‘The biggest barrier to growth’: Businesses set out plan to fix productivity puzzle October 11, 2024 Some of the UK’s most high-profile businesses have set out a roadmap to improve productivity growth, including reforms which could boost the economy by £82bn over the next five years. The Building Back Britain Commission, which included representatives from Vodafone, PIC and British Land, looked at productivity across the entire country, finding five key areas [...]
How Manchester hopes to influence Rachel Reeves to boost UK productivity October 3, 2024 A new think tank has been launched in Manchester hoping to influence Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the new Labour government’s efforts to boost productivity across the UK. The Productivity Institute, which is based at the University of Manchester, has set up a policy unit with the aim of ‘informing and influencing’ the likes of Reeves. [...]
Financing growth? How the City’s frailties have hamstrung productivity October 1, 2024 Championing the UK's financial system should not obscure the fact that there is plenty of room for improvement.
Sir Martin Sorrell: Labour’s working week reforms won’t help firms September 17, 2024 British businessman Sir Martin Sorrell has said that altering the working week will not boost productivity in the UK, pushing back on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledges to transform Britain’s work culture.
Economic inactivity due to sickness could reach 4.3m, report warns September 17, 2024 The UK’s level of economic inactivity due to sickness could reach 4.3m by the end of this parliament, with an “unthinkable human and economic cost”, a health report has warned. A cross-party commission on health and prosperity, led by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has published its findings on the future of Britain’s [...]
Rail line connecting North West to Midlands would be ’40 per cent’ cheaper than HS2 September 13, 2024 Plans for a new rail line connecting the West Midlands to the North West could be delivered at just 60 per cent of the cost of HS2’s cancelled Northern leg, according to Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. The proposed 80km line, backed by a consortium of businesses and politicians, would run from Lichfield in Staffordshire to [...]
Reform NHS to get Brits back at work and driving growth, Starmer to say September 12, 2024 Reforming the National Health Service (NHS) will help get the British public “back to health and work” as well as “driving economic growth”, Keir Starmer will say.
Santander cracks down on hybrid working as return to office trend grows September 8, 2024 Santander has cracked down on its approach to hybrid working in what is seen as yet another sign that companies are beginning to favour more in-office working patterns.
Why home working might be damaging London’s economy September 4, 2024 Londoners have been slower to return to the office after the pandemic than workers in many large cities around the world. This really matters, and not just for London.
Spending without productivity improvements won’t lead to better public services September 4, 2024 Restoring the differentials in public and private sector pay to those which prevailed in 2010 without quid pro quo increases in productivity is simply stirring up trouble for the future, says Paul Ormerod The decision by the government to stuff money into the bank accounts of the train drivers and junior doctors has been widely [...]