once again.

And it would also be to the loss of universities and the country to cause the most talented brains to steer clear of university for fear that they would be saddled with a decades-long education tax that bore no relation to the cost of teaching. Not so much a graduate tax as graduate penalty – a klaxon warning that if you’re talented and expect to earn well, not to risk getting a higher education.

Sure, we will have plenty to talk about – ensuring higher cost subjects are well funded, recognising the circumstances of small and specialist institutions, making sure you can maintain your assets as well as invest in new ones.

But that is far better conducted against a background of a stable system rather than one which is thrown up in the air every few years.

Research benefits from stability too. By any measure, UK research is going from strength to strength. As the smoke clears from the REF , a landscape of extraordinary achievement is revealed. Across the 52,000 researchers entered for the REF , 72% of the work was judged world class – up from 51% 6 years ago.

That is consistent with what we know from evidence from citations data – with 1% of the world’s population we have 12% of all citations and 16% of the most highly cited articles in the world.

These achievements are founded in the strength of our arrangements. The dual funding system – supporting research projects and institutions – works and is here to stay.

Excellence, determined by peer-review, the touchstone of that system, and funded wherever it is found – I’m told the first time a piece of text – has ever been underlined in a HEFCE grant letter.

Science resource funding was exempted from the reductions that were made across government programmes and actually increased marginally in cash terms from £4.6 billion in 2010 to 2011 to £4.7 billion in 2015 to 2016.

Science capital investment increased from £0.6 billion in 2012 to 2013 to £1.1 billion next year, and will rise as a minimum in line with inflation for the whole of the next Parliament.

In the ‘Science and innovation strategy’ I make the largest investment in science capital - £5.9 billion over 5 years - which any UK Science Minister has ever made

These choices were made deliberately, consistently, and recently. They reflect the government’s view of science and research as investments in our prosperity.

Economists have a concept of ‘revealed preference’ – people reveal their beliefs through their actions.

That will not change, and our 10 year ‘Science and innovation strategy’ projects with confidence that demeanour over the next 2 Parliaments, not just the next year.

I’ve talked a lot about stability and confidence, but does that mean nothing will ever change?

Of course not. A central insight of our ‘Science and innovation strategy’ is that to maintain and expand our strengths we need – all of us – to think deeply and strategically about how we can respond to the challenges, and reap the opportunities of a future that is anything but unchanging.

Let me mention some of them that we will need to work on together.

First, quality. Our international renown, whether in teaching or research is based on excellence. Every institution benefits from that collective reputation, and it is in all our interests to defend and extend it. There is no future in mediocrity.

In recent years we have allowed different providers of higher education to play a bigger role. Some have added to our excellent reputation – the University of Law, for example enjoys a student satisfaction score of 92%, the envy of many other institutions.

Of course, only around 5% of those claiming student support at the moment are studying at alternative providers, many of whom do a good job. But I want to be very clear that I will not allow any institution – not a single one – to diminish the reputation of higher education in this country that has been so hard won. I announced last week a set of measures to make sure that only quality alternative providers can be designated, that they recruit only students who are suited to their courses, and that student numbers will be tied directly to the quality of their provision.

This insistence on quality has implications for some HEFCE -funded institutions too. Those who validate the degrees of other providers bear a responsibility to satisfy yourselves that you are confident that your standards are upheld – because students will reasonably draw inferences from your association.

In my letter to Tim Melville-Ross, I say that excellent and innovative teaching must be at the heart of a world-beating higher education system and of the student experience.

Tim himself once explained that he had spent 10 years learning, 10 years doing and 10 years teaching. His appreciation of the role of teaching as a career high point is exactly right.

In the REF we have a lens through which to view research quality. I think we have more focussing to do to make differences in teaching quality more discernible to actual and prospective students, which can support a competition on quality such as we see in research.

So I welcome the work HEFCE is doing to refine and test new indicators of teaching quality and learning gain, and, indeed, innovation in teaching. And soon I will be hosting a roundtable with the OECD ’s Director of Education to discuss how nations can get a better handle on comparative learning gain shortly.

As I said earlier, one of the areas in which we are making huge progress is in widening participation. By anyone’s reckoning, a 30% growth in 5 years in young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds going to university, is remarkable progress.

But we have further to go. There are still parts of the country in which half of 18 year olds go to university and others in which only a tenth do. There are talented students in those places all of us have a duty to help identify encourage, educate and bring to flowering.

We know from Les Ebdon’s excellent work that access agreements are playing an important role in increasing focus, investment, ambition and transparency in widening participation across the student lifecycle, and we know from OFFA , from the Sutton Trust, and from brilliant bodies like Teach First that what makes the biggest difference tends not to be the easy choice of investing heavily in fee waivers and bursaries – the income contingent loan system has removed the most significant financial barriers – but the hard miles of detailed, personal engagement with schools and young people, the earlier the better.

As overall participation rises it allows us all to have a much greater focus on what is causing particular places, perhaps particular schools, to lag behind.

As some of our most creative and committed people and institutions in the country I want you not only to build on the tried and tested approaches but also to be entrepreneurial and iconoclastic in trying different things to get more of those people on the ladder.

Just as every talented potential student who thinks that university is not for the likes of them is a depletion of our academic force, so it is that the gap at the top of our universities and institutions underplays our strength. It is taking too long to reflect the reality of admissions – where at least half of the top students are women, and recruitment increasingly reflects our society – in the leadership of universities and institutions.

If I am presented with a long list for appointments from which women are absent I send it back – not because I believe in quotas or reserved positions, but because I suspect that the recruitment process has failed to do enough to find the full range of talent and leadership that I expect to be able to appoint from.

The ‘Science and innovation strategy’, which we published before Christmas, is a piece of work that I am very proud of.

A government strategy, not just a BIS strategy, signed by the Chancellor as well as myself and the Business Secretary, written in close collaboration with colleagues across government, it firmly establishes science and innovation in the government’s agenda.

And for anyone that frets about future policy, the title makes it explicit: it is called ‘Science and innovation: our plan for growth’.

It identifies – because you have identified – the challenges to respond to and to shape over the next decade – maintain and enhancing excellence; fostering and not impeding collaboration between institutions, disciplines, sectors and countries; being agile enough to respond with energy and flexibility to the new opportunities that we may not even be aware of today, but which are sure to present themselves; recognising the importance of place – the clusters that can reinforce excellence, the local leadership that can bring further resources and influence to universities, and an openness to an increasingly interested public here and around the world.

Let me end with my thanks.

Universities are institutions of people, and our universities could not be as good as they are without the devotion and wisdom and effort of the people who work in them, and - as in the case of HEFCE , and all of the other bodies concerned with HE, including my officials in support of them.

The last few years have been tumultuous for everyone in this hall.

But from it we can see that our universities have emerged as a force in the life of the nation that has:

never been greater
never been more alive
never been more able to transform peoples’ lives and our world, than they – which is to say, you personally – do now

We can approach the future with confidence.

Consultation outcome: Competition Appeal Tribunal: rules of procedure review

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 16:00:00 +0000

Updated: Added feedback and government response.

We asked the Rt Hon Sir John Mummery to lead an independent review of the Competition Appeal Tribunal ( CAT ) rule of procedure. The aim of the review was to provide new improved rules to support the appeals process. This was against a background of reforms to competition law and the proposed changes in the Consumer Rights Bill.

Sir John has made improvements to the existing rules. He has also made several recommendations designed to ensure that the CAT continues to operate in an effective and efficient manner.

We welcome your views on these recommendations.

You’re also invited to an open meeting to discuss any concerns you may have, or to ask questions about this consultation before responding.

Venue:

BIS Conference Centre
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H OET

Dates:

Monday 9 March 2015, 10:30am to 12:30pm
Thursday 12 March 2015, 10:30am to 12:30pm

Email Sandra McNeish (sandra.mcneish@bis.gsi.gov.uk) to confirm your place and preferred date by Wednesday 18 February 2015. Owing to space constraints, we ask for no more than 1 attendee from each organisation.

Closed consultation: Late payment: challenging 'grossly unfair' terms and practices

Tue, 03 Feb 2015 14:45:00 +0000

Updated: Added the summary of responses for the 'Challenging grossly unfair payment terms and practices' consultation.

We want to know your views on how to provide business representative bodies with wider powers to challenge ‘grossly unfair’ contractual terms and practices. This is set out in the 2011 EU Late Payment Directive.

We’re also asking for views on how, or whether, we should better define ‘grossly unfair’ in relation to late payments.

We welcome comments from across industry, particularly from business representative bodies and small businesses.

Speech: Intellectual property priorities in business innovation

Fri, 09 Jan 2015 09:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Shortly after the end of the Second World War Winston Churchill said that Britain had nothing left except the abilities of her people. Even then, this may have been something of an exaggeration, though an understandable one, but it encompasses an important truth. Britain has fewer major natural resources than many other countries. It follows that to earn our way in the world we have to rely more on brains than on nature.

This is the fundamental reason why for us in the UK the protection of inventions in the broad sense, intellectual property in the current jargon, is so important. According to one calculation, we in the UK invest much more in intangible than in tangible assets. Whatever the truth of that I do believe the trend is for intangible assets to become relatively more important.

Overall it seems fair to conclude that worldwide intellectual property, which I will call IP from now on, is becoming increasingly important relative to other forms of property and, for the UK , it is especially important. These trends and tendencies seem likely to become even more pronounced as far ahead as we can see, with digital technology and indeed digital crime giving this an added relevance.

All this is clear enough. But we with responsibilities in the area of IP also face real difficulties. It is complicated - a bit geekish might be the best description - and for many, probably most, people it is not very interesting.

One cannot see senior ministers of this, or indeed any other, country being convinced of the case for their making a major speech on the subject, however important it might be objectively speaking. A speech on something with more appeal is always likely to seem more compelling.

Now as a relatively new minister in the area of IP , I am surrounded by talented people who are fascinated by the complexities of the subject and feel passionately about it. That is of course all to the good. However it is ministers who have to make the case for action on IP and, for the reasons I have indicated that is not always easy.

Though I believe I have just set out the realities accurately, it is true to say that we have made significant progress in recent years. It has come to be better appreciated within Her Majesty’s government that the protection of IP is a vital component of innovation and scientific advance; and that many of the benefits of invention will be lost if the resulting IP is not protected.

And we have put a lot of effort into improving the legal framework. Indeed, according to the Taylor Wessing Global IP Index, in 2013 the UK had the top rated IP regime in the world. It suggests we are doing something right.

And this is important because in my view one contribution government can and must make to business innovation is to get the IP legal framework right.

Improving the legal framework

To this end, Prime Minister David Cameron commissioned an independent review of the UK IP system, which reported in 2011 and is often known by the name of its Chairman, Professor Ian Hargreaves. The review was focused especially on how IP could best support innovation and growth in the UK economy.

Reporting in May 2011, the review set out a vision of how making better use of IP could facilitate UK economic success.

The review recommended improving the efficiency of the patent system, bringing greater clarity to design rights and modernising copyright licensing. This required the strengthening of the legislative framework in various ways leading to the Intellectual Property Act 2014 and a substantial body of subordinate legislation. I had the privilege in my first week on of being a minister of taking through the most contentious measures and the chastening experience of replying to a debate where only one peer spoke strongly in favour of the changes - all good experience for my next challenges, the Consumer Rights Bill, now nearly through, and the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill which is in committee.

One of the reasons debate is heated on IP is that there is a lot at stake economically. Design for example is important for the UK ’s creative industries. They are worth more than £71 billion to our economy annually, growing at around 10%, and accounting for 1.68 million jobs. The 2014 Act strengthened the law around design rights and introduced a new criminal sanction for intentional copying. It also made a number of simple changes to patent law that will improve working practice, streamlining the whole system.

Technological developments and a shift in cultural practices around how we consume content meant a reform of copyright law was badly needed. We introduced a range of exceptions aimed at bringing certainty and clarity to the use of copyright material. It was important to bring the law into line with common practice - which sees almost everyone taking copies of online documents and music for their own use - and to allow greater use of copyright material, for example of so called ‘orphan works’ languishing in museums because the copyright owner could not be found.

We strongly believe that these changes will benefit both the economy and wider society, but they were contentious in the creative communities, especially the exceptions for private copying and parody.

So the UK has largely completed a major programme of change and you see the same in some other countries, particularly as digital transforms copyright. The European Union are embarking on ambitious plans for the Digital Single Market and we will be feeding proactively into that process in the coming months.

Improving the ecosystem

This reform of the legal IP framework is an essential element in supporting innovation, but more is needed.

To encourage the production, flow and sale of legitimate goods and digital products we also need to reach out to businesses and give priority to enforcement and education. People need to understand the value of ideas that can so easily be stolen and the costs of counterfeits and IP theft. Indeed the relevant UK enforcement authority, Border Force, has estimated that IP crime costs the UK economy around £1.3bn each year. And we also know that better protection of legitimate ideas encourages innovative investment.

So what have we done to improve the ecosystem? The steps we have taken include:

Through our Intellectual Property Office, we have been trying to help businesses identify and make the best of their IP . We have created a suite of mainly on line tools for SMEs and business advisers to understand IP better, what protections rights offer, and whether IP is relevant for individual businesses.

We have also negotiated new advisory services from around 250 specialist IP advisers to help businesses take forward the recommendations of IP Audits.

We are collaborating with the British Library and other key libraries across the UK to build a network of Business and IP Centres. They are centres of expertise where people can come together to access free or low-cost advice and support in starting, developing and running a business or protecting a business idea.

We have set up an IP attaché network to help UK companies operate more effectively overseas. Last year the attaché network supported over 3,700 UK businesses.

Setting the future agenda

We have also established a research programme to increase the understanding and valuation of IP rights, to analyse the efficiency of complex IP systems and to examine possible future challenges.

We hope this will provides valuable insight into how the knowledge economy and the IP regime can better work to support business innovation. Indeed IPO have produced some fascinating reports on patent data in areas such as robotics, life sciences and genomics and agri-science as part of the government’s innovation work on great technologies that can drive growth.

A new report on 3D printing and IP issues will be published later this month which considers the current state of the market, its likely development and what this means for the UK IP system.

Getting businesses to make the most of their IP is vital, but making sure there is a sophisticated and responsive marketplace for IP is equally key.

We have provided start-up funding for the Copyright Hub that is creating a marketplace and boosting trade in IP . It signposts users to relevant supplier websites so it is easy to obtain permission rights, vital in the music industry and to making legitimate use easy.

We have also welcomed other industry-led solutions to strengthen the marketplace for the licensing and trade in IP rights, for example ACID which stands for ‘anti-copying in design, is a safe online trading platform where design buyers can view the latest designs created by its members.

We have driven up the standards of practice of Collecting Societies by introducing a backstop power to make sure the minimum standards for the industry are met. We have also put in place an Orphan Works Licensing scheme that has opened up access to culturally valuable pieces of creative work where rights holders cannot be found.

The IPO ’s ‘Banking on IP ’ project is aimed at raising awareness of IP as an asset. Once finance directors start looking at IP as a positive addition to the balance sheet, rather than just a cost line covering patent and other registrations, we will be getting somewhere. The advent of our Patent Box, a tax break to encourage R&D spending, will help here by focusing the finance men and women on this area.

To help the 60% of students in the UK who think they do not understand enough about IP to support them in their future careers, we are working with universities to support academics teaching many different courses and on their students through an online tool.

We are also recognising and rewarding strong examples of entrepreneurship and the development of ideas. We have a well established competition, Fast Forward, which has given out some £3 million in support of outstanding projects to develop and commercialise the use of IP .

Encouraging commercialisation

And we support UK institutions from the inception of their ideas through to commercialisation. IP is often initially generated during research projects and the IPO has developed a toolkit to help universities and businesses manage IP created in these collaborative research projects. The Lambert Toolkit contains a series of model IP agreements designed to facilitate negotiations between potential collaborators, reduce the time and effort required to secure agreement and provide examples of best practice.

We also work with the younger generation, for example in partnership with Aardman Animations, and their Wallace and Gromit Children’s Charity, targeting 4 to 16 year olds and covering all forms of IP . The ‘Shaun in the City Schools Programme’ featuring the popular animated character Shaun the Sheep, is being marketed to schools nationwide with a cross curricular education pack and a design competition that will encourage children to think about design, innovation and intellectual property.

As part of our work to build understanding and respect for IP rights, the government is also working with the creative industries, including the Motion Pictures Association, Sky and BT, as they fund a major 3 year education and advertising campaign to alert consumers when they are accessing infringing content online and build up an understanding of the value and potential of IP .

Protecting IP

Of course there is no point encouraging and supporting businesses innovation if you cannot protect it. So I am cautiously gratified that, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, the UK has the best enforcement regime in the world.

We have made significant reforms to the system of Patents Courts. Our renamed IP Enterprise Court makes it easier for rights holders and other businesses to access justice at a fair cost with a scale of recoverable costs, capped at £50,000, hearings limited to 1 or 2 days and a Small Claims Track for cases under a value of £10,000.

We also offer a range of Opinion and mediation services, designed to help resolve disputes more effectively. As part of the IP Act, we expanded the Service to provide opinions on a much wider range of patent disputes and Supplementary Protection Certificates.

The City of London IP Crime Unit has had some notable success in its first year, taking down more than 2,000 infringing websites and investigating more than £28 million of IP crime.

Last year’s IP Enforcement Summit which we hosted in London brought together more than 300 representatives from governments, industry and enforcement agencies from across the world. It demonstrated the importance of collaboration, locally, nationally and internationally, if we are to tackle the growing issue of IP crime.

This is complemented by the government’s huge programme to tackle cybercrime with 60% of small business reporting a breach in the last year. This can be very costly. Think of the potential targets – and what has already happened the destruction of data at the Saudi Petroleum company and of course the Sony incident. The one advantage was that it made the public case for our national cyber security programme.

Contrasts with the US

Given our audience this evening it would be wrong not to comment on the differences between IP law here and in the US .

Much that is different stems from the fact that the US is more litigious than the UK . This is exemplified by the emergence of the term ‘patent troll’ which you may have heard - companies whose business model relies on asserting patent rights and sitting on them. I am told that patent trolls are more common in the US , partly because software and business method patents have been more widely available there than in the UK , where a more strictly defined position reduces the legal uncertainty on which trolls can thrive. And the costs regime in the UK is also a clear disincentive for trolls – here, the loser pays the winner’s costs which is not the case in the US , at least for the time being.

The US has tackled one of the problematic issues around copyright protection through a non-compulsory register of copyright works.

And the US approach to trade marks differs in requiring commercial use of a mark for validity but no compulsion to register it, although doing so gives a stronger legal footing if you wish to defend it against infringement.

Looking forward we believe that there is much to be gained from a more global approach to IP as trade and the flow of ideas knows no boundaries. We need forums in which to discuss IP issues, both the development of parallel legal structures and international enforcement and education.

I am glad to say that are making progress on the issue of patent harmonisation. For example, the US currently has a 12 month ‘grace period’ in which an inventor can make his or her invention public without compromising the right to file a patent. There is no such provision in Europe currently but there are on-going discussions on how to remedy this difference in protocol. The IPO ’s Chief Executive John Alty chairs Group B+, an international group looking at potential areas for patent harmonisation, which amongst other things is considering harmonisation of the grace period.

Challenges over the next 5 years

So what are the challenges for the next 5 years? Our focus will continue on strengthening the UK IP framework to maximise support for business innovation and help drive growth.

There will be an increasing concentration on the European and international scene.

We are working with the EU on the successful delivery of the unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court, with its pharmaceutical division to be based here in London.

And we will be making sure that proposed copyright reform and digital single market meets the interests and needs of the UK .

Looking beyond Europe, we will continue the work around harmonisation of the international framework. China will remain a priority because of its strategic importance in terms of UK trade and investment.

I visited China in September to open the 2nd UK -China IP Symposium. I was struck by the progress the Chinese are making. Chinese industries are moving up the value chain and domestic innovation is driving the need to further strengthen their IP system. IP is no longer a foreign concern but a key issue for both the Chinese government and Chinese businesses. This is clearly illustrated by the fact that in 2013 less than 2% of IP related court cases were brought by foreign companies.

I met 8 ministers during my visit and it is clear that the government is intent on creating an economy in which IP plays a fundamental role. As former Premier Wen Jiabao often said, “competition in the future is competition in IP .”

So what does this look like in practice? The largest number of patents per year are now filed in China, and the Chinese authorities have recently announced their intention to increase this, with an aim to triple patent filings by 2020. Their whole IP framework is being reformed and developed rapidly. Whilst we recognise that there are still IP risks involved in investing in China, the IP reforms are positive for British businesses and I hope that the UK , like the US , seizes the opportunity to engage in this fast-moving market.

Conclusion

But I would like to conclude with a challenge that harks back to my opening remarks.

We have a cultural problem in improving the understanding and value of IP in the UK business environment. Lawyers understand the area well and its complexity suits the legal mind, but companies must realise that IP asset management is important. They must find IP literate employees and directors who understand its value.

Perhaps this evening’s distinguished gathering can help us to decide how we can do this better?

Ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to your comments and questions and of course to Sir Richard Arnold’s response.

Consultation outcome: Auditor regulation: effects of the EU and wider reforms

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Updated: Linked to update on implementation of the EU Audit Directive and regulation.

This discussion document asks for your views on a range of reforms to the regulatory framework for statutory audit.

Within the context of the new European Union audit reforms (Directive 2014/56/EU and Regulation No 537/2014), this document looks at the legislative and non-legislative changes needed to:

improve standards for the audit of public interest entities (PIEs)
improve confidence in the independence of auditors
avoid excessive concentration in the audit market
make audit reporting more informative

The document looks at the structure for regulation, oversight and standards. It takes into account:

the new European requirements
recent Competition and Markets Authority measures and recommendations
wider work underway to refine technical and ethical standards

After consideration of responses to this discussion document next year, we will run a formal consultation on detailed proposals to change the audit regulatory regime.

The closing date for responses to this discussion document has been extended from 19 February to 19 March. This is to allow interested groups more time to develop as full a response as possible on the issues considered.

You can find important legal information about the auditor tendering and rotation framework in the supplementary information document.

Speech: Support for medium-sized businesses

Mon, 01 Dec 2014 12:29:20 +0000

Ladies and gentleman. Here we are in the shadow of St Paul’s built by Sir Christopher Wren 3 centuries ago. No doubt if Sir Christopher were alive today he would be among this audience. An architect at the cutting edge of his practice running a medium sized business. Now. People talk about small businesses being the lifeblood of the economy. I say that they are. And if they are then medium sized businesses are its beating heart.

I come from a business background. I understand that it is often a difficult and sometimes a lonely journey. I understand that access to finance is more than just a policy issue in my department. It’s more than just an abstract in the pages of the business section it’s:

about bread and butter
about the next order
about growth

So I know how important your business is to you. And I know how important you are to us. There are around 10,000 medium sized businesses. A small proportion of the overall business population. But you are responsible for a fifth of total employment in the private sector. You are crucially important to our future prosperity. John Cridland calls medium-sized businesses the forgotten army of the economy. But you have not been forgotten by this government. We are supporting you like never before. We are taking action to address late payment and are kick-starting the capital markets through the British Business Bank. We are streamlining public procurement to make sure that all businesses - whatever their size - get a fair share of this £230 billion market. We have already cut the main rate of corporation tax by 7% age points since 2010. Next year we will cut it again to 20%, making it the joint lowest in the G20.

UK Trade and Investment and UK Export Finance are working in partnership to unlock new opportunities for you abroad. Now. Much is made of the British penchant for caravans. Thanks to this government we are sharing our enthusiasm for them with the world. UKTI are helping the Swift Group export caravans to Europe, the US, China and Australia from Europe’s biggest caravan manufacturing facility in East Yorkshire. Businesses behind some of our biggest regional names and behind some of our biggest successes. Near my constituency in Suffolk, Adnams have been brewing beer for over a century. They are a medium-sized business.

From Cadbury’s to Caffe Nero where many of you may have had coffee this morning. Some of you send satellites into space; others sell Yorkshire puddings to Tesco. You are Grace Foods who make Caribbean hot sauce in Corwen and sell it to the Russians. I think that it’s safe to say you are a diverse bunch. And you are as important as you are diverse. You are helping build the northern powerhouse in places like Leeds and Manchester. You are a crucially important part of this government’s long term plan to create strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

Now, some of you may have been to Guildford. It has a long association with space. Indeed, it is where Ford Prefect in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy claims to come from. And even today, it is still a part of our £11.3 billion space industry. Guildford is home to Surrey Satellite Technology Limited ( SSTL ), a long established medium sized firm at the cutting edge of some of the most advanced technology anywhere in the world. They have built and launched 41 satellites for 16 countries. With the help of UKTI they are breaking into new markets across the world in:

Kazakhstan
Nigeria

They have even worked with NASA. When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, the only satellite available to take pictures of the damage was made by SSTL . They will be a big part of our commitment to capture 10% of the global market for space and technology by 2030. This will mean 100,000 new jobs for the UK. You are a vital part of our long term economic plan. Whether we like it or not, government affects the business environment. Let us not pretend otherwise. We impact business of different sizes and in different sectors in different ways:

we are a customer
we make decisions on tax
on infrastructure, on regulation, on skills
on a whole range of different things but which are all crucial to your success

That’s why it’s so important that we work with you to get these decisions right. Working in partnership to make Britain the best place in the world to grow a business so that we can all prosper as a nation in an increasingly competitive world. To do this, it is vital we hear from you. What changes are needed to make it easier for you to grow, create jobs and prosperity. Let’s take regulation. The Red Tape Challenge invited you to identify those regulations which are a burden on your business. Thanks to you, we are reforming or removing over 3000 regulations. We’re tackling overzealous enforcement. This is saving businesses like yours over a billion pounds a year. This approach is because businesses are best placed to understand how to help business. This is a step change in the culture of Whitehall and Westminster. But it is not just about less tax and less regulation. It’s also about more skills, more innovation, more infrastructure, better access to finance and more support for exports.

UKTI ’s International Trade Advisers have a wealth of experience and access to an extensive overseas network. UKTI has a renewed focus on the 10,000 MSBs and we have written to each and every one and are trebling the number of Trade Advisers dedicated to and focussed on your needs. They can help navigate legal systems, introduce contacts, design your entry model and find interpreters. They will help you access UKTI ’s huge network of sector experts both in the UK and overseas - across 160 locations in over 100 countries. You are key partners in our drive to increase total annual UK exports to £1 trillion by 2020. We will continue our efforts to help you fly the flag overseas. And let me turn to the issue most often raised with me by MSBs , access to the right finance on the right terms at the right time.

Under this government, UK Export Finance has massively expanded its range and reach so that it is more relevant to the needs of mid-sized firms. And we will continue to work hard to ensure that you get the finance you need when you need it – unlocking investment, diversifying finance and raising aware of alternatives to bank lending. It is common place now to say the UK is good at start up finance and great at liquid finance at the largest end. But historically we have been weak in the middle. I have no doubt there is more to do. But be in no doubt the building blocks are being put in place to solve this:

first and foremost returning the big banks to strength and refocusing them on the bread and butter of supporting growth business as Lloyds and others are now doing - the business growth fund is starting to work at scale
second the British Business Bank - this government finance is supporting the capital of alternative venture capitals, peer to peer and crowd finance, and the growing challenger banks
third the AIM market and retail bond markets are growing and open

We are working to strengthen private placements and alternatives to traditional bank finance. None alone will solve this gap but together, in time, we will tackle this historic weakness and support our MSBs . All these things together have one goal. We want Britain to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business. We cannot do that without you. There is much work to do. Yes, things have improved. Yes, we are moving in the right direction. But we are not done yet, not by any margin. So help us to help you. We must not abandon the plan, and go back on the changes we are making. We must not go back to the past. But instead we need you to work with us, and in so doing we will help you to build the jobs, prosperity and optimistic future we all want to see.

Thank you.

Speech: Securing Portsmouth Future

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 11:34:06 +0000

It’s a pleasure to be back in Portsmouth to talk about where this city is going.

In many ways, Portsmouth’s story is the story of the wider British economy over the last few years. Yes there’s been an economic shock, but we’ve come out fighting, unbowed and undaunted.

When jobs were here threatened we took swift action, creating a Minister for Portsmouth and putting a plan in place to secure this city’s future.

Look what’s already been achieved:

a ministerial taskforce dedicated to Portsmouth
an industry-led Solent Maritime Forum
assisted area status for Portsmouth, Gosport and the Isle of Wight
£18 million for an Enterprise Zone
£18 million from the Growing Places Fund
2000 jobs in naval base management secured
Regional Growth Fund projects worth £50 million
£5 million to reskill those affected by the BAE decision
3 commercial bids shortlisted for the BAE shipyard, with a decision to follow soon
supporting a national headquarters for elite sailing
driving forward a National Large Structures Composite Centre
2 new aircraft carriers and the world’s most advanced destroyers berthed at Portsmouth
a city deal worth nearly a billion for Portsmouth and Southampton
and the Solent Growth Deal: at least 5000 jobs, and 10,000 new homes and a massive boost to transport infrastructure - creating a total new investment package of £484.6 million for the Solent area

And the result? In this city: 1,200 people off benefits and into work over the past year. A 31% fall in unemployment. The number of job seeker allowance claimants down from 4077 to 2850. And 7000 new apprentices since we took office.

No other city gets this attention at the heart of government. No city has seen faster progress. No other era has delivered more for Portsmouth.

Today I want to talk to you about my vision for Portsmouth and 3 elements that will safeguard its success: enterprise, skills, and physical place.

First, enterprise.

It’s within our grasp to make the UK the best place in the world to set up a business. Over 2 million businesses have set up in Britain since May 2010. That includes 47,000 new businesses in the Solent LEP area - 10,000 alone in 2013.

The challenge now is how to help those new businesses scale-up and grow.

In particular, we need to look at high-growth small businesses, which account for only 1% of the business population but create over a third of all net new jobs. Many of these firms are based here, taking advantage of an unrivalled maritime skills base, and it’s vital that we back them.

That means getting the right tax and regulatory environment, delivering on skills and bringing industry and government together to think long-term about local economic priorities, as we’ve done through the Solent LEP.

We also need to build a pipeline of entrepreneurial talent.

Today marks the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week, a week set aside each November to inspire people in 150 countries to explore their potential as entrepreneurs.

Last year, nearly 350,000 people got involved in Global Entrepreneurship Week in the UK, and I congratulate UK organisers on winning Country of the Year for 2013. I know that this year will also be a triumph.

Second, skills. For a city built on maritime engineering it’s crucial that we have the right workforce.

Last week I announced that Portsmouth’s Highbury College will form part of the first national UK Shale College.

These centres of excellence will train a generation of onshore oil and gas specialists, helping us seize an economic opportunity which we literally can’t afford to miss.

Membership of the National Shale College will ensure that Highbury College is brilliantly placed to deliver that expertise, setting up thousands of local young people for a career in this exciting new sector.

Third, place.

As Minister for Portsmouth I am committed to ensuring this city has the space and infrastructure it needs to remain a centre for advanced manufacturing.

We recently announced £7.5 million to support Sir Ben Ainslie’s proposal to base his Americas Cup team in Portsmouth.

We’ve also negotiated a growth deal with the Solent LEP which will see £125 million invested locally and create over 5000 jobs.

And today I can announce a major milestone in the delivery of the Southampton and Portsmouth City Deal.

The deal is providing more than £950 million of public and private investment and contracts and being exchanged today between Portsmouth City Council and the Ministry of Defence for the transfer of Horsea Island and the Tipner Firing Range. Unlocking this site creates space for 2,370 new homes and 58,000 square meters of employment space for the growing marine and advanced manufacturing sectors of the Solent economy. It will create 3,700 permanent jobs.

The future of Portsmouth is as important to me as it is to everyone in this room. We know what we need to get there: entrepreneurs ready to create the jobs, people with the skills to secure them, space for these people to live and work.

Portsmouth is on the rise. The city’s docks and shipyards have safeguarded Britain for centuries. Now, through the measures I’ve outlined, I’m determined to ensure they help secure our economic future.

Speech: Digital Catapult: the opening of a new national centre in Kings Cross

Thu, 06 Nov 2014 14:41:59 +0000

It is my great pleasure to be here this evening to officially open the Digital Catapult Centre. There is no doubt that this centre can play a key role in putting digital innovation at the heart of economic growth in the UK.

Value of technology to the economy

The government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a tech business. Technology is key to the UK’s economic growth, productivity and global competitiveness. In 2012, the ICT sector contributed around 8% (£106 billion) to UK’s GVA .

New technologies and fast access to information are transforming the business landscape, as well as becoming vital to managing our personal lives. As 1 of the network of 7 catapults, the Digital Catapult will help to rapidly advance the UK’s best digital ideas through to commercialisation.

In 2010 the Prime Minister announced that we would build a network of network of catapults to bridge the gap between business, academia, research and government, helping to turn ideas into reality. Today’s opening is the next step in this journey.

The Digital Catapult Centre will be a space for technologists, creatives from business and academia to collaborate and develop their new ideas and showcase their products to the UK and the rest of the world. The facilities here will become the cornerstone for the Digital Catapult and for the many collaborations it convenes between business, universities and other digital stakeholders, as well as the other catapults like the Future Cities Catapult.

The Digital Catapult enables UK digital businesses to innovate at speed, and with less risk, so new products and services can be accelerated to market. But for me, the most important function of the Catapult is that it brings together a wide range of partners interested in the success of the digital economy: large businesses, start-ups and SMEs , the research and academic community, Innovate UK and its experts.

The 2 week intensive ‘pit-stop’ sessions that the centre will run are a great illustration of this. These pit-stop sessions will be challenge-led and bring together relevant multi-disciplinary expertise to help businesses from universities and innovation clusters accelerate the development of their products and services.

Neil will provide more information on the specific programmes of the Catapult shortly. I know the Digital Catapult is working on a number of projects that will allow the UK to lead in unlocking value from shared proprietary data in a faster, better and more trusted way.

There is vast potential in new applications of data, for developing services that better meet demand, and create new demand. The Internet of Things will extend that much further, so that physical processes in manufacturing, transport, healthcare and many other areas fit needs better while using fewer resources.

However, the potential of these technologies can only be realised if the benefits are shared with the people whose data is involved, and if those people - citizens and consumers - trust the ways their data is protected and used.

Festival of events

It is clear to me that the digital catapult team has grasped the importance of collaboration in accelerating digital innovation. This will mean that more and more businesses, both large and small, will benefit from access to the digital catapult network. After today’s launch, the Catapult will engage even more. There will be over 40 events running during November and December, which will bring together inspirational innovators from the digital, creative and technology sectors.

Local Digital Centres

The UK’s digital strengths are not limited to the area around silicon roundabout. In a recent report there were estimated to be over 30 digital innovation clusters in the UK. So it is with great pleasure that I can announce this evening that the Digital Catapult is establishing the first wave of local digital catapult centres. These will be led by 3 Local Enterprise Partnership consortia and will ensure that we are reaching out to the very best digital innovators across the country.

The local centres are all sponsored by Local Enterprise Partnerships, in some cases multiple LEPs , and they are planned for Brighton, Bradford and Sunderland. The Brighton centre is to focus on the importance and value of data for the evolution of the Internet of Things; the Bradford centre supporting SMEs who are driving digital health innovation and developing new healthcare products and services; and, Sunderland on the secure sharing of closed organisational data to improve public services and business success. These will encourage growth within the data and content innovation communities and strengthen the catapult’s national reach.

TechNorth and Tech Nation

Whilst I have the stage, I just want to briefly mention a couple of other initiatives which are important and complementary in this space. Last month, the Deputy Prime Minister announced the creation of TechNorth. As part of Tech City UK, TechNorth will co-ordinate the existing digital technology expertise of Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and the North East tech cluster building on the work of Tech City UK, Baroness Shields and the Tech City UK Cluster Alliance. By pooling ideas and resources across local boundaries, TechNorth will help to attract inward investors in the tech industry to the North and support existing tech businesses to grow.

In the coming weeks, we are expecting publication of the Tech Nation interactive map and report delivered by Tech City UK, which will attempt to map the location and activites of digital clusters and companies in the UK for the first time. The map will enable users to interrogate data, via an interactive website, providing a great tool for investors, digital companies and government to learn more about the growth of the digital sector.

Working with government

Nearly finished, but I wanted to recognise that the Digital Catapult has recently been working with officials in my department to develop government policy to support the Internet of Things in the UK. This is an initiative that I fully support and believe that this is essential to the UKs success in the global digital innovation race and whilst the Catapult is an independent body, I do hope that we can continue to work in partnership, pulling together expert views and avoiding duplication.

Next Steps

Finally, I would just like to say a few words about the future of the catapult network. Hermann Hauser has today published his review of the network and he has made recommendations for the future expansion of the network. It is great to see Hermann here this evening.

We very much welcome his report and we shall carefully consider its findings as we develop the Science and Innovation Strategy, which we will publish alongside the Autumn statement.

Speech: Intellectual property enforcement

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 11:30:53 +0000

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for inviting me to speak at your autumn conference.

It really is a pleasure for me to be here today. I’ve been Minister for Intellectual Property for about 4 months and during this time I’ve heard a lot about the challenges faced by IP rights holders, both in the UK and of course overseas.

This morning I’d like to briefly tell you my views on the IP enforcement landscape in the UK - I’ve an important announcement to make – and I’d like to end by presenting a challenge to you and your members.

I believe the government has made great progress in improving the IP rights protection framework in the past 4 years, although of course we face many challenges going forward, not least from the changing behaviour of consumers, suppliers and criminals, as they enthusiastically embrace the digital world.

As some of you might know, I spent fifteen and a half years working in business for a number of brands, before I joined the House of Lords in 2013. Consumer businesses are all about providing the right products, service and branding, at the right price for your customers. Having the protection of a trade mark is an essential part of that process.

The importance of IP

I understand how IP has helped turn many great ideas into reality. It allows creators to profit from their hard work – there are of course many British success stories. Think about engineering from Dyson, Jaguar Land Rover and McLaren; designers like Paul Smith, Ted Baker and Mulberry; and not forgetting many of our favourite musicians, authors and artists – the list is endless.

In July this year, I was thrilled to be asked to take on the responsibility of IP Minister. I believe that innovation is crucial to our growing economy – the UK creative industries contribute £71 billion pounds and 1.6 million jobs to the UK economy - and I am acutely aware of the role that IP rights play in protecting these investments and these jobs.

I am a realist, and I doubt everyone here agrees on how counterfeiting and piracy should be tackled; however what’s important is that there is a common goal, and that’s why successful groups like the Anti-Counterfeiting Group are so important.

City of London Police IP Crime Unit ( PIPCU )

I am sure you will agree that we are really taking the fight to the criminals and the government’s initial investment in the City of London Police IP Crime Unit ( PIPCU ) has borne a lot of fruit.

At the end of the financial year they were investigating nearly £29 million of IP crime. That is a huge amount of money. I know of many businesses that would be grateful for a tiny proportion of that, but instead it is lining the pockets of criminals.

PIPCU have had many successes in their first 12 months. Let me take this opportunity to highlight a few:

First, as part of Operation Creative, a number of illegal streaming operations have been removed. As a former director of ITV, I know such services cost the UK television industry millions of pounds.

Second, in partnership with the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, PIPCU have removed 600 traders offering in excess of 1300 listings on Facebook - in what is hoped to be the first of many such exercises aimed at disrupting and dismantling counterfeiting activity on social media.

And, PIPCU have worked with international partners to deliver results. Support from the Chinese helped PIPCU and the National Crime Agency dismantle a Merseyside based suspected criminal group - believed to be importing and selling a wide range of fake fashion goods including cosmetics, sunglasses and handbags. I was in China a few weeks ago leading a mission on IP , and everywhere we went, people were impressed by the PIPCU model.

Here are some numbers for PIPCU ’s first year of operation – 34 arrests and important prosecutions in the pipeline; £1.29 million worth of suspected fake goods seized and nearly 3,000 illegal websites disrupted.

They have also had over 5 million hits on websites where advertising has been replaced by police banners, warning users that the sites contain illegal or infringing content.

Successes like these and my desire to build on these impressive achievements – is the reason I have fought hard to secure additional funding for the Unit and, today, I am delighted to announce that the government will continue to provide funding for PIPCU for an additional 2 years - until 2017. This is new funding of £3 million.

This important investment, funded by the Intellectual Property Office, will enable the Unit to become truly established. We will be working over the next couple of years to identify a source of long term sustainable funding - at this stage we have not ruled anything out or anything in.

It is clear to me that for Units like PIPCU to be successful, they need strong and lasting partnerships with rights holders and their industry representatives.

The scale and scope of IP Crime at home and abroad means partnerships between industry, law enforcement and government are essential.

Many of you will have attended the International IP Enforcement Summit held in London in the summer - 30 countries were represented, including experts from governments, enforcement authorities and multinational businesses.

There’s no doubt that the summit highlighted the challenges we are all facing in tackling global IP crime - whether in reducing the flow of funds to criminals, better customs enforcement at external borders or ensuring that IP rights work in the interest of innovation and economic growth.

However, what gives me great optimism for the future is that summit discussions clearly demonstrated an unremitting desire, by all those that attended, to work together to overcome these challenges.

Of course this isn’t just about government and law enforcement. Brand owners and rights holders have an important part to play in protecting their rights. I know you do an enormous amount to protect your brands and I am grateful for the support you give by assisting Border Force officers at postal hubs and by providing intelligence to the IPO and law enforcers.

A challenge

The world is changing. We face more IP crime, more digital services, and more profits are being made online.

So, I would like to present you with a challenge – advertising that appears on illegal websites is the reason many of these sites exist.

Advertising income is their life blood and we need to cut off this source of revenue.

I know you don’t want your brands associated with criminality - so I urge you all to ensure your brand advertising does not appear on illegal websites - make sure all those in your advertising supply chain understand the damage these websites cause. Tell them to work with PIPCU , so they sign up and support PIPCU ’s Infringing Website List.

As one of the first dedicated police IP crime units in the world, PIPCU are bringing energy, innovation and creativity in their approach to tackling IP Crime. I’d encourage you to engage with them. Provide intelligence and evidential packages; work with them in investigations and share knowledge about the threats your members face. They are there to help you protect your rights.

To my mind, the enforcement of rights is as important as our legal framework - something we’ve done so much to modernise in recent years. Providing more money for PIPCU is important and I’m delighted they will continue their work into 2017.

Together - industry, government and law enforcement will continue to take the fight to IP criminals and I know I can count on your support to make this a success.

Finally, may I thank you again for inviting me to join you this morning and I wish you every success for the rest of the conference.

Speech: Driverless vehicles: the uses and benefits

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 13:19:13 +0000

Good morning everyone.

It’s a real pleasure to join you today (22 October 2014) at Thatcham.

My thanks to David and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety for inviting me and for all the great work they do.

I’d also like to thank Peter Shaw and his team here for such a warm welcome, and for showing me the first rate facilities you have here.

We are here to discuss something that has the potential to revolutionise transport – and particularly road transport – in our modern world.

It’s a revolution that for many feels a bit sci-fi.

So it’s been fascinating to discover today that the technology is not wholly new.

In fact, it’s mostly an adaptation of familiar systems drivers use every day.

Like anti-lock braking, adaptive cruise control, automated parking and lane warning.

Less a revolution, and more of an evolution.

Today’s vehicles are so technically advanced that there is the real prospect that driverless cars could be on our roads in a relatively short amount of time.

But what makes this so intriguing isn’t just the technical challenge.

It’s the cultural challenge.

The idea of tech-enabled driving feels a bit weird.

We are all so used to being masters –or mistresses –of the road. Invincible. Always right.

Even though it’s our shortcomings that lead to most accidents.

Getting people to embrace and trust something that at first may feel alien.

But if and when it is adopted, this evolution has the power to profoundly change our lives.

Not just making driving safer and easier.

But reducing congestion.

Making people more productive.

And therefore helping boost our economy too.

So for me, driverless vehicles aren’t just a challenge for engineers.

They’re also a challenge for us politicians.

A challenge for us all to solve.

And that’s something I find very exciting indeed.

And as a transport minister, I can certainly see the technological benefits for other travel modes.

Better capacity optimisation and improved safety are key in other areas too – like railways.

The rail industry has already made great leaps providing more capacity through its ‘digital railway’ programme by making better use of existing trains and infrastructure.

This initiative draws from experience in aviation where digital air traffic management has delivered big increases in capacity without building more runways.

Train signalling is the single biggest constraint on rail network capacity.

It controls train movements, but only allows one train to be on any one section of track at a given point in time.

This means there’s lots of space between each train.

By applying digital technologies to railways it is possible to allow trains to run safely closer together and so delivering greater capacity.

And I also see a future where driverless buses provide better and more frequent services.

A major component of rural transport is the cost of the driver - and so a truly driverless bus could transform rural public transport in the future.

I understand that one of the country’s major bus companies is already interested in driverless buses.

Once we have resolved any regulatory issues that the department’s current review might highlight, this could be just the initiative to get the first driverless bus on the road.

But it’s driverless cars and commercial vehicles where the biggest gains will be delivered.

Driverless – or even highly automated – cars and vans can deliver improved safety; improved emissions, reduced noise; optimal usage of road capacity and better use of the scarcest commodities of all these days.

Time – and attention.

Driver/human error is reported to account for over 90% of traffic incidents, and so it is clear that driverless cars will make a huge difference.

Using the technology to manage traffic flows on trunk roads will smooth traffic flows and reduce the stop/start of congestion, which will, in turn, reduce emissions and improve fuel consumption.

Building new roads to cope with increased capacity is very expensive and is slow to deliver, but this technology can deliver a solution.

And there are great– social – benefits.

The advantages of driver –assisting technology for disabled people or those with poor eyesight are clear.

I saw a Google video showing a man who was reported to have lost 95% of his vision driving a Google-car.

Let’s just imagine the life changing opportunity then of a driverless car not just for blind and partially sighted people, but for all in our community.

It will be truly transformational.

What about the challenge for time poor mothers with school runs to do?

Driver assisting technology could open up new windows for productivity in jammed days.

I had the opportunity earlier to be driven in some of the demonstration vehicles available today.

They are fantastic.

But I can also understand that some drivers will be – at the very least - unsure of them.

I know that manufacturers will be doing their best to reassure customers and to provide the right type of guidance.

Many manufacturers such as BMW, Audi, Nissan, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover are looking to develop models with autonomous functions.

Nissan, for example, is currently working with the Oxford Mobile Robitics Group project at Oxford University, which is using a modified Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle fitted with prototype navigation equipment, and are hoping to develop a low cost autonomous navigation system for fitment into next generation vehicles.

But what can government do?

We have a number of plans.

We have set up a trial programme with our colleagues from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that will demonstrate these driverless vehicles in towns and cities.

In July a £10 million fund was launched for collaborative research and development projects to look at how driverless cars can be integrated into everyday life in the UK.

This competition is being managed and run by Innovate-UK and has the potential to support up to 3 projects starting on 1 January 2015.

The projects are to be industry led, with a local authority partner, and feature driverless-type capability in an urban environment.

They will last between 18 and 36 months - and we hope to announce the competition winners next month.

I hope the trials in our cities and towns will put us at the forefront of this transformational technology and open up new opportunities for our economy.

Separately, the Department for Transport is leading a review of the relevant regulation and legislation to ensure there is a clear and appropriate regime for the testing of driverless cars in the UK, whilst also ensuring public safety.

The review will establish what issues must be addressed to enable the testing of such technology on UK roads whilst maintaining existing high levels of road user safety.

It will cover where there is an individual in the vehicle who is qualified and capable of taking control of the car. I must add that this individual will be sitting in the conventional driving position.

The review will also look further ahead to the implications of potential use of fully autonomous vehicles.

The Department for Transport published the terms of reference and a discussion document seeking views on the 4 August 2014. The closing date for which was 19 September. The department is currently reviewing the responses received and will publish its report by the end of 2014.

We are also looking at ‘platooning’ of heavy goods vehicles on the trunk road network. I am sure you will know that platooning is the electronic coupling of vehicles to run in close formation. By allowing vehicles to run closer together, the government recognises the potential fuel and carbon savings, reduced congestion by creating more efficient use of the network, and reduced road casualties by eliminating driver error from accidents.

The department has recently concluded a feasibility study of platooning on the UK trunk road network using vehicles with partial automation, but with a driver in each vehicle. I recently approved the next phase of research and know that work will be getting underway in 2015.

So 2015 could be the year of the driverless or highly automated car and truck in the UK.

I have spoken about the technology and the opportunity and benefits for the UK, but the trials will also provide a great learning opportunity.

Driverless technology is the future. We can’t avoid it and I don’t want us to: I want the UK to learn as much as we can and as quickly as we can. And that includes understanding how these vehicles interact with society and other road users.

I can announce today that I have asked my officials to implement alongside the trials, a study of driver and road user behaviour. I do believe this is important as a means to reassure the public that we are careful of the risk, but also recognising the need for progress.

I wanted also to mention, and you won’t be surprised to hear, that the UK is very good at road safety. We have one of the best records and the figures for 2013 released a few weeks ago showed again the lowest levels of fatal road casualties (1713) since records began in 1926.

I want the introduction of these new technologies to continue our record breaking achievement for the decades to come, and I am sure you all share that ambition.

Today has been absolutely fascinating.

And I thank everyone who has helped stage such a successful event.

It has certainly given me a huge amount to think about – and I’ll be sharing what I’ve learnt with my ministerial colleagues.

As I said at the start, this is a challenge for all of us.

But it’s also a challenge that everyone will benefit from.

So I look forward to working with you in the future, to turn this developing technology into real change on our transport network.

Thank you.

Speech: Supporting Britain's public sector talent

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 11:07:00 +0000

Before I say anything else, I want to start with a thank you. The work you and other public sector workers do is hard. You don’t do it because you want an easy life. You don’t do it because it’s a cushy job. You do it because, when you get home at the end of the day, you want to know you’ve made a difference. And you have.

Read New support for public sector workers for a summary of the measures announced.

You can’t get more at the sharp end than being the social worker trying to protect a child at risk of violence or abuse; the fire fighter running into a burning building when everyone else is running out; the nurse, doctor or paramedic battling to save the life of someone who’s barely holding on; the teacher seizing on a spark of interest in a class of boisterous teenagers; the policy expert figuring out how we keep the lights on for the next hundred years; the council worker dedicated to saving their local high street or securing essential local services; the probation and prison officers patiently working to turn the life around of someone who has only ever known a life of crime or drug addiction.

This is just a snapshot of the incredible things that you and the rest of Britain’s 5 million public sector workers do every day. For that, you deserve our enduring respect and gratitude. Whatever the pressures, no matter how hard the challenges, you keep our country going and I want to thank you on behalf of myself, my party and the government.

Your contribution is even more remarkable given that – over the last 4 years, in the wake of the biggest financial crisis in living memory, with our public services having to absorb significant spending cuts – every public service has had to do more with less.

In coalition, we’ve had to take difficult decisions on pay and pensions as we deal with the deficit – because there is nothing remotely fair or public spirited about saddling our children and grandchildren with those debts.

You’ve had to make personal sacrifices – to keep more of your colleagues in work and protect essential services for those who need them most.

As a result of those decisions, those sacrifices, our country is back on track. Our country is growing again. More people are in work than ever before.

And while a lot of families are still feeling the squeeze, we are finally through the fire. Up and down the country, people can once again look to their future with hope.

Securing the future of Britain’s public services

The question is: what next? The job’s not done. We’ve still got a way to go to pay down the deficit and, if the last 5 years were about securing Britain’s recovery, the next 5 years must be about moving from a period of rescue to a period of renewal. How do we learn to live within our means while providing people with the innovative and world class public services they deserve?

That is one of the central questions all political parties must answer at the next general election, and each one of the UK’s main political parties has a different response.

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I believe in sound public finances supporting strong public services. I recognise that to build a stable, more balanced economy and a fairer society in Britain, we need both our public sector and private sector to thrive together, and we see you – Britain’s public servants – as our partners in this.

Without growing businesses and the taxes we pay, we don’t have the money to invest in good hospitals and schools. Without educated children and healthy adults, there wouldn’t be growing businesses.

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And while I would love to come here today to tell you this means immediate relief from the pressure you’ve been under on pay, you know as well as I do, it simply isn’t possible yet.

That is why I think IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) should not grant a pay rise to MPs while everyone else in the public sector has their pay rises restricted and I have told them so.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel: once the deficit is gone and public spending is growing, my party will be able to deliver a better financial deal for all those who work in our public services.

In the meantime, I believe there are concrete steps we can take now as we finish that journey and build some of the best, most resilient and innovative public services in the world. I’m talking about, first, cutting unnecessary red tape to help reduce your workloads; second, giving you more support to deal with the particular stresses and strains that your roles bring; and, finally, ensuring the public sector offers you modern, progressive workplaces.

Workload Challenge for teachers

Firstly, every time I speak to a teacher, nurse, social worker, Jobcentre Plus manager, police officer or council worker one issue comes up again and again: their battle with bureaucracy.

Take teaching. Some people are still under the misguided impression that it’s a profession built around short days and long holidays. But talk to a teacher and they’ll tell you about their working week of 50 hours or more. They’ll also tell you how much of this time they feel is wasted on unnecessary processes, box ticking and form filling.

We’re talking about hours spent struggling to stay on top of piles of incident reports, over-detailed lesson plan templates, health and safety forms, departmental updates, training requests and so on that threaten to engulf them every week. Not to mention the reams of additional evidence which teachers pull together because of a long-held belief that Ofsted inspectors want to see everything written down.

Some of this work is unavoidable. Every school needs to ensure the safety of its pupils and staff and maintain the highest standards possible. But should you really have to fill in multiple risk assessment forms for every school trip when just one form would be better?

Ask any teacher and they’ll give you at least 2 more examples like that: whether it’s having to highlight their lesson plans in five different colours or inputting every pupil’s marks into countless different spreadsheets in countless different ways at regular points in the year.

I believe it’s time for us to stop that runaway train of bureaucracy in its tracks, giving our teachers more time to do what they do best: creating and planning the best possible lessons and experiences for our children. In government, we’ve already done this for businesses: freeing up money and resources for millions of companies.

We want to do the same for the public sector – starting with teachers. This is part of the wider work being done by Nicky Morgan and David Laws to tackle the issue of workload across the teaching profession, following talks with trade unions.

It has already produced a new myth busting document from Ofsted, which clarifies what’s expected of teachers for school inspections.

And, today, I’m pleased to announce with Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, the launch of our new Workload Challenge for teachers.

We’re asking teachers across the country to take a long hard look at how they spend their working day and what pointless processes and paperwork they think should be cut or scrapped altogether.

We want you to then send us your ideas via the Workload Challenge page available on the TES website.

In the New Year, a panel led by teachers and educators will scrutinise the best ideas, then work with Ofsted, the teaching unions and other leading education stakeholders to put them into action starting early next year.

If we can show this pilot working in education, I want to get it rolled out as soon as possible to all our other services too.

At the same time as our challenge is running, we’ve also got teams going into 30 schools to look in more detail at what’s happening on the ground.

Based on the teams’ findings, we’ll continue to work with a cross-section of schools and the teaching unions to highlight best practice and develop tips and tools every school can use to tackle unnecessary workload, whilst also maintaining the highest standards of teaching and management.

Frontline mental health support

Secondly, as well as easing your workloads where we can, I want to do more to help you deal with the specific pressures and demands that come with your different roles.

Many of you choose to work in the public sector because, when you see someone in trouble or in need of support, you want to step in and help. Yet being that person day in and day out – dealing with people who are often disengaged, frustrated, angry or at risk of hurting themselves or other people – can take its toll.

These kinds of pressures are especially acute for Britain’s emergency service workers. Our ambulance workers, paramedics, firemen, police, the Coastguard all get thrown in to incredibly stressful and harrowing situations such as road accidents, suicides, the loss of a young child, and a terrorist attack.

When calls like these come, they need to be ready and, when the shift ends, they go home to their families and try to be a good partner, friend, mum or dad. But if there’s no way of dealing with the day’s challenges, the pressure can become too much – leading to mental health issues.

In the most extreme circumstances, this causes burn out and people leaving the job altogether. In discussions with the government, workers from across our blue-light services have told us that they want more support to prevent and deal with these mental and emotional demands.

Throughout this coalition, I’ve fought for the resources to secure equal treatment for mental health with physical health. In the emergency services, you’re given protective gloves, masks, stab vests, fire fighting kit etc, as well procedures to follow to keep you physically safe. I want to give you that same high standard of protection for your mental health.

That is why I’ve asked the mental health organisation Mind to work with our emergency services personnel to develop and trial a new package of Frontline Mental Health support.

This will include practical tools emergency service workers can use to cope with the strain of working relentlessly busy shifts, answering traumatic call outs, helping grieving relatives and keeping the public safe, healthy and well.

We know this kind of support has already had a huge impact in other countries and services, for example the US Army – where, since 2008, resilience training has helped to reduce rates of anxiety and depression amongst over 1 million soldiers. But it’s not been tried and tested in the UK on this scale before.

We aim to start this pilot in the spring and roll it out across our emergency services more widely as soon as we can.

Mind are already working with employers to raise awareness of mental health problems and reduce stigma, through their Time to Change programme, and I would urge those public sector bodies still to sign up to Time to Change to do so now.

Modern, engaging workplaces

Finally, I recognise that you can’t get the best public services without the best people, and every day we’re competing with the private sector for your talent and skills.

To ensure you stick with us, we need our public services to be offering some of the best places to work in the UK. This means modern, engaging workplaces which look beyond just qualifications to see your potential; give you the chance to progress as far as your talents and ambition can take you; and help you strike that balance between managing the demands of your job and home – whether that’s caring for a sick relative, bringing up children or just leading a more balanced life.

When this government started, for too many young people, it was still a case of who you know not what you know that secured your access to valuable work experience or internship opportunities in the civil service.

Since 2010, we’ve focused hard on levelling that playing field for all young people. This includes establishing 2 new work experience programmes, which give school and college students a chance to see for themselves what working in government is like and gain vital professional experience and skills.

We’ve stopped the informal internships arrangements in government which only gave a leg up to those with insider contacts: ensuring that all of our civil service internship places are advertised widely and openly.

In addition, we’ve expanded the number of places available on our Summer Diversity Internship scheme – which targets young people from ethnic minorities or poorer backgrounds – from 175 to 300.

We’ve also created our new fast-track apprenticeship scheme. As you know, for years, the civil service has recruited its future leaders through the tried and tested route of the Graduate Fast-Stream Scheme. But university isn’t for everyone. Many talented young people want to earn while they learn and, if we’re serious about recruiting the brightest and best out there, we need to ensure they get a shot at the top jobs too.

Based on this scheme’s early success, we’ve already doubled the number of fast-track apprenticeship places available in the civil service from 100 to 200 – with plans to double them again to 400 by 2016.

In the coming months, I want to see the scale and reach of these schemes – along with those you’re part of – grow right across our public services. They’ve got to, if we want to secure a diverse public sector built on merit, equipped to challenge outdated thinking, drive innovation and deliver better public services.

Shared Parental Leave

For me, it’s critical that people who choose to work in the public sector know that they’re working in modern, progressive workplaces. That is why I think it’s also important we do more to support public sector workers balancing the demands of modern life.

As you know, from April next year, under our new shared parental leave arrangements, if you’re a new mum who wants to return to work before your 12 months of maternity leave is up, or go back to work for a particular project, you can without losing out.

Your partner will be entitled to use your remaining parental leave and pay, if that’s what you both want. You can even – as parents – take chunks of time off together.

It’s up to individual employers to decide the extra pay and support they can give to their employees during this shared parental leave period. Ideally, I want to see every public sector organisation doing what they can to help their employees take full advantage of these new rules.

I pushed for the introduction of shared parental leave in the first place, because we fundamentally believe it’s time for us to sweep away the outdated regulations and prejudices which still limit the choices of too many people in this country. Evidence shows promoting flexible working patterns like this can help boost employee productivity, loyalty and retention.

To help get that revolution started in the public sector, working with Francis Maude and the Cabinet Office, I’ve been pushing hard for radical reforms to the way in which the civil service pays and supports its staff after their children are born.

So, I’m pleased to confirm that, from April 2015, the civil service will be offering equal parental pay and support to all its employees – male and female. As result, it will no longer just be new mums working in the civil service who can take maternity leave at full pay. Dads will also be able to benefit from enhanced pay for shared parental leave, if both parents choose to carve up their time between them.

This means more fathers will be able to afford to take time off to spend caring for their new born children. More widely, I want to see this change blaze a trail for other public and private sector organisations to follow – making this option the norm for more working families and increasing the opportunities available to both sexes to earn and care across our society.

And this shouldn’t just be about parents. With an ageing population, there are increasing numbers of people living with long-term medical conditions and receiving care from their family members.

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This builds on our successful work in government to extend the right to flexible working to everyone, and again I’d like to see more organisations across the public sector and private sector offering more flexible working arrangements to their employees to help family carers juggle their commitments at work and home and stay healthy themselves.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the jobs you do aren’t easy. They’re not for the faint hearted, but you do them because you want to make a difference. I hear that in every job centre, hospital, school, police station, prison and public sector office I visit.

Britain just wouldn’t work without you. That’s why I believe it’s so critical to give you the professional opportunities and support you need to keep doing your jobs well.

This is my commitment and that of my party to you: we’ll keep doing what we can to ensure our government empowers, values and listens to you more.

Only, together, working as partners, can we finish the job we’ve started and finish it fairly: building the stronger economy and fairer society Britain needs to succeed.

Thank you.

Speech: Improving the UK's industrial future

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 14:42:37 +0000

Can I thank you for what you said. This is a really great positive occasion. Something we can celebrate. There aren’t many occasions when government and business is entirely on the same page and in agreement and indeed across the business sector. And it’s even more unusual when you get political parties agreeing. We just had several weeks of tribal warfare at our party conferences but actually this is something we agree about and when I launched this at the beginning of the government it was with the support of my Conservative colleagues. So we have a broad support for an approach, which we haven’t had in this country for many years – decades.

I think there are 2 really very simple ideas at the heart of this.

One is that there are major areas of policy where government and business have to work together and of course, in many respects, business does its own thing and the best role for government is to get out of the way. But there are some respects in which we have to work together. One is skill development. Another is science and innovation. Another is on government procurement – making sure that it is strategic in the way that it operates and as we continue to be with the legacy of the banking crisis, there is common interest in making sure that we get flows of finance, particularly to the SME sector. So there are areas where we have to work on a partnership basis.

And the other big idea is long term thinking. I have now been in Parliament for quite a long time, but I still haven’t quite got over my shock when I came out of a big company in the oil and gas sector - where we did 20 year planning - and entering the political world - where of course we regard 5 years as heroically long term. Of course it isn’t just the politicians you know – asset managers, the media think in terms of hours let alone years so there are enormous pressures to think short term. But for many of the companies represented in this room we have to think long term. Long beyond the political cycle and the purpose of an Industrial Strategy is to do that. It’s to get business and government working together and to do within the long term time frame.

One of the innovative elements in the approach we have adopted is to think in terms of sectors – initially there was a lot of tut tutting about this – do we really have to pick winners and so on. But actually it became perfectly natural to concentrate attention on certain sectors of the economy that were organised in that way. We had the Automotive Council, we had already collaborative relations in aerospace and we have extended that approach to the energy supply chains and to others. And this is predominantly about manufacturing but it’s not only. Some of the most successful bits of the Industrial Strategy relate for example to the creative industries or to professional services or to education – particularly higher education seen as an export industry. And others have grown up spontaneously. It became obvious to the people who were operating in the railway sector that a lot was happening – a lot of investment was taking place and for goodness sake let’s try and deal with this in a more strategic way and so the railway income sector as come together in very much an industrial strategy manner. And the same thing has happened in chemicals that were hitherto rather fragmented and if the foundation industries that Katja described feel somewhat beleaguered as they are because of cost pressures then it would be absolutely right and sensible that we work with them in a similar way.

So that’s the basic philosophy. I think as a result of it, we have some good concrete results. Real collaborations happening – they are not just words. If you take the most obvious and advanced of them, the aerospace sector has produced this £2 billion joint 50:50 government/private sector collaboration to develop the next generation of R and D in the industry. We shouldn’t underestimate this. I came into government and sat down with the industry shortly afterwards and they said look you know your R and D in the aerospace sector is steadily declining. There is no way that the UK is going to retain its position as the number 2 aerospace country in the world – you’re sliding down the scale, you’ve got to do something about it. And it’s got to involve a long term commitment. So we now have a 10 year commitment, joint by both sectors, in order to strengthen our position in engines and wings in the longer term.

The same thing has happened in the automobile industry – there are people in this room like me who are long enough to remember when the car industry was a joke, something we were embarrassed about. It’s now one of our most successful industries – an enormous amount of capital is now being invested not just by the OEMs but further through the supply chain. I think £6 to £8 billion in the last few years and again there are the big high profile projects which we all know about like at Land Rover, the big investment in Ford (I’m going to Dagenham later this morning with the Prime Minister with a big new engine project). The smaller things which are not on the radar – I’ve just come back from India where I met an Indian car company – high quality car compenents company – AMTEC which is investing in Kidderminster to create 500 new jobs in a foundry supporting the new Wolverhampton engine plant. So these are real things and lying behind it is a joint project between government and the industry – the Advanced Propulsion Project, which is creating the next generation power train based on low carbon technology. And there are similar things happening in bioscience, in the energy supply chains - for example, the Siemens project for turbine development on Humberside is very much linked into this strategic approach that I’ve described to you.

Let me just briefly review some of the ways in which we are trying to take forward – what I call - public private partnership writ large. First of all we recognise that training skills is an absolutely massive issue. Wherever I go now I am told by companies that skill shortage is probably the most important single break on their expansion and it does involve a multi-faceted approach. It involves fairly toxic issues like immigration on which I think Katja has said the right things. But what we are trying to do is to help business to develop through expansion of the apprenticeship programme. I think one of the first big decisions I took in government when we had to make big cuts right from the beginning – we’ve cut our department by 25% - but despite that to invest more in apprenticeship training.

We’ve now got 2 million who will have gone through schemes under this government and we’re now trying to focus it much more on advanced higher apprenticeships where the real skill bottlenecks are and to make it much more ‘employer led’ and we have – what we call – an Employer Ownership scheme and I’m able to announce a package of funding for 6 companies in the car supply chain. I’ve got the names of the companies here – Benteler, Brose, Getrag, Gestamp, Nifco and Unipres – there are the sort of tier 2 companies which are in danger of losing their skilled workers because of being cannibalised within the industry but this will help to reinforce their skill development.

So skills is one area which we are trying to deal with through a big expansion of apprenticeships, through the focus on STEM – which Katja referred to. I absolutely endorse what she said about the importance of getting women into engineering both through apprenticeships and graduate level. It’s a fact that we shouldn’t be proud of as a country - that of all the 28 countries in the European Union we are the worst in terms of women in engineering and we’ve really got to combat that. So skill training is one area. The second is helping supply chain development. There is a lot of funding issues around some of the smaller tier 2 companies still can’t get credit from the banks and we’ve launched a substantial programme – I think £245 million so far – helping to finance supply chain capital. We think in the process we may have saved or generated something in the order of 15,000 jobs and that’s an on-going programme.

Thirdly, and again both Mark and Katja referred to it is Britain’s performance in innovation and R and D . We are in danger of slipping down the international leagues table and we have tried to arrest that by making this very strong commitment to the science budget, which has been ring-fenced. And also by setting up the chain of Catapult Centres, which I think has been a great success - loosely based on the German Franhoffer model but adapted very much to British conditions - in which advanced manufacturing did a lot of the pioneering work. That has been expanded and later this year we will have 2 more centres rolled out – we’ve now got 7, the next will be on energy storage and stratified or crystallised medicine.

I think fourthly finance. The British Business Bank, which you don’t see on the high street but is basically a sort of virtual bank which is putting funding into new sources of business finance, peer to peer lending, crowd funding platforms, supporting some of the new banks that are coming through the system and which are absolutely crucial to the smaller companies, which cannot raise either loan or equity financing by conventional means.

Fifth, recognising the particular issues around energy intensive industries. We do realise a lot of those industries – the foundation industries – are under the cosh because they are competing on price. Energy is relatively expensive. We have been trying to address through a compensation mechanism, which we have now developed – cash is being paid out but no doubt we will be told that a great deal more should be done.

So we have a whole series of policy initiatives in those areas. I’d just like to conclude by acknowledging the point which Katja made in her introduction. Which is how do we try to create for the business community as much certainty and policy stability as possible because, you know, there is risk out there. Many of you are struggling with exchange rate issues – the pound is in danger of getting overvalued again. Not a great deal that government can or should do about that. We can’t manipulate exchange rates but it’s a risk that business is running if you’re in international trade. There is issues around the Eurozone growth where there are some rather pessimistic predictions coming out. Now those are business risks which you’ve got to live with in in any event but what we need to try to ensure is that gratuitous risk creation isn’t being generated by government. We’ve just narrowly avoided difficulty in relation to Scotland. A good outcome but it created a period of hiatus for a lot of companies. We’ve now got similar risk which we really must minimise about doubts created over our membership of the European Single Market and there are perfectly good challenges, which you put to us about lack of clarity or consistency in relation to infrastructure projects. We do recognise we need to do better on that front.

But can I thank you all for coming. Thanks to CBI and GE and I look forward to getting feedback and questions from you.

Speech: Expanding our Industrial Strategy for a better future for Britain

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 10:00:00 +0000

Fifteen years ago, when I was working in my family’s small IT business, the idea that today, Britain would have a major conference, with all major parties, most major companies, hosted by one of the major employers’ groups, with a broad consensus of support behind the idea of an industrial strategy - that idea would have been astonishing.

But more, that a conference like this on industrial strategy is regarded as forward looking, enterprising and dynamic would have been more surprising still.

Five years ago, when I entered Parliament, the idea that today, Britain could commit to become the best place in the world to start and grow a business, that idea would have been incredible.

But it is now possible. And in part that is thanks to our Industrial Strategy.

It shows how far we have come. That the dreams of Michael Heseltine have led not just to individual successes, like in the Docklands of London and Liverpool, but are now the basis of a whole approach to building Britain’s businesses.

So, building on the work of Michael Hestletine, Peter Mandleson, George Osborne and Vince Cable, let us today together commit to build on the success of our Industrial Strategy, and project it forward into the next decade.

I want to set out my party’s approach to industrial strategy, why we back it so passionately, and how we will strengthen it, expand it, and build on the start that it’s had.

But before I set out how, I just want to say a word about why.

For a long time, certainly under most of the previous government, an argument held sway that an industrial strategy meant a return to the past and picking winners, and instead government should be neutral.

I believe that argument has itself been consigned to history.

Yes, when it was first made in the 1980s, there were good reasons for this. As a theory, it has merit.

And it was born of the need to modernise our economy and stop subsidising failing enterprises.

But it went too far.

For we can all recognise that government has an imprint on industry simply by existing.

How we regulate pharmaceuticals is different to how we regulate construction, or finance, or any other sector you care to mention.

Where we choose to put our infrastructure has a sectoral impact, whether we like it or not.

So government has an industrial impact. Let us be strategic about that impact.

Rather than pretending we can be neutral, we should be as intelligent as we can about how we use that footprint to secure jobs, opportunity and long-term prosperity.

In skills, finance, procurement and science that means using the power of government to open up markets and break new ground.

Of course where taxpayers’ money is used value for money matters.

And the best guide to getting value for money is to ensure private capital goes in alongside public.

We’ve followed these principles now for the past 4 years. And the results are clear:

The value of the cars we export is outstripping imports for the first time in my lifetime. And we’ve seen more positive news with more jobs in Dagenham today.

Pharmaceuticals are growing; manufacturing jobs are re-shoring; our aerospace industry is growing at over 9% a year - almost triple the global average.

So how should we go further?

Open source industrial strategy

First, recognising that there is more to industrial strategy than manufacturing. We want a modern industrial strategy that reflects the modern economy.

We’re committed to offering support to all sectors of the economy, not just one. We need an open source industrial strategy.

We want to broaden its scope, cover the whole economy, and offer for the first time a business led industrial strategy in any sector that wants one.

So if your sector needs an industrial strategy, let us know.

Industrial strategy is a partnership between government and business, and it’s a partnership of equals.

The dialogue has to be open, business led, and lead to real results.

When we came to office, communication between business and government was too often ad hoc and informal.

Our sector councils have formalised this dialogue, providing a structure for interaction from the very top of government to the most detailed working level.

This year, for example, we set up the Tourism Council.

We have just set up the Rail Supply Group to build the supply chain for our railways including HS2 .

And we are working alongside the metals industry, including steel, as they develop their strategy.

Open source means open to the whole sector too. In future, every sector council will include representatives of both small and of medium size businesses. They have different needs, and must be at the top table.

This open source approach is already reflected in our skills policy. We recognise that apprenticeships add value in all sectors, including new areas like healthcare, accountancy and the media.

Just as in this Parliament we’ve doubled the number of apprenticeships from 1 million to 2 million, we are today setting out how we will go further, to 3 million in the next Parliament, to train young people so they have what it takes to get the jobs that are increasingly available.

As well as more apprenticeships, crucially we’ve asked employers in sectors from finance to food, retail to steel, literally to rewrite the apprenticeship rulebook – replacing complex skills frameworks with shorter, clearer training standards, written for employers by employers.

Small businesses must be involved.

Clusters

So, first, our Industrial Strategy must be open source.

Second, we must unambiguously back success where we find it.

It sounds obvious, but too often in the past there was a sense that government would look at an area with a particular strength and conclude that it didn’t need help.

Or worse, it would complain that if one area had a strength, it somehow wasn’t fair and needed to be spread to other parts.

By contrast we’re committed to backing success wherever we find it, so where a cluster exists we want to double down.

So we are backing clusters, from life sciences in Cambridge, to defence and aerospace in Portsmouth, to oil in Aberdeen.

Perhaps the greatest example of this is our vision for a Northern powerhouse.

Clusters are supported by the privately-led LEPs .

And as they entrench and mature, it is vital LEPs must maintain the same business-led approach, and remain dynamic, open, and flexible.

Backing business

So, industrial strategy has a bright future.

But I have a warning.

Industrial strategy does not work on its own.

It cannot replace a strong business environment.

You can’t have a successful industrial strategy without a successful economic strategy.

You can’t duck the big issues, like the deficit, or bringing certainty to our relationship with Europe through a renegotiation then a referendum on that renegotiated relationship.

And you don’t strengthen an industrial strategy with anti-business rhetoric or action.

Attacking wealth creation, proposing higher taxes on business, punitive proposals setting business against business.

These things have no place in a pro-business government.

They undermine industrial strategy.

And anyway, they are mistaken.

Because business is a force for social good.

Not only does it create jobs and opportunity, it supports that Great British ethic of something for something. Profit is a measure of success in finding solutions to other peoples’ problems.

So our belief in industrial strategy is motivated by our belief in business.

But we know there’s more to do.

We want to expand, strengthen and build on that strategy. We want all businesses, all sectors of our economy to know that government is on their side, backing their ambitions, standing up for their success.

For that is how we shall secure a better and brighter future for Britain.

Speech: Matthew Hancock speech on Industrial Strategy

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 16:01:46 +0000

Intro

Today I want to talk about why we back an industrial strategy, and what this means for both advanced manufacturing and wider economy.

As Minister for Portsmouth I’m delighted to be back, because this city is a great place to make this argument.

You’ve been at the cutting edge of maritime technology since the ninth century, when King Alfred came here to supply his fleet with bigger and faster longships than those in use by the Vikings.

It was an early instance of the Anglo-Saxon model proving more efficient than its Nordic counterpart.

Later, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Portsmouth perfected the art of fighting sail; in the twentieth century it was home to the Royal Navy’s first submarines and the revolutionary dreadnought battleship.

But far from basking in old glory, you remain at the cutting edge.

Your response to change has been extraordinary. Faced with difficult decisions over shipbuilding, you have picked yourselves up, dusted yourselves off, and reinvented yourselves anew.

Cutting edge marketing industries. Leading in autonomous vessels, new composite materials, and even here the space industry.

Space is now a vital part of Britain’s industrial landscape.

It contributes £11.3 billion to the economy each year and employs more than 35,000 people, a large proportion of them here at Airbus Defence and Space - the largest satellite manufacturing company in Europe.

And this government is committed to capturing 10 percent of the global market for space technology and services by 2030: a £40 billion industry and 100,000 new jobs for the UK.

See Inside Manufacturing Announcement

Today marks the beginning of a month of SIM events. The programme has expanded from one sector in 2011, to now include all manufacturing sectors.

Last year 6,300 young people and their teachers took part in over 175 visits and events throughout the UK.

The programme will now carry on throughout the year.

Airbus Defence and Space – and many other manufacturers around the country - are helping inspire next generation of engineers by hosting SIM events.

This is being done with the unwavering support of our industrial policy.

It is a strength for our country that our industrial strategy is now supported by a strong cross party consensus.

Whether we like it not, government impacts different businesses differently. While some regulations are generic, others affect only the sector to which they apply. Government is a major customer. We make decisions that affect business over infrastructure, tax and as the main provider of education and skills.

For better or for worse, for richer and for poorer, those decisions inevitably have sector specific impact.

Portsmouth isn’t a major centre for advanced manufacturing by accident, but because it’s where successive governments have chosen to locate our most advanced surface ships.

Aberdeen is the world centre for offshore oil. It’s a huge asset to our country so let’s double down and back it.

By contrast, poor regulation of our banking sector had a catastrophic impact in the crash six years ago.

So rather than pretending we don’t have a footprint, we need to think intelligently about how we use that footprint to secure jobs, opportunity and long-term prosperity.

I pay tribute to the work Lord Hestletine and Vince Cable have done in the past, and the huge effort of my predecessor Michael Fallon.

In skills, finance, procurement and science let us pull in harness with business, work hand in glove, and promote the best of British.

It’s all part of our long-term economic plan to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

And it has wider purpose: to back job creators and wealth creators so we can prosper as a nation in an increasingly competitive world.

Backing success what does this mean in practice?

First, dialogue

When we came to office we found no formalised way for business and government to engage, in detail and in partnership.

Yet without that dialogue we cannot listen to the needs of business, and respond to them.

Getting this dialogue right is a crucial starting point, because if you don’t talk, you can’t then do.

It’s important to get it right.

It can’t just be at the top - though it must go right to the top. Dialogue needs to be drilled down to every level.

It can’t just be with some, typically big, players, but must be open to the concerns of a whole sector.

It can’t just be about the government on broadcast, but if anything is more important for the government to listen, and listen hard.

Our industrial councils formalise this dialogue, and provide a structure for interaction from the very top of government to the most detailed working level.

Second, the chequebook matters

Whether in terms of finance through the British Business Bank, regional support through the Growth fund, training through Apprenticeships, support for research through our protected science budget, or direct procurement, it is important government thinks carefully and strategically about how we spend taxpayers money.

Value for money matters.

This is not government cash but taxpayers’ hard earned cash after all. Probity and even handedness are crucial.

But to get the best value for money we should be active in thinking about and understanding the consequences of spending.

And when I say the chequebook matters, what I mean is that both the government and the private chequebook matters.

Taxpayer contributions can bring heft and recognition.

But the best guarantor of good value is for any taxpayer cash to sit alongside cash contribution from the private sector.

Take science.

The billion pound annual taxpayer budget has been protected, but is only part of the story. Working alongside business and using the best possible independent research, we have identified eight great technologies likely to have a huge future impact. We are backing those technologies, and the role Britain can play. We are doing that alongside private investment, to ensure we double down on ideas others are backing, rather than trying to push water uphill.

Government can add scale and firepower to double down on British strengths.

So we’ve committed £4 billion to support the development and commercialisation of technologies where the UK has the expertise and business capability to become a world leader, from robotics to regenerative medicine, advanced propulsion to aerospace.

We’ve come in with £395 million to support nine Catapult innovation centres, alongside private cash, aimed at turning at research into commercial reality.

Through the Defence Growth Partnership government and industry are working together to harness the wealth of capability and innovation that resides in the UK defence industry – to capture the value defence procurement brings for new market opportunities and grow high value jobs.

As part of the DGP ’s initial set of launch projects we are establishing a UK Centre for Maritime Intelligent Systems here in Portsmouth to develop world-leading capability in the growing maritime autonomous systems market.

Near here, the Solent is well placed to have a world beating marine and maritime industry. It has ports that lie just 20 miles from the world’s busiest shipping route from Shanghai to Rotterdam – and a business base, skills, traditions research and educational strengths that are second to none.

There is now a shared plan between government, local political and business leaders to unify and enhance the many elements of marine excellence in the region, to embrace the new technologies and seize the opportunities they bring, improving R&D, transport links, upgrading ports and ferry terminals and supporting Sir Ben Ainslie’s campaign to win the Americas cup for Portsmouth, all with the clear goal to build on the pride, heritage and ambition of the region.

Third, it’s not just about the money

Improving regulation is a constant effort of looking at the detail, from the primary legislation or European Directive, through individual regulations, how well written and understandable is the guidance, it’s interpretation on the ground, and how it’s enforced in practice.

We are determined to improve this..

And we can only do this if we listen to business. In some areas this is a matter of straightforward deregulation.

In others, there are important public policy goals we as a society want to achieve. Businesses get that. But there are often ways we can deliver the same results so much better.

This is especially important for smaller firms which don’t have dedicated public affairs arms.

So our One In Two Out rule is delivering, ensuring we are on track for this to be the first Parliament in modern history that lowers the burden of domestic regulation.

Our Red Tape Challenge, invites firms to identify regulations they think should be scrapped or amended. So far, we’re reforming or removing over 3000 regulations, saving business almost a billion pounds a year. But there are more to do. We have introduced a growth duty into all non economic regulators, and will give a director a specific duty to be the small business champion in each.

Our guidance re-write has taken thousands of pages of guidance and put it into plain English.

But these thousands of pages are but the foothills of the mountains of guidance that need translating into plain English.

Our focus on enforcement reviews are now led by business directly in technology and agriculture so employers themselves can tell us where heavy handed enforcement can be reformed to deliver the same regulatory outcomes, at a much lower cost to business.

We have started with twelve, but have hundreds more areas to cover and we welcome an approach from business or any industry body who wants to work with us to improve the enforcement of regulations.

In many areas, like health and safety, our myth busters help people to follow what the actual rules are, not some over the top interpretation, often given by consultants who rely on complex regulation to stay in business.

Our principle is clear: if you act reasonably, you should not fall foul of regulation, and it shouldn’t take some expensive consultant to tell you how to stay within the rules.

The work of regulatory reform never ceases, and there is much more to do, but we are changing the culture of Whitehall and listening to business: all part of our Industrial Strategy.

The fourth element is that clusters matter

Location location location isn’t just a tv show.

Through our Industrial Strategy we have turned on its head the government attitude to location.

Gone are the days when government would see an area with a particular strength in a sector, and complain it wasn’t diversified enough, that it didn’t need help as it was doing better than elsewhere, and that the success should be shifted to other parts.

By contrast, where we see success, we want to back it. Where a cluster exists, let us double it.

One of the ironies of the modern world is that more advanced communications have strengthened the need for technologies to cluster in close knit geographical communities with strong physical transport networks.

So we are backing clusters, using the privately led LEPs to back local strengths and local priorities, as part of and integrated with the national Industrial Strategy.

Support for all sectors, not just one

This approach of Industrial Strategy is working.

The value of the cars we export is outstripping imports for the first time in my lifetime. Our aerospace industry is growing at over 9% a year, almost triple the global average.

Pharmaceuticals are expanding.

But it would be a mistake to think of Industrial Strategy as a manufacturing concept.

Wherever people are putting their time, talent and energy into private enterprise we will back them; we are committed to offering support to all sectors of the economy, not just one.

It would be a mistake to limit the coverage of our industrial strategy.

For this reason, this year I set up the Tourism Industrial Council.

Tourism is a £127 billion industry that employs 3.1million people and it is the 5th largest export industry in the UK. They need a voice at the top table too.

I am committed to rebooting our national nuclear industry through Hinkley Point C.

Last week we got the green light from the EU Commission which was an important milestone on this journey. Hinkley has the potential to power nearly 6 million homes, create 25,000 jobs during construction alone and roughly 50% of the supply chain will be based here in the UK.

We are backing this development every step of the way as part of our Nuclear Industrial Strategy - bringing not just the power but the jobs and skills for new nuclear back to Britain where they belong.

We must spread the success of industrial strategy to all sectors that want them.

And while we have our ideas, this is a partnership. So if your sector needs an industrial strategy, let us know. Broadening the scope, drilling down into specific regional needs and bringing in new sectors is the future for our industrial strategy.

This open approach to an industrial strategy that reflects the modern economy is itself reflected in the approach we’re taking to its components too.

For example, the record growth of Apprenticeships was founded in a recognition that Apprenticeships add value in all sectors - from engineering to education, from space to spies.

And we have spread Apprenticeships to new areas previously untouched, like accountancy, the BBC and healthcare.

And we’ve asked employers – market leaders in sectors from finance to food, retail to steel - to literally rewrite the Apprenticeship rulebook.

They’re condensing hundreds of pages of complex, messy frameworks to a two-page description of the skills and behaviour employees should demonstrate in a particular industry and how they should be assessed.

Shorter, clearer, better standards written by employers for employers.

In your own sector, a new Defence apprenticeship standard will develop the standard for Masters-equivalent apprenticeships in advanced systems engineering.

We’ve just announced a National College specifically to train up the workers that will be building and operating HS2. And we will go further, making sure that each and every sector has the supply of talent it needs to grow – in turn opening up a wealth of skilled job opportunities to help build a better, more prosperous Britain.

Conclusion

So you can see that our industrial strategy is about more than just GDP.

Our Industrial strategy is a modern success story and we want to expand it.

It’s about advancing our society, pushing at the boundaries of human ingenuity and encouraging our young people to reach for the stars.

There’s still much more to do but if the history of this city proves anything it’s that British resolve, British enterprise and the British people will rise to the challenge.

Consultation outcome: EU Accounting Directive: financial reporting

Fri, 29 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Updated: Added link to final legislation

The EU Accounting Directive 2013/34/EU consolidates existing legislation on financial reporting. It also aims to reduce government regulatory control on smaller companies.

We want industry views on how we should implement the propopals in chapters 1 to 9 of the Directive. This is about reducing the amount of information member states can ask smaller companies to place in their annual statutory accounts. The changes must take effect by March 2015.

BIS has also consulted separately on Chapter 10 of Directive 2013/34/EU on new reporting requirements for large companies in the extractive industries.

Consultation outcome: Furniture fire safety regulations: proposed amendments

Thu, 07 Aug 2014 08:30:00 +0000

Updated: Published a 'summary of public responses' and 'technical annex' for the consultation on amendments to the furniture and furnishings (fire) (safety) regulations.

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery.

This consultation sets out the government’s intention to change the specification for the match test and the requirements for the cigarette test (both for covering fabrics) in the regulations.

Consultation outcome: Spaceport: locations and criteria

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Updated: Added responses received to the consultation and the government's decision document.

Consultation seeking views on the 8 potential locations identified as a commercial sub-orbital spaceflight spaceport and the:

key operational
safety
meteorological
environmental
economic

criteria used by the Civil Aviation Authority in selection.

Commercial spaceplane certification and operations: UK government review, published 15 July 2014
Government paves way for UK spaceport, press release published 15 July 2014

Consultation outcome: Future development of loans in further education

Thu, 19 Jun 2014 10:30:00 +0000

Updated: Government response published.

We gathered views on proposals for a further expansion of loans in the further education sector. The proposed expansion aims to:

provide access to learning for the widest possible group of people
simplify the current funding system, so it is easy to understand, and learners have greater control over their learning choices
strengthen incentives for learners engaging in training and skills development
widen access and strengthen alignment with higher education funding

We also gathered feedback on how the current system is working and ideas for improving loans in further education more generally.

We are taking the time necessary to fully analyse a diverse set of responses to our recent consultation. We will ensure we make decisions in the context of wider government objectives. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) will publish its response early in the new year.