Business News Round Up (20/02/2023)
Report shows UK cities need an arts and culture boost to stimulate economic growth
A more inclusive approach is needed to stimulate the UK economy as the link between low cultural engagement and deprivation becomes ever more apparent. This is the main message from a report recently released by Key Cities – a national network, established a decade ago, that represents 27 tier two and tier three urban centres across the UK, such as Bath, Hull, and Reading. The new research, undertaken in partnership with Arts Council England, cross-references new data on cultural engagement (among these cities) with their scores in the Office of National Statistics Index of Multiple Deprivation. The findings show a clear correlation between cities with a limited cultural offer and higher socioeconomic deprivation. By looking in detail at what culture means for the aforementioned 27 cities, and how that translates into public funding programmes, the new report highlights culture’s role in boosting local economies. More specifically, it recommends a £100m investment in creative industry micro clusters that will spread economic growth and opportunity more evenly around the country, urging a renewed drive for hyper-local devolution to connect policy agendas and empower communities.
Investment will help nature projects grow
Environmental organisations, community groups, land owners and farmers will be eligible to apply for a share of £1.8 million funding to help grow their nature projects. The Scottish Government and NatureScot, working in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and with support from the Green Finance Institute, are launching a new programme of support to help scale up private investment in Scotland’s natural capital. Grants of up to £240,000 will be offered to organisations and partnerships to help develop a viable business case and financial model, to attract investment in projects that can restore and improve the natural environment, such as, but not limited to, woodland creation, marine enhancement, and peatland restoration. Successful projects will also demonstrate the means to engage and share benefits with communities, contributing to a just transition. The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland programme also aims to ensure that investment in, and use of, Scotland’s natural capital creates benefits that are shared.
Two-thirds of Britons think Brexit has damaged UK economy
Almost two in three Britons believe Brexit – United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union in 2016 – has damaged the country’s economy, according to a new poll. Some 61 percent of voters said leaving the bloc has made Britain’s economy worse, according to the Savanta survey conducted for The Independent daily. According to the poll, carried out between February 10 and 12, only 13 percent of those surveyed said Brexit has improved the crisis-stricken country’s economic situation. The poll also revealed that most Britons believe Brexit has compounded the country’s deteriorating food-supply crisis, with a “crippling” shortage of goods in the supermarkets during the cost of living crisis. It points to a rise in negative views on Brexit, as a similar poll in January found that 56 percent believed leaving the EU had made the country’s economy worse. Meanwhile, 55 percent of respondents said Brexit had worsened the availability of goods, while only 14 percent said it had improved availability.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/02/20/698549/Poll-Britons-Brexit-hurt-UK-economy
Singaporean group signs deal to establish manufacturing facility in Aberdeen
Singapore mooring solutions group Mooreast has signed a collaboration agreement to establish a manufacturing facility in Aberdeen for the production of subsea foundations, as well as the assembly of mooring components for the floating offshore energy sector. It will work with Energy Transition Zone (ETZ) by supporting the creation of a hub to protect the Scottish renewable sector while facilitating job creation. Signed in Singapore together with ETZ offshore renewables director Andy Rodden, and witnessed by Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise Ivan McKee, the facility is projected to be more than double the floor space and output of the group’s Singapore facility. The aim is to support Mooreast’s efforts to target an increasing number of offshore wind projects emerging in Europe, including those brought forward by the ScotWind auction, alongside the Celtic Sea Cluster and the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas project, which are expected to deliver over 20GW, 5GW and 4.5GW of floating wind energy, respectively. As part of this strategy, the group incorporated Mooreast UK in July 2022. This company, alongside ETZ, will now work on developing a preferred site plan that is compatible with local planning regulations and development requirements, as well as delivering a jobs and skills plan to secure a workforce ready to support operation of the facility.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/singaporean-group-signs-deal-establish-29259843