Cut taxes for new firms in towns under threat from robot revolution, says report
Tax breaks should be handed to businesses setting up in 'left behind' towns vulnerable to the rise of automation, according to a new report.
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) believes entrepreneurs should be handed financial incentives to attract them to ten northern towns at risk of further decline thanks to the impending technological revolution.
The think-tank, established by former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith in 2004, calls for special "enterprise zones" to be created in Doncaster, Wigan, Blackpool, Mansfield, Barnsley, Bradford, Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Wakefield and Dudley.
The CSJ also recommends £1.4billion – the equivalent of £500 per resident across the towns – should be taken from central government and handed to local councils to fund infrastructure and regeneration work.
Labour's Lisa Nandy, the MP for Wigan who co-founded the Centre For Towns, welcomed the report, saying it "is right to recognise the desperate need to kickstart our town economies."
Nandy added: "For too long the entire country has been held back by a city-led model of growth that abandoned millions of people in towns across the country.
"The economic and moral case for action is now overwhelming."
The report finds towns which have already been battered by a loss of industry are least likely to attract the jobs of the future, as major cities with good transport links, cultural attractions and strong local leadership, such as London, Manchester and Birmingham, will be the destinations of choice.
Andy Cook, chief executive of the CSJ, said: "Automation will bring huge positives to the UK economy as a whole, including a much-needed boost to productivity, but not everyone will benefit equally.
"To allow the residents of these 'left behind' towns to seize the opportunities in the future jobs market, they need a policy blueprint that provides better transport links, better teachers in schools, better housing and dynamic local leadership to raise aspirations and create opportunities."
A government spokesperson said: “We want to see all our regions thrive and automation and new technology can create jobs and opportunities.
“There are already more than 1.5 million digital tech jobs in the UK, and the sector is creating jobs at twice the rate of the rest of the economy.
“To ensure no region is left behind, we are giving £9 billion to Local Enterprise Partnerships to create opportunities for businesses and communities across the country.”