Rebalancing will take time, Cable admits

File photo dated 16/09/13 of Business Secretary Vince Cable as the first £45 million of the Government's British Business Bank investment programme has been allocated to Investment firms Praesidian Capital Europe and BMS Finance. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Wednesday November 6, 2013. The firms will be expected to use their allocations to provide debt finance of approximately £125 million through their new funds. Under the plan, which Business Secretary Vince Cable said would help small firms secure vital finance, Praesidian Capital has been allocated £30 million and BMS Finance £15 million. The money comes from the Government-owned bank's £300 million investment programme announced in April this year. See PA story POLITICS Bank. Photo credit should read: David Cheskin/PA Wire

Mark Leftly

16 January 2014

Business secretary Vince Cable today admitted the Government’s industrial strategy to rebalance the economy away from its dependence on financial services might need more than a decade to “take root”.

Speaking at the launch of a PwC report into “foundation industries”, such as the production of steel, cement and chemical, Cable said the industrial supply chain had been “hollowed out” by the financial crisis.

Foundation industries consist of 31,400 businesses employing nearly 500,000 staff. They account for £24.6 billion, or 3%, of the UK economy.

Commissioned by Tata Steel, PwC said these industries are not yet benefiting from the Government’s attempts to rebalance the economy.

PwC said these industries are more productive “than the economy as a whole”, and added they “have a significant role to play in enabling the UK to succeed in the global race”.

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