CSR: Apprenticeships pledge as BIS cuts bite
A PROMISE of an extra 75,000 apprenticeships a year was offered to business today to sweeten a cut of 25% in resource spending and 40% reduction in capital spending in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Chancellor also revealed the Department is expecting to make a reduction in administration costs of 40% that include £228m of savings from the abolition of regional development agencies such as Yorkshire Forward.
Cuts by the Department include the abolition of the Train to Gain scheme to be replaced by a new programme focused on the needs of SMEs and cuts in English language teaching programmes.
There was also a pledge to invest up to £200 million by 2014 to support manufacturing and business development with a focus on “high growth businesses”.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “The threat to our national economy is the large financial deficit which if left unchecked will damage our capacity to grow and rebalance our economy.
“I am not going to say that any of these cuts are going to be easy and many people are going to feel the consequences, but without action all of us, for years to come, would pay the price.
“These decisions have been hard but they are necessary.”
Notably, the Chancellor did not take the opportunity to set out more detail on its plans for the new local enterprise partnerships, that are due to take on some of the roles of RDAs, or Business Link although there was additional funding for the Regional Growth Fund, taking the total to £1.4bn.
In his Commons speech, the Mr Osborne suggested there would be a continuing role for UK Trade and Investment in attracting overseas investment to Britain.
Chris Humphreys, managing partner in PKF’s Sheffield office, said: “Chris Humphreys said: “It remains a concern for us that the Government is still to set out in clear terms how LEPs are going to work on the ground.
“The BIS budget has been cut, but the Spending Review is a mathematical exercise and there are important new pledges that should help economic development, such as the extra investment in the Regional Growth Fund.”
