Business Secretary sets up email for companies to contact him

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has set up an email address for companies to get in touch with him and tell him how his department can help them.

He held a phone call with more than 170 business and trade association leaders on Tuesday morning, telling those on the line that the industrial strategy would be the cornerstone of the UK Government’s growth mission.

Reynolds also told them that decarbonisation does not mean de-industrialisation and said he was aware that connectivity and the grid is a key challenge for businesses.

They also discussed streamlining work with Whitehall, opportunities to increase exports and digitalisation.

He ended the call by reiterating plans to be the most accessible Business Secretary, asking people to contact him via a newly set up “Tell Jonathan” email address.

“My message to business is clear – this mission-led government will build prosperity through partnership,” he wrote in a later LinkedIn post.

The first of the four priorities is delivering a new industrial strategy with a statutory expert council that should help businesses plan for the next decade and beyond.

Another is to support small businesses, for example by making sure they are paid on time by taking action on late payments and changing procurement rules so they can have a better chance at bidding for government contracts.

The third is on trade and British exports and includes improving relations with the EU and forging a trade deal with India.

The last of the priorities is to “make work pay” by ending exploitative contracts and fire and rehire policies as well as creating secure jobs that treat workers fairly.

This follows the Chancellor revealing plans for a new government wealth fund designed to attract billions in private sector investment to support UK growth.

The new Labour government said it has allocated £7.3bn in additional state funding to support the investment plan.

It is looking to secure roughly triple this in private investment, from the likes of pension funds, to help finance the fund.

Nevertheless, an initial report into the proposed national wealth fund found it needs up to £57bn in private investment by 2030 to help develop industries it is targeting to drive growth.

Rachel Reeves met with a nine-strong National Wealth Fund Taskforce at No 11 Downing Street in order to launch the plans. This includes former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, Barclays chief executive officer CS Venkatakrishnan and Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc.

Reeves said the funding will be used to target green and high-growth industries in the UK.

This will see the government initially focus investment on five industries: green steel, green hydrogen, industrial decarbonisation, gigafactories and ports.

“This new government is getting on with the job of delivering economic growth. I have been clear that there is no time to waste,“ stated Reeves. “I have previously committed to establishing a national wealth fund. I am now going further by bringing together key institutions.

“We need to go further and faster if we are to fix the foundations of our economy to rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better off.”

The Chancellor has said the government will focus on accelerating economic growth in order to bring in the extra tax revenues needed to support significant parts of Labour’s policy plans.

The National Wealth Fund’s investments will be managed by the existing UK Infrastructure Bank, led by former HSBC boss John Flint, with support from the British Business Bank.

It added that the proposals will include reforms to the state-owned British Business Bank.

Green Finance Institute chief executive Rhian-Mari Thomas chaired the taskforce.

She told the PA news agency: “There was a lot of enthusiasm in the meeting, from the Chancellor and members of the taskforce.

“And I’m really encouraged that the government is looking to move at pace with these plans, to encourage investment from the outset.

“I think the initial public investment can work as a catalyst and in the longer-term can help to drive proportionately more private investment.”

Carney added: “This new government has rightly identified infrastructure investment as a core enabler of building high value, low carbon, competitive industries.

“The smart use of public investment via the national wealth fund can kickstart economic growth and crowd in private capital to vital sectors including ports, heavy industry and manufacturing.”

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