Sir Richard key speaker at Connected Cities summit
MANCHESTER City Council leader Sir Richard Leese is a key speaker on how the UK productivity shortfall can be solved by greater devolution.
Leese – also the chair of the Core Cities – addresses the Connected Cities Summit at the QE2 Centre in London today.
The Core Cities and Bilfinger GVA will co-host the conference, attended by city leaders, mayors, business chiefs and key decision makers, to launch two new reports.
Each responds to the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) by setting out the critical requirements from both a regional business and public sector perspective.
The Summit will feature a keynote from the North West’s Lord Jim O’Neill of Gatley, Commercial Secretary to the Treasury. He will present Government thinking on the best way to ensure effective investment in the regions. Contributions from City leaders and Mayors will follow.
Bilfinger GVA will unveil research entitled ‘UK Infrastructure: unlocking UK cities and Commercial Property’ on the infrastructure requirements of the Core Cities and what effectively deployed investment can mean for productivity and business growth.
Core Cities UK will launch a new prospectus entitled ‘Unlocking the Power of Place’ calling for a joined up, ‘place-based’ multi-year approach to the CSR – the Government’s spending plans for this Parliament – so UK investment can be deployed in the best way possible to drive growth, rebalance the economy and contribute to sustainable deficit reduction across the UK’s biggest cities.
Whilst the Core Cities prospectus will set out how greater devolution can raise the UK’s productivity and close the public finance gap, Bilfinger GVA’s report calls for major changes to the way infrastructure, from broadband to roads, is funded and delivered.
Central to this debate is addressing the issue of low productivity. As Bilfinger GVA’s report highlights, the UK’s core cities account for 25% of the economy, although output per capita remains below the national and EU average in each city bar one.
Leese said: “Our CSR prospectus sets out how our cities can become self-sustaining, rivalling any of our global competitors, strengthening the UK through its cities.
“As long as the UK state remains one of the most highly centralised democracies in the world, our cities will remain stuck in second gear, unable to realise their full potential. If the core cities close the gap on output and match the UK average, an additional £66 billion can be added to the UK economy.
“As Bilfinger GVA’s excellent report illustrates, creating conditions for the type of higher value employment and innovation that will raise productivity in the core cities requires a range of measures, but first and foremost, investment in transport infrastructure and digital connectivity.”
