Five steps in five weeks to save jobs now

CBI DIRECTOR General Dame Carolyn Fairbairn gave a speech to the CBI’s Northern Business Summit – a joint meeting of the CBI’s three regional business councils spanning the North of England.

This is an edited version.

IN THE heat of Covid-19 crisis, we fought hard for a rescue package – to protect jobs, and keep businesses afloat – and the Government listened.

£33bn lent in loans, and nine million people supported on furlough. One of the most ambitious rescue packages in the world.

It wasn’t perfect – we pushed hard for ‘large CBILs’ to support midsize firms (the ‘stranded middle’) – and it has taken time to crack flexible furloughing.

But I have to say – in my entire career, I have never known a government so responsive to business. The teams at BEIS (Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), the Treasury, and Rishi Sunak in particular deserve enormous credit.

And none of it possible without you, our members.

Which brings me to the big challenge Northern businesses, and local authorities, now face.

A double challenge, in fact. Because not only must the North be central to our economic recovery.

We must also confront the historic under-investment, and the productivity gap that put our regions on the backfoot in the first place.

Making sure that the next step isn’t just rebuilding the world we came from – but about building back better.

Healing entrenched divisions – across age, gender, race, socio-economic background.

Tackling, head on, the inequalities that still blight so many people’s lives.

And creating opportunities – not just in our major cities, but in every corner of the UK.

Businesses are now in a race against time.

We urgently need the Government to take five steps in the next five weeks, if we are to save jobs now – and prevent permanent scarring on young people’s lives.

First, a strong, open partnership – built between government, business, unions, and health experts – and committed to honest, transparent and constructive debate.

This must begin now, with risk assessed, transparent decisions on schools, quarantine and sensible social distancing.

Second, a jobs plan. Starting by protecting as many existing jobs as possible, by evolving the furlough scheme, and using the Apprenticeship

Levy for sensible, targeted wage subsidies.

But we also know that some redundancies will be unavoidable – many are already happening.

So we will be calling on the Government to launch a ‘future jobs’ fund – starting in September, offering six to 12 months of paid training, with businesses as sponsor employers – and transforming Job Centres into regional Skills Centres. Where people don’t just look for work, they are trained for it.

Third is targeted financial support, for sectors hardest hit by social distancing where loans aren’t enough.

Concert venues, sports stadiums, airports. They simply won’t be at full capacity any time soon. We need big, ambitious ideas for those who most need it.

The fourth step is a national wave of infrastructure investment. Supercharged, shovel-ready, sustainable projects. HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail, rolling out electric vehicle charging across the North.

The fifth and final step is perhaps the most challenging: progress towards an ambitious Brexit deal. A good deal with the EU, our closest trading partner, will be a cornerstone of our recovery.

Making sure that the next step isn’t just rebuilding the world we came from – but about building back better.