RPF insights Yorkshire, Humberside and NE : connectivity is the key

Our Regional Productivity Forum Chairs took part in panel discussions as part of our agenda at our online business conference held in June 2021.

Sarah Tulip is Head of Digital Transformation at BJSS and Chair of the Yorkshire, Humberside and North East Productivity Forum. She took part in the panel debate: What does the UK Government need to do to help business succeed?

She said that the first issue was to create connectivity.

“We are still not well connected in the region and that might be around physical connectivity around how we get to other cities, how we get to the capital but also how we trade with the world and how we’re unable to trade internationally via airports via ports,” she said.

Sarah also spoke about education. “Children in the region have not been able to learn and connectivity within the region, I think, has to be a priority.”

She added that the government should focus on the digital community. The digital industry has boomed over the last 12 months and the regions must have the facilities to capitalise on that.

We then asked our audience in an online poll what the most important policy priorities were needed to drive levelling up? Devolved power to regions and nations was the top answer, followed by improving vocational education.

Sarah agreed with our poll results and said: “It’s that whole thing about regions being able to make the right decisions for the people within them”.

She explained how regions really needed to know their people. The best use of national grants given out during lockdowns happened when each region understood the issues that businesses had in their area.

You can watch the full panel discussion here: