Business leaders discuss what 'Levelling Up' could mean for Greater Birmingham
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) welcomed senior Treasury officials to Birmingham last week to a roundtable, hosted by WSP, on 'Levelling Up in Greater Birmingham '.
Tim Jarvis - HM Treasury 's director of Companies and Economic Security - and Faith Quigley - deputy director of Housing, Planning and Cities - discussed the Government 's Levelling Up agenda and heard from local firms across a range of sectors about what levelling up would mean for Greater Birmingham.
Participants discussed what levelling up would mean for their business, what challenges would need to be overcome in order to bring this vision to life, and how local businesses could maximise the benefits accrued from the Levelling Up Agenda.
Raj Kandola, head of Policy at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “It was fantastic to meet senior Treasury officials last week to learn more about the Government 's plans to level up Greater Birmingham and hear from local firms about what the Levelling Up agenda will mean for them.
“In 2020, the West Midlands had the third highest unemployment rate in the country and the highest proportion of people without qualifications in England. As such, the Levelling Up agenda will no doubt bring a multitude of opportunities to unlock the potential of Greater Birmingham, create thousands of jobs, upskill our population, and strengthen our regional economy.
“We are positive that businesses in Greater Birmingham will unequivocally reap the rewards of the Government 's plans to level up and we look forward to seeing more detail in the forthcoming Levelling Up White Paper. As always, the Chamber will be working closely with members once this is published to hear their views and help them understand how they will benefit from the Government 's plans to level up. ”
Rachel Skinner CBE, executive director at WSP, one of the UK 's leading engineering professional services consultancies, said: “Businesses have a key part to play in delivering the Levelling Up agenda by creating jobs and promoting the right skills to drive local and regional growth. Greater Birmingham is well placed to take a leading role amongst UK cities as part of its transformation as a modern and vibrant place to live and work. ”
“Increasingly, 'levelling up ' will become aligned to green growth and the UK 's net zero ambitions. The opportunities for government, businesses and communities to work together as part of our transition to a carbon-free economy are boundless, and WSP 's net zero plan for the West Midlands Combined Authority shows clearly the exciting future ahead for the region. ”
Following the roundtable, Treasury officials visited the Commonwealth Games site with Chris Gibbens, Commercial Director at National Express Coventry, on one of National Express ' new hydrogen buses.