Investment system ‘outdated, inefficient & ineffective’
Replacing the current ‘bloated’ inward investment system with a localist approach would help the UK regain its global competitive edge, according to a new report.
Inward investment begins at home says diverting the millions spent on branding the UK overseas to local initiatives would help attract jobs and investment.
Produced by consultancy Breeze Strategy - an adviser to governments, regions and local authorities - it calls for a five-pronged approach that is localised, business-led, transparent, efficient and effective.
Recommendations include creating an ‘investment attraction fund’ by removing the direct funding link between UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and regional development agencies (RDAs) to encourage competitive bids.
The report says the creation of RDAs imposed on the whole country a particular structural model, but argues that the ‘complex nature’ of investment attraction means some areas would be better served by a regional approach, while others may favour more of a city-region model.
Other ideas for reform called for include a new eBay-style UK inquiry portal and simplifying measures and scrapping targets to help avoid ‘red herring’ headline figures and misleading statistics on jobs and projects.
Breeze Strategy founder Adam Breeze, a former head of inward investment for government regeneration agency English Partnerships, said: ‘The organisation and funding arrangements in place are outdated, inefficient and ineffective. If nothing is done to change this system, the UK risks losing more jobs and companies to global competitors that have more professional and efficient investment promotion structures.
‘The structure of investment promotion has become bloated with a profusion of quangos which have presided over a damaging shift from local needs to regional and national diktat. This has caused increased bureaucracy and Whitehall control at the expense of private sector and local involvement.’
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