Pictured above: (l-r) Mark Garnier, MP for Wyre Forest; Paul
Cliff, Gateley; Marc Reeves, Thebusinessdesk.com; Business
Secretary Vince Cable; Bernard Shepherd, Gateley; Ian Austin, MP
for Dudley North; and James Watkins, executive director of Business
Voice WM
An Anglo-Chinese consortium could be put together to help
re-develop the former Austin Rover site at Longbridge, Business
Secretary Vince Cable hinted yesterday.
He floated the idea at a Business Voice WM organised meeting
with business leaders and members of the Parliamentary All Party
Group of West Midlands MPs at the Birmingham offices of law firm
Gateley.
The possibility came in the wake of the weekend visit by China's
Premier Wen Jiabao to the MG plant where he launched the new MG6C
Magnette model at the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation
owned factory - one of his country's most high-profile British
investments.
Mr Cable met the Chinese delegation and described how impressed
they were at what was going on in the city.
The discussion had explored putting Chinese and British
industrialists together to consider what could be done to further
"take forward" the area around Longbridge.
"We need to build on the bridgehead we have established," said
Mr Cable.
And he praised the way manufacturing and Britain's car plants
were leading the manufacturing recovery and creating jobs.
Indeed the supply chain was being re-established where
previously companies like Ford and Nissan had been looking to
source abroad.
"They are recognising the great advantages of knowing your
customer - the supply chain is coming back," said Mr Cable.
In a second major initiative, designed to help the Potteries
among others, it was revealed that the Government was looking to
ease the burden on major power users of complying with carbon
regulations.
He promised to bring forward proposals in the autumn aimed at
helping the ceramics, steel and chemicals sectors.
Mr Cable said the Government was committed to making Britain a
low carbon economy, but not at the expense of making important
industries uncompetitive and forcing them abroad.
He said: "I hope to come up with a package of measures for the
energy intensive sector. We need to find a mechanism where they can
continue to compete internationally."
The Minister pledged he would re-consider a failed West Midlands
bid to access the Government's Coaching for Growth initiative, a
kind of mentoring service for high growth businesses. Backed by the
region's LEPs, the bid had fallen foul of various ambiguities and
misunderstandings, the meeting was told.
"We very much welcome his response," said BVWM executive
director James Watkins.
Questioned by John Rider, regional chairman of the Institute of
Directors, Mr Cable also promised to re-examine the timetable for
the introduction of the planned new enterprise zones.
Mr Rider told him it wasn't good enough that the first 10 zones
and their tax advantages would not be available to companies before
2013 at the earliest, giving the example of a firm looking to
Scotland instead of the West Midlands because of the lack of
urgency.
"I had not realised it was quite so protracted," admitted Mr
Cable. "We can probably do something about it."
But Mr Cable kept his silence on a plea from Dudley North MP Ian
Austin for the Government to bring the planned Green Investment
Bank to the region.
Mr Austin said the All Party Group of MPs was "the only region
getting its MPs together in this way".
He hailed the West Midland's world leading companies such as
Jaguar Land Rover and JCB. But there were still structural changes
to overcome - major skills gaps, and an above average proportion of
jobs in the public sector and low growth industries.