Report

Ambition 2030: A Partnership for Growth

Covid Recovery Commission sets out blueprint for a National Prosperity Plan to boost growth and living standards over the next decade.

Some of the UK’s leading business figures have set out the blueprint for a National Prosperity Plan to help create globally competitive industries in every part of the UK, deliver on the government’s net zero commitments and reduce the economic and social inequalities that have been widened as a result of the pandemic.

The Covid Recovery Commission of 10 business leaders, including Chairs and Chief Executives representing AstraZeneca, Heathrow, Vodafone, Shell and Tesco, has published a major report today, ‘Ambition 2030’: A Partnership for Growth’. The paper argues that, “the pandemic has had a bigger impact on our economy than any event in the last 300 years.” Analysis by the Commission reveals that the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities with unemployment, mortality rates and mental health cases rising fastest in the most deprived communities across the UK. It also shows that 18% of the most deprived people – 1.15 million people – in the UK are living in local authorities with the highest economic output.

The report sets out the case for a new compact between purpose-led business, government and civic leaders to deliver real and lasting change in every part of the country. Key to the Prosperity Plan is the creation of a National Prosperity Scorecard. This would set specific metrics against the Government’s ‘levelling up’ plans to assess and track progress on a key set of social as well as economic indicators including employment and benefit dependency rates as well as health and educational outcomes. Local leaders would also be tasked with developing their own Local Prosperity Plans to help drive growth in every part of the UK.