Budget is a step forward for the East Midlands, but skills must be addressed

Commenting on the announcements for the East Midlands made in today’s Budget, Marc Abrams, East Midlands Office Senior Partner, said:

“The investment-led recovery that was further committed to today signals a step in the right direction for the East Midlands, particularly given the more equal spread of levelling up spend between the East and West Midlands. Although not all of the money announced today is new, it was certainly a more generous Budget than expected and serves as encouragement following the challenging 18 months that we have all experienced.

“While the East Midlands is bouncing back in terms of recovery, it has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic due to having a high proportion of businesses in industries that were heavily impacted. As such, I think a focus on skills is critical and whilst the Chancellor announced access to a national shared fund to develop numeracy, it would have been good to see targeted investment across a broader range of skillsets to ensure that the skills gap starts to close.

“That being said, there’s a real opportunity for businesses, educational institutions and our local communities to take the lessons learned, focus on skills and productivity and to work together to boost growth across the region.”

 

-ENDS-

 

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For further information please contact:

Jo Chileshe

M: 07919 211 803

Jo.chileshe@kpmg.co.uk

KPMG Media Relations

Tel:  +44 (0) 207 694 8773

 

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