Million Plus

MillionPlus, the Association for Modern Universities, has today (27 November) commented on the government’s Industrial Strategy White Paper.

Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of MillionPlus, said:

“The industrial strategy confirms many of the Budget’s initiatives and the focus of much of the additional Research and Development funding allocated to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The establishment of a new national Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre is a welcome additional initiative with the potential to ensure that the contribution of modern universities and their graduates to the creative industries, a key sector of the UK’s economy, is better understood and supported.

“The new £115m Strength in Places Fund will add value to the work in which modern universities and local businesses are already engaged and is a welcome start in ensuring that taxpayer investment in innovation and research with impact reaches all parts of the country.

“There is no doubt that, in England, Ministers are relying on a complex web of initiatives and national and local stakeholders to deliver. Mayors, Combined Authorities, local councils and local enterprise partnerships (LEPS) are all involved and the new Skills Advisory Panels with a focus on technical education, will add further to the mix. Universities with knowledge and expertise in professional and technical education must be part of this agenda. Ministers will also have to ensure that this jigsaw of stakeholders and initiatives fit together to produce a coherent pattern of delivery throughout the country.

“All the evidence confirms that historic inequalities in regional growth can, in part, only be addressed at local level. The ambition to develop Local Industrial Strategies by March 2019 is the right approach. As anchor institutions in their regions and localities, modern universities must be involved as key players from the outset. The success of the Industrial Strategy, as a whole, will depend on these Local Strategies and the government should look to commit significant investment to these plans and their stakeholders in the future.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. MillionPlus is the Association for Modern Universities. More information can be found at www.millionplus.ac.uk
2. Modern universities: key facts 2017
3. The MillionPlus report Universities, devolution and the industrial strategy: piecing the jigsaw together is available here
4. The Industrial Strategy white paper, Building a Britain set for the future is available here
5. For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Dan Blows on 020 7717 1658 or email press@millionplus.ac.uk