Tag: Downing Street

A new business council has been appointed by the Prime Minister to report from the business frontlines as the Government continues to boost stability and growth in the UK economy.

Chief Executives from AstraZeneca, NatWest Group and BAE Systems are among the fourteen business leaders joining the council, alongside SSE, Google Deepmind, Sainsbury’s and Vodafone. Other companies represented on the council include GSK, Aviva, Shell, Sage, Taylor Wimpey, Diageo and Barclays.

These leaders are recognised as trusted experts in their respective fields and are in charge of some of the country’s biggest employers in strategically important industries for UK growth – from construction, life-sciences and tech to financial services and energy.

Together, they employ around 330,000 people across the country, with an even greater reach throughout their supply chain and a presence globally too.

Thanks to the Government’s plans, the UK economy is set to grow instead of fall into a recession and inflation is expected to substantially reduce by the end of the year.

Ensuring the UK is the best place in the world to do business, now and in the future, will be crucial to making continued progress on growing the economy.

The newly appointed Business Council will be a forum to bring a real-world perspective on how the current economic climate is impacting business and how government and industry can work together to boost investment and innovation, drive productivity and create highly skilled jobs.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

The more businesses innovate and invest, the more we grow and create good jobs right across the country.

I look forward to hearing first-hand from business leaders about how we can break down the barriers they face and unlock new opportunities for them to thrive.

My new Business Council is one of the many ways we are making the UK the best place to do business and invest, so we can future-proof and grow our economy.

The Council will meet today (18 July) in Downing Street, chaired by the Prime Minister. It will be followed by a reception for around 100 businesses to celebrate British enterprise.

The UK is open for business and an attractive place to invest, with a competitive business environment that stimulates growth. This is driven by policies like full-expensing – an effective corporation tax cut of £9 billion a year for UK businesses – and the lowest corporation tax in the G7, whilst reducing red-tape and investing billions in government funding such as in R&D. According to EY’s global attractiveness survey of CEOs, the UK is the most attractive investment destination in Europe.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot:

The private sector has a vital role to play working with government and society to build a sustainable economy. I look forward to productive discussions on matters affecting the UK’s growth agenda and efforts to truly become a global science superpower creating high value enterprises, jobs and advancing the UK’s global net zero ambitions.

BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn:

It’s more important than ever that government and industry work closely together and as one of the UK’s largest employers, playing a key role in supporting national security as well as economic prosperity, I’m looking forward to discussing how we can help drive growth and attract investment into the UK as part of the new Business Council.

SSE CEO Alistair Phillips-Davies:

As somebody committed to ensuring that the UK is one of the easiest places in the world for low carbon investment, with a vibrant economy that supports high quality jobs and entrepreneurial innovation, I look forward to contributing to business and government thinking and action as part of the Council.

GSK CEO Emma Walmsley:

I welcome the opportunity to join the Prime Minister’s Business Council.  I look forward to discussing the steps business and Government can take to strengthen the UK economy – harnessing science and new technologies, from AI to vaccines innovation, to boost UK productivity and investment, and unlock economic growth.

Google DeepMind Co-Founder and CEO Demis Hassabis:

The UK’s world-class strengths in science and technology, including AI, are key to boosting innovation and tackling the biggest challenges we face as a country. I’m pleased to join the Prime Minister’s new Business Council and look forward to working with the Government and other industry leaders to maximise these opportunities.

NatWest Group CEO Alison Rose:

Partnership between government and business is the cornerstone of a sustainable growth economy. That’s why I’m delighted to be part of the Prime Minister’s Business Council for 2023. Working together we can face into the nation’s challenges to unlock investment, drive enterprise, grasp the opportunity of climate transition and ultimately, help UK economy to thrive.

Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts:

We serve millions of customers every day and as an industry we work with British farmers and food manufacturers to deliver the nation’s food system. We believe there are many opportunities to collaborate and support on a strong and resilient plan for the future.

Barclays CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan:

I am honoured to represent Barclays on the Prime Minister’s Business Council. As a leading player in global markets, Barclays is committed to supporting the Government in unlocking investment and harnessing innovation. Together, we seek to turbocharge sustainable economic growth and inclusive prosperity for the UK.

Diageo CEO Debra Crew:

I welcome the opportunity to join the Prime Minister’s new Business Council. British businesses and Government have a shared responsibility in delivering prosperity, creating the conditions to encourage investment and international trade and tackling the big issues the country faces, from the cost of living to climate change.

Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc:

The UK faces a number of urgent challenges, such as climate change and the delivery of infrastructure across the country. I am keen to use this opportunity for Aviva to help shape the solutions.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan:

I am honoured to join the Prime Minister’s Business Council to help drive prosperity and growth in the UK, specifically through the provision of secure, affordable and cleaner energy. The economic and societal challenges we face today require candid collaboration between government and business to deliver the undoubted growth potential that we have in this country.

Vodafone CEO Margherita della Valle:

I am pleased to be joining the Business Council, an important forum to promote and support the global competitiveness of the UK. We have a vital part to play in the UK’s future, as our national communications infrastructure can help drive innovation and economic growth.

Taylor Wimpey CEO Jennie Daly:

I share the Business Council’s ambition of harnessing the power of the private sector to stimulate economic development and prosperity and to make our towns and villages across the country better places to live and work.

Sage CEO Steve Hare:

Small and mid-sized businesses play a critical role in powering the UK economy. Sage is proud to serve them as the UK’s biggest listed tech company, helping them to harness the power of technology to boost productivity and resilience. I look forward to bringing SMEs’ voice to the table as a member of the Business Council, capitalising on the UK’s opportunity to be a leading digital economy and drive economic growth.

The Prime Minister met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre at the NATO Summit in Lithuania today.

The leaders praised the extensive cooperation between the UK and Norway on defence and security, from our membership of the Joint Expeditionary Force to our consistent leadership within NATO.

Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to providing maritime defence and security in the High North, agreeing protecting the region was critical for Euro-Atlantic security. They agreed to look to deepen defence cooperation further.

The leaders welcomed the collaboration between the UK and Norway on energy security. The Prime Minister reflected on the importance of offshore wind farms in shoring up energy supplies across Europe, and agreed we needed to deepen collaboration to increase provision.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the courage and bravery of Ukraine’s Armed Forces on the front lines.

They discussed the increasing progress of the counteroffensive, and the Prime Minister outlined a new package of UK support for Ukraine.

The Prime Minister welcomed the fact that the MAP requirement for Ukraine had now been removed, smoothing the path to full NATO membership in the future.

The Prime Minister and the President agreed on the importance of the security arrangements to be announced by the G7 this afternoon.

They marked a new high point in support from the international community and would give Ukraine an even greater level of endurance against Russian aggression, the Prime Minister said.

Both agreed the arrangements will not be a substitute for NATO membership and looked forward to building on the new security framework as soon as possible.

He thanked Prime Minister Rutte for his years of service and said his expertise and friendship would be greatly missed by the UK and others when he eventually leaves office.

The leaders reaffirmed their staunch commitment to upholding security in our region. This includes ensuring NATO is fully equipped to take on the challenges of the future.

The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Rutte discussed the importance of providing Ukraine with the kind of long-term defensive capabilities they need to win this war and secure a lasting peace. They praised the progress that has been made through the new international coalition, established by the UK, the Netherlands, and others, to provide Ukraine with combat air capability.

On tackling illegal migration, the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Rutte welcomed the strong cooperation between our countries so far. The Prime Minister stressed the importance of making use of international forums such as the European Political Community to make multilateral progress on this issue.

• NATO Summit in Lithuania this week will focus on supporting Ukraine and preparing the alliance to take on the threats of the future
• New NATO contributions and defence industry funding will cement the UK’s position as the leading European NATO ally
• Comes as new UK Defence Command Paper due to set out plans to make our Armed Forces more lethal and deployable

As the world passes the grim milestone of 500 days since Putin’s full-scale, illegal invasion of Ukraine, NATO leaders will gather in Lithuania today (Tuesday) to put the alliance on the right path to face down the threats of the future.

Since Putin’s invasion, NATO has demonstrated its overwhelming strength and unity. Countries have increased their defence spending, Sweden and Finland have both applied to become members (with Finland subsequently joining) and allies have provided unprecedented levels of support to Ukraine.

At this week’s summit the Prime Minister will call on fellow leaders to build on this momentum and ensure NATO is learning crucial lessons from Russia’s actions and tactics in Ukraine.

Putin’s war is a watershed moment in Europe’s history. As well as causing untold devastation for millions of people in Ukraine and across the world, this multi-domain war has shifted our understanding how our adversaries approach conflict in the modern age.

NATO is the cornerstone of the UK’s defence and of Euro-Atlantic Security. For it to remain so, all members need to ensure we are constantly evolving and equipping our alliance to take on the threats of the future – changing our approach in response to Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The Integrated Review Refresh published in March highlighted the acute threat posed by Russia bringing large-scale, high intensity warfare back to our home region, with implications for the UK and NATO’s approach to deterrence and defence.

NATO has responded to this increased threat in a number of ways over the last year, including through the adoption of NATO 2022 Strategic Concept and NATO Force Model. The Strategic Concept will guide NATO’s approach to the challenges and opportunities ahead while the NATO Force Model will provide the capability behind the approach – providing the Supreme Allied Commander Europe with the forces he needs.

The UK has committed almost all of our Armed Forces and military capabilities to NATO under the new NATO Force Model. We contribute to every single NATO mission and we are one of the biggest troop contributors to NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence on the Eastern flank.

At today’s NATO Summit the Prime Minister will say allies need to go further – starting with every country finally spending a minimum of 2 per cent of their GDP on defence. The aspiration to reach 2 per cent was originally set out almost two decades ago, and the UK is one of the few countries to have delivered on it every year. In 2022, only 9 out of 30 NATO allies spent at least 2 per cent of their GDP on defence. This is projected to rise to two thirds of allies by 2024 thanks to campaigning by the UK and others willing to shoulder their fare share.

The Prime Minister will argue that meeting this 2 per cent commitment – which must be a floor not a ceiling – will be crucial to NATO’s ongoing ability to deter and defend against the kind of tactics Putin has used in Ukraine. He will specifically call for allies to channel efforts into ensuring our Armed Forces can respond more rapidly, we are ready to operate across every domain and our defence industries are prepared to dramatically scale-up production in times of crisis.

The Prime Minister said:

When thousands of Russian troops crossed the border in February last year, it marked a grim new chapter in Europe and NATO’s history.

In the 500 days that have elapsed since we have witnessed the most terrible crimes and human tragedies in Ukraine. But we have also seen the NATO alliance come together like never before in support of Ukraine and with firm determination that Russia cannot succeed.

That is work we need to continue this week. We cannot let the fog of war obscure the clear lessons our alliance must learn if we are going to outpace and outmanoeuvre those who seek to do us harm.

That is why the UK is investing record amounts in defence, to make our Armed Forces more lethal and more deployable, and to ready our defence industry ready for the challenges ahead. And that’s something we need to see across NATO – starting with meeting the 2 per cent commitment.

The importance of allies properly investing in defence is clear in NATO’s domestic defence industries, where Putin’s war in Ukraine has exposed weaknesses in our industrial capacity. NATO nations have stepped up to provide millions of rounds of ammunition and game-changing equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But this has risked leaving our own forces short.

In response to this concern, the Prime Minister has announced more than £5 billion of extra funding for UK defence over the last year, some of which will go towards replenishing our ammunition stockpiles.

Today the Prime Minister will confirm an eight-fold increase in the UK’s production capacity of 155mm artillery ammunition. Most NATO armies use this as standard, and a new £190 million BAE Systems contract – possible thanks to our defence spending uplift – will lead to the production of vastly more artillery shells for use by the UK and other allied forces.

This investment will make us safer and will create more than 100 jobs at BAE Systems’ sites in the North of England and South Wales – boosting their existing 1,200-strong UK munitions workforce

Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive at BAE Systems, said:

We’re incredibly proud of our role in delivering equipment to protect our armed forces and as the UK Ministry of Defence’s long-term strategic partner for munitions supply, we’re actively mobilising our operations in support of our NATO allies.

This multi-million pound investment will enable us to significantly ramp up production and sustain vital sovereign capability to deliver cutting-edge munitions, whilst creating and sustaining highly-skilled jobs across the UK.

Alongside this UK domestic uplift, the Prime Minister will push for further joint NATO efforts to increase our shared capacity to produce everything from missiles to ammunition – upping our investment and removing barriers to industrial cooperation between allies. These efforts will give our Armed Forces the equipment they need to prepare for any eventuality.

The Ministry of Defence will shortly publish a new Command Paper, setting out the measures the UK is taking to improve the lethality and deployability of our own Armed Forces as well as our contribution to NATO.

This includes establishing a new Defence ‘Global Response Force’ which will dramatically increase our ability to physically respond to a crisis at very short notice, either because we are already present or by deploying more rapidly.

The Global Response Force will complement the NATO Force Model by bringing together the UK’s deployed and high-readiness forces under a single command. It will be able to draw on capabilities from every domain – land, sea, air, cyber and space – to ensure we can respond quickly and fully everywhere in the world. It is a direct response to the lesson learned early on in the war in Ukraine about the need to respond rapidly to the changing threat picture.

The Global Response Force builds on lessons learned from recent crises, including in Sudan, where it would have streamlined and coordinated our response. The Ministry of Defence’s operation in Sudan involved a rapid evacuation of more than 2,200 people airlifted on military aircraft – more than the next three countries combined. We achieved this by bringing together the expertise and capabilities of personnel from across the Ministry of Defence located all over the world, supported by other parts of government and coordination with other international partners.

Just as we make our Armed Forces more deployable, we must ensure they are equipped in the advanced technologies of the future. The Prime Minister will point out to allies NATO’s ability to lead in these domains, given the alliance’s combined size and expertise.

Earlier this year the European HQ of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the Northern Atlantic (DIANA) opened in London. DIANA aims to harness dual-use commercial technologies for defence and security purposes, with a focus on future technologies like AI. At this week’s summit the Prime Minister will encourage allies to continue to invest in these capabilities and to engage in global discussions about their development and use – including at the first international summit on AI to be hosted in the UK this autumn.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, this afternoon. He reiterated the importance of the UK-Türkiye relationship, with close and growing ties in trade, investment and defence.

President Erdoğan updated on President Zelenskyy’s planned visit to Istanbul today and the Prime Minister welcomed Türkiye’s role in challenging Russian aggression and continuing to uphold the vital Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Looking ahead to next week’s NATO Summit, the Prime Minister looked forward to working with President Erdoğan to address shared challenges and ensure NATO remains strong and agile in defending our collective security.

He underlined the significant benefits of Sweden joining NATO and the progress they have made in addressing Türkiye’s legitimate security concerns and hoped the alliance could proceed with ratifying their accession as soon as possible.

The Prime Minister also highlighted opportunities for greater collaboration on tackling illegal migration, an issue which affects both our countries. The UK would welcome efforts to further strengthen our cooperation on tackling criminal people smuggling gangs and returns.