Breakfast Briefing: HM Treasury

John began by outlining his responsibilities within the Treasury and noted that current times were interesting both economically and politically. The UK faced a particular challenge with regard to public finances so the challenge therefore was how to get most value for money.

John went on to mention a number of areas where the Enterprise and Growth Unit within HM Treasury would be focussing its efforts amongst which were:

• Competition policy, bringing in a stronger regime without the involvement of politicians.
• Investment in science base, especially universities whilst trying to measure the economic return.
• Skilled migration, striking a balance between the needs of the economy and the political dimension.
• Business Tax (where they had to balance the finance ministry role of the Treasury with the economic dimension of keeping foreign companies in the UK).

This was followed by a lively Q&A session in which delegates raised a number of issues. A question about HM Treasury’s relationship with business (given that BERR is the voice for business in government) was asked to which the answer was that HM Treasury needs to understand business but, as it needs to make difficult decisions, requires a different dialogue with business. The role of independent reviews was also raised. The reviews have merit, John stated, as they provide the opportunity to address big issues in a non-political way.