Paul Bate

Reflecting on this week's discussions, I'm excited about the potential of establishing a new regional defence cluster in the Wessex area, reaching from Bristol to Swindon, up to Gloucester and down to Salisbury. Hopefully more details to follow soon. Such clusters have proven very effective in fostering collaboration and driving business growth within the Defence engineering and technology sectors. Engaging with regional defence and security clusters can connect key capability SMEs, enhancing innovation and competitiveness. We have been discussing internally how the building of a robust network of associates and partnerships is crucial for supporting our SMEs, especially in key specialist areas like recruitment, IP protection and quality management. Finally, we have had a number of discussions with clients and new contacts around how cultural change in public procurement processes is essential in our focus sectors. We are looking forward to how the new Procurement Act shapes up. Looking ahead to another busy week next week, and to exploring all these collaboration opportunities further. #DefenceCluster #SMEPartnerships #ProcurementReform #EngineeringInnovation

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#BirminghamTechWeek is a big deal - not just for #WestMidlands but for the wider #UK The team are working closely with colleagues to put together an agenda which is not only compelling and relevant but central to the key questions which will underpin the upcoming #industrialstrategy - there is no growth without productivity and innovation and building robust tech sectors, sharing the benefits of technology and utilising tech to build a strong labour market are all part of the agenda - come to #BirminghamTechWeek come to the Global Growth Congress

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The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has launched its Space Regulatory Review. The report identifies 7 priority outcomes and 17 recommendations, to maintain the UK as one of the best places on Earth to start, scale and run a space business:  1. Agility – greater, responsive coordination across government departments and regulators 2. Innovation - a dynamic framework that supports novel and emerging missions and technologies 3. Growth - a progressive regulatory framework that encourages investment 4. International partnership – a multilateral alliance with other spacefaring nations with aligned regulatory frameworks and international best practice 5. Safety and sustainability - incentivising sustainable space activities, protecting the space environment and its celestial bodies 6. Accessibility - a coherent suite of primary and secondary space legislations and clear published guidance 7. National interest - a civil and commercial space regulatory framework that supports UK national security. https://lnkd.in/eTyyyA7T

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The Competition and Markets Authority is laser focused on driving productive and sustainable growth across the UK economy. To support the UK government’s growth mission and developing Industrial Strategy, we’ve announced the next programme of work to be conducted by economists in our specialist Microeconomics Unit (MU). The new MU Growth Programme will focus on critical drivers and blockers of growth, including the diffusion of technology across the economy; the impact of upstream market power on economic performance and supply chain resilience; and how competition impacts investment. Our third State of Competition report is also published today, with analysis reinforcing the importance of effective competition policy – merger control and the enforcement of competition law – to keeping market markets open and contestable, helping to drive the growth we all wish to see for the UK. You can read about the new programme and the third State of Competition Report here: https://lnkd.in/eGM3gRaM.

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This feels like urgent, important work in the context of global changes afoot at the moment. When America's information ecosystem is all but lost, how can we protect and renew what is left of ours? We will be looking at 1, new threat research to understand the implications of the Trump administration here, 2, new regulation, 3, new ways to safeguard traditional news, 4, government communications, and 5, citizen empowerment. So we can't do it alone and want to involve partners - see how to get involved below. Brilliant work by Elizabeth Seger Hannah Perry and team, with support from William Perrin OBE FRSA

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In my latest SPICe Spotlight blog, I examine emerging themes from the recent Scottish Parliament cross-committee scrutiny of the proposed National Outcomes including: 1️⃣ Implementation: Moving from Vision to Action  2️⃣ Aligning Policy and Budget: Strengthening Connections 3️⃣ Joined-Up Decision-Making: Collaborating Across Portfolios  4️⃣ Indicators and Monitoring: Building a Robust Evidence Base The National Performance Framework (NPF) reflects the Scottish Government’s ambition to create a better Scotland through a clear vision and a set of measurable outcomes. The current review process has provided an opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise how effectively the framework aligns with Scotland’s societal, economic, and environmental goals. The Committees’ reports and letters highlight both the strengths and the challenges of the proposed revisions. While the addition and refinement of National Outcomes signal a commitment to inclusivity and progress, critical issues remain around data gaps, integration, and implementation. The calls for stronger alignment between policy, budgeting, and performance monitoring underline the importance of ensuring the NPF is more than a strategic vision—it must be a functional tool for action and accountability. The Scottish Government has been urged to prioritise better data collection, improve coherence across Outcomes, foster collaboration across portfolios to address Scotland’s interconnected challenges as well as address specific Outcome related issues. The success of the NPF will ultimately depend on its ability to guide joined-up decision-making and to ensure that ambition is consistently translated into measurable, impactful actions. 📖 Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/ezSAvgbB #Scotland #Policy #NationalPerformanceFramework #NationalOutcomes #SPICeSpotlight #PublicPolicy

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☢️Thank you to Sam Hall Director Conservative Environment Network and his impressive team for the kind invitation to join their nuclear roundtable. Great to catch up with Laila A. Head of Policy Nuclear Industry Association, Abigail Jones from EDF, Sam Richards CEO Britain Remade, Greg Hands, Benjamin (Benji) Backer and many others to discuss nuclear - it was a productive discussion and the opportunity to discuss the challenges facing the sector and how we can work together to move forward. Around the globe, nuclear energy has been having a revival, in part thanks to big tech, whose data centres have vast power requirements. Civil nuclear power was pioneered in the UK and has been a central component of our energy mix for nearly 70 years. It provides reliable, low carbon electricity to the nation alongside supporting thousands of jobs directly and in the supply chain across the country. However, we haven’t completed a new nuclear power station since the 1990s. The costs and timescales of new nuclear in many countries have increased as planning bureaucracy and regulation has increased, but some countries such as Korea have shown it is possible to buck the trend and lower costs. What lessons can the UK learn from countries such as Korea and the US in building nuclear?

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Good to meet Graeme Nuttall OBE and James de le Vingne at the Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership hosted by eoa at Fieldfisher in London. Policy-makers from all over the world have come to London to discuss alternative forms of business ownership. It builds on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan ‘s promise to support Employee Ownership through the London Ownership Hub run by Rich Mason at City Hall, and working closely with the Employee Ownership Association. Research from organisations like the Employee Ownership Association suggests these businesses are 8-13% more productive than conventionally owned businesses. And these businesses can support greater fairness as they invest in their employees and communities, offer better pay and conditions, support positive workplace cultures, and are more likely to have a social or environmental mission. Some of the most respected companies in the world use alternative ownership models. A lot of people may know (because they talk about it all the time) that John Lewis Partnership is employee owned. But how many know that engineering, design and project management giant Arup is employee owned? Or that Mott MacDonald one of our biggest engineering companies is also employee owned? In USA Publix Super Markets– the third largest privately held company in the USA – 255,000 staff and $50 Bn turnover is employee owned Groupe Crédit Agricole – technically a co-op – is the second largest bank in France and 10th largest in the world with assets of 2.3 trillion Euro Germany’s REWE Group - Revisionsverband der Westkauf-Genossenschaften which owns supermarket BILLA AG, and travel companies DERTOUR Group and Kuoni Group – with an 84 billion Euro turnover is a co-op. Port of Dover is a statutory company with no shareholders running like a charity for the benefit of travellers - a travel mission not a profit mission. Few people would know that Tata Group – owners of Jaguar Land Rover UK Tata Steel and Tetley Tea among other things is 66% owned by charitable trusts. In London’s fast growing sectors like tech, creative industries and architecture, employee ownership is helping attract and retain the best talent and proving a successful model for some of our most innovative companies. At City Hall, the Mayor is doing everything he can to support the capital’s business to prosper and grow. He is determined to be the most pro-business Mayor ever. That’s why he, through London & Partners, is investing in the capital’s entrepreneurs and small businesses. The Mayor has invested £8.7m in “Grow London Local”, our new single front door for business support in London, however your company is constituted. We need to tackle challenges such as raising finance including from venture capital which can sometimes be harder for non-shareholder based companies. It’s not right for everyone, and not right for all businesses, but the employee owned business model has a crucial role to play in London’s future growth.

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Delighted that Desmos Capital Partners has announced at COP29 that it is establishing new regional centres in Paris, Amsterdam, Johannesburg and Toronto. In a speech at COP29, I stated how Desmos “wanted to help support and grow companies that share our vision that there is no future economy without a net zero economy, and no future business without sustainable businesses that put our future first and commit to being part of the solution. Not only by reducing emissions, but also in supporting emerging economies and their rapidly developing needs. Desmos is here to help and scale up companies who have proven technologies that can provide those solutions- get in contact if we can be of help, we want to hear from you”. The creation of Desmos Capital Partners was announced at the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) Net Zero conference in London in July. Mr Skidmore, Chair of Desmos and a Founding Partner, stated that the organisation’s purpose was to help support companies involved in sustainable technologies and the energy transition to scale up and attract future capital investment for Series A raises and beyond. Since then, Desmos has secured over ten mandates to raise well over £250 million in capital for companies across the world. This includes a EUR 30 million raise for Meatable a lab grown meat technology recently recognised by Time Magazine as one of the Top 200 Innovations of 2024. Desmos’ latest expansion plans aim at establishing the firm as a leading global sustainable investment bank, specialising in supporting green and sustainable technologies across emerging markets, with future plans to also expand into the US in 2025. Chris Skidmore said: “Since announcing the creation of Desmos, I’ve been taken aback by the level of support but also by the tremendous demand from companies focused on the technologies and solutions of tomorrow to provide a sustainable future. They require guidance and support to deliver their scale up ambitions. Desmos’ model isn’t just about helping secure a raise- integral to its vision is to support our clients be connected to new potential opportunities to help them grow, providing that pastoral as well as advisory support. With this new expansion of our provision, I’m delighted to announce at COP29 -where a focus on private sector involvement is so crucial- that Desmos is here to play its role in facilitating the wider energy transition and the transformation towards a sustainable economy”. Professor Miranda B. who chaired the British Chamber of Commerce event at COP29 in Baku, adds to this: “Developing and delivering fully commercialised low carbon technologies is a global endeavour - and as such the funding must work without borders and constraints. We, through our low carbon innovation agency REDCat are delighted to work in partnership with Desmos, and to bring our fast commercialising low carbon innovators to an international base of funding expertise”

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I have worked closely with TheCityUK and its members in recent years to formulate The Labour Party's policies for the financial and professional services sector, and a future Labour Government will build on this important partnership. Labour will unleash the full potential of the City to drive growth by: ✅ Delivering economic stability with tough spending rules, so we can attract investment, and create the conditions for growth ✅ Driving competitiveness by streamlining regulations to unlock billions of pounds of growth and to create thousands of well-paid jobs in financial services and the wider economy ✅ Making the UK a world leader in green finance, delivering a world-leading regulatory framework for net-zero, and partnering with financial services to make Britain a clean energy superpower ✅ Bolstering the growth of regional financial centres alongside established hubs in London and Edinburgh, and empowering the regions to drive growth by taking a full fat approach to devolution https://lnkd.in/eZzZcmfh 

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A short video that captures the offerings that are part of the Sumedhas Summer Program 2024. Who am I? How do I engage with the world? How do I engage with my stakeholders, team, organisation, other systems? What has my life been like so far and what is next for me? How do I energise myself, the other, and my contexts? If one or more of these questions strike a chord in you, the labs in this program could be the space to come to and explore, along with others in the group. Register! Or reach out if you are curious and want to understand more. #SelfReflection #SelfDiscovery #SelfAwareness #Authenticity #RoleTaking #SelfRenewal #LeadingSelf #Leadership

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An important read for how to prepare for the next crisis. FGS Global has a deep bench of exceptional advisers to assist on crisis and issues management. #crisicommunications

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In our full UK Political Intelligence Report (out today) we run through the political barriers HMG will face in the New Year. Among them, the gap between Ministers’ energy policy ambitions and their likely outcomes won’t be bridged by a dramatic increase in subsidies (although that won’t stop Miliband from trying). More importantly, that means more upward pressure on energy bills and less energy security for the country as a whole. The financial mismanagement of Local Authorities – set out in PIRs over recent years – is also coming home to roost, as the problem is now big enough that the National Audit Office will not sign off accounts for the whole public sector because they don’t know how much HMG will be on the hook for (ultimately, Whitehall guarantees Councils’ liabilities). Together with the steadily increasing cost of welfare provision, it adds up to a very high chance that Reeves will have to eat her hat and decide to increase taxes again next year. We also cover UK foreign affairs policy. The threat of Russian sabotage attacks on subsea infrastructure around the UK is now sufficiently credible that the US Armed Forces have been asked to deploy a squadron of surveillance aircraft to help RAF assets monitor UK waters for potential Russian-sponsored attacks. The heavy reliance of most Western countries (including the UK) on the US military for protection lends itself to a bigger theme that we cover in our Global PIRs, too – namely, the alignment of most countries into competing cybergeographic blocs. Lastly, although the office will be open over the break, this is likely to be the last PIR+ of the year. So, I hope you have a happy Christmas and very successful 2025.

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Great to see David Miliband speak last night Nesta (thanks to Ravi Gurumurthy) for a fascinating conversation and for hosting. I was particularly interested in some themes on mission-led government... 🎪 missions don't belong to government - they belong to the whole country - they need to be an inspiring vision for everyone 🤝 government needs to work in partnership and open up the policy making process to those who know about how ideas impact real life 🏛 policy vandalism is too easy - governments that deliver real change embed their policies in institutions which are hard to unpick 🏃‍♀️ we should have a bias to action - "worry less, do more" 👩‍🏫 measure-test-learn-iterate-course correct within the context of the big vision And loads more. #publicsectorreform #government #UK2040 #missions

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Looking forward to chairing this session for PLMR Genesis colleagues next week, with an expert panel discussing what may happen in the polls coming July 4th & what the East of England needs from a new administration. Sign-up details below if you want to listen in! #politics #policy #publicaffairs #eastofengland

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🚨 MISSION POSSIBLE: A Plan for a Stronger Managed UK 🚨 At Chartered Management Institute we have pulled together two years of policy research and development to outline a plan for the next Government to fundamentally address our weaknesses as a country in management capability- and so increase the chances that we can confront some of the biggest challenges we face. A mission-led Government will need to address management if it is to secure greater productivity, rapid green transition, public service reform, and better working lives for people. Over recent years we have seen some improvement. It seems quite possible that the pandemic has on average had a positive impact on supporting employees. Yet there are still enormous gaps with the leading industrial countries and the skills we are projected to need in the next decade. Our strategy has three key elements. ✅ Protect what is working. ✅ Embed management capability in critical Government strategies such as a new industrial policy. ✅ Shift individual and employer behaviour. We have a ten point plan to support this strategy from placing productivity at the head of a new skills strategy, creating a Good Work Task force, implementing new management capability standards for public services, and increasing requirements for employers to report on gender and other pay gaps. The document is here. Hope it's useful. https://lnkd.in/eHVKUuQr #management #leadership #economy #growth #publicservices #greentransition #esg #work #goodwork #inclusion #sustainability

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Delighted to share that today ONS published the latest iteration of our new bulletin: "Measuring Progress, Well-being and Beyond GDP". Each quarter we focus on one key dimension, and this time round we have zoomed in on climate change and the environment. https://lnkd.in/eFpcmvdY

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By deploying a more holistic framing of aging we can mitigate ageism as well as generate better individual and societal wellbeing.

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Principle A of the UK Corporate Governance Code states: ‘A successful company is led by an effective and entrepreneurial board, whose role is to promote the long-term sustainable success of the company, generating value for shareholders and contributing to wider society.’ The two key themes to note are that the board should be ‘entrepreneurial’ and the company should ‘generate value’. How is one entrepreneurial and how does a company generate value?… By taking risk. The entire raison d'être of a company is to strategically take risk and thereby generate value. Therefore, the primary purpose of the board, is Strategic Risk Governance. This course is all about strategic risk governance. It’s about looking at risk from a variety of dimensions. Most importantly, it seeks to remove the negative associations with the word ‘risk’. When you take a wholistic view of risk, it includes opportunity. So when we assess the strategic options available to a company, we take a 360 degree view of risk and opportunity. The learning material has broadened my perspective and made me a better board member. I highly recommend this course to all board members. #dcroi #governance #risk #strategy

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