The Pre-Budget Report was announced by Gordon Brown, the UK chancellor, on December 6. Investing in Britain’s Potential: Building Our Long-Term Future – picked up on the skills shortage pointed out by the Leitch Review, as well as the recommendations for business made by the Stern Review on climate change (see Briefing 90, October/November).
*SKILLS: the government appoints former director general of the CBI, Sir Digby Jones, to advance the skills agenda. Brown said that the objectives “cannot be achieved by either government alone or business alone. The review assesses that after 2010 a new statutory entitlement to skills training may be required”. The statement points to the possibility of future legislation to enhance skills.
ENVIRONMENT: new homes built in the next 10 years will be carbon neutral; these will be exempt from stamp duty. For existing homes, the Treasury will consult on a new facility to undertake energy audits and offer low loans that would in time, because of low energy bills, pay for themselves.
GREEN TECHNOLOGY: “Tackling climate change is an opportunity for Britain to create thousands of new jobs,” Brown said. A new institute will investigate new environmental technologies, starting with a budget of £550m; Brown announced a second enterprise capital fund focused on innovative green technologies.
CARBON TRADING: the government will bring together the major financial institutions to make London the world’s leading centre for carbon trading.
AIR TRAVEL: air passenger duty doubled to £10 on February 1.
CLEANER FUELS: the government will encourage the development of cleaner fuels.
MINIMUM WAGE: Tougher penalties will be enforced on companies that do not pay the minimum wage – the resources for tackling non-compliance will be increased by 50%.
London skills & employment board members announced
The board members of the London Skills & Employment Board were announced on December 5. The board was set up in July 2006 by the London Development Agency to champion the importance of skills for London’s future and to develop the strategy for adult training in the city.
Board members include top London business leaders, large employers, education specialists and unions. Ken Livingstone, mayor of London, will chair the board and Harvey McGrath, chair of the Man Group and chair of the business organisation London First will be vice-chairman. Other board members include Lucy Adams, SERCO, Tracey Hahn, Merrill Lynch, Paul Cuttill, EDF Energy, Terri Dial, Lloyds TSB, David Butcher, BT Exact, Richard Cousins, Compass Catering, and Nick Turner, Morgan Stanley. Contact London Development Agency 020 7593 8000 www.lda.gov.uk
Rewarding responsibility
The Conservative Party’s corporate responsibility working group aims to reward companies that make their business practices more socially responsible. In a document, forming part of the policy review mid-term report, the party sets out a “responsibility deal” where a future Conservative government would invite companies to develop responses to agreed social and environmental challenges. Changes to business practices to meet these challenges will be rewarded with a “lighter regulatory burden”.
Members of the corporate responsibility working group are Peter Davis, political editor of Ethical Corporation magazine, Jonathan Djanogly, MP and partner in the corporate finance department at SJ Berwin, David Grayson, former managing director and now part-time director of BITC, Lord Hastings, a cross-party peer and international director for corporate citizenship at KPMG, and Tobias Webb, founding editor of Ethical Corporation magazine. Contact Conservative Party 020 7222 9000 www.conservatives.com
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