Following his appointment as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 8 January, Kwasi Kwarteng this afternoon hosted a virtual meeting with some of the UK’s leading business representative organisations: the British Chambers of Commerce, Confederation of British Industry, Federation of Small Businesses, The Institute of Directors and Make UK.

The Business Secretary opened the call by acknowledging the extraordinary pressures that British businesses are facing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and promised to be a champion of business and workers at the Cabinet table and across government. He thanked the 5 organisations for continuing to promote the government’s support measures to their members, and praised businesses for playing its part in helping to defeat the virus, including those working on vaccine manufacturing and deployment, and those working to maintain essential services in a COVID-secure way to keep the country moving.

The Business Secretary set out his priorities for the year ahead, noting that there was clear cause for optimism with both vaccines and a trade agreement with the European Union now secured. He called on businesses to work with government to take advantage of our new-found sovereignty as an independent trading nation to drive prosperity and economic growth for all, as well as the government’s Plan for Jobs.

The Business Secretary reaffirmed the government’s commitment to build back better from the pandemic by making Britain the best country in the world to start and grow a business and unleashing a new wave of investment to create jobs and level up economic activity. He also discussed the vital importance of delivering on the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, reaching our legally-binding target of net zero emissions by 2050, and unleashing innovation across all four nations of the UK, cementing the country’s position as a science superpower while building the foundations for the new industries of tomorrow.

The Business Secretary also held a number of bi-lateral calls with leading British employers today and will continue to have further calls throughout this week.