Written evidence from BIS
During my appearance at the BIS Select Committee
on 20 July, I promised to provide further information on two points:
— your question about reductions in the
number of BIS partner organisations; and
— Nadhim Zahawi's question regarding the
use of the term "horizontal policies" in my recent publication
A Strategy for Sustainable Growth.
PARTNER ORGANISATIONS
In 2009 the Department had 74 partner organisations.
This included a number of organisations, for example Citizens
Advice, which are not public bodies but which play a significant
role in delivering the Department's policies. As part of the Government's
commitment to increasing accountability and reducing the number
and cost of public bodies, I said on 3 June that I expected to
merge or abolish a further 20 or so BIS bodies, in addition to
13 organisations we were already committed to closing, merging,
restructuring or stopping BIS funding. In addition to the 13,
the Coalition Agreement committed to the abolition of the English
Regional Development Authorities, and I have since announced plans
to abolish the Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property
Policy, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Advisory
Board, SITPRO and British Shipbuilders. David Willetts also announced
on 16 July a review of the future role and status of the Design
Council.
Details of the changes announced so far are
attached. Further announcements will be made as and when decisions
are made on individual bodies.
HORIZONTAL POLICIES
Horizontal policies are those policies which
are intended to improve conditions for productivity growth across
the whole economy, for example, policies on innovation, skills,
competition, tax, and infrastructure investment. Although seemingly
sector neutral, it is important to recognise that in practice
horizontal policies may have variable impacts across different
sectors of the economy. For example, because research intensity
varies across sectors, horizontal policies to encourage R&D
across the whole economy will in practice help tend to help some
sectors more than others. Similarly, investment in infrastructure
like ports may in some cases and for some locations have a greater
impact on manufacturing than on services.
Policy makers clearly need to be aware of these
different sectoral or "vertical" impacts when formulating
horizontal policies. In taking forward the Manufacturing Framework,
for example, we will draw on BIS's close relationships with industry
and key industry groups, such as the Automotive Council, to ensure
we work with business to understand these impacts fully, and focus
our activities to obtain the maximum economic benefit of these
policies for manufacturing sectors.
I hope this clarifies the issues for the Committee.
REDUCTIONS IN
BIS PARTNER ORGANISATIONS
Initial commitment of 13
Seven Regional Industrial Development Boards
have been closed down.
Ufl/Learndirect is to operate as an independent
training provider from 1 August and will be eligible on the same
basis as other training providers for funding from the Skills
Funding Agency.
From April 2011 the Learning & Skills Improvement
Service will be owned and funded by the Further Education sector,
rather than by BIS.
The Institute for Learning, as an independent
membership body, will become progressively self-funding by March
2013.
Public funding for Standards and Verification
UK will end in March 2011.
Investors in People UK has merged with the UK
Commission for Employment and Skills.
The Hearing Aid Council has been abolished and
its responsibility for registering hearing aid dispensers transferred
to the Health Professions Council.
Regional Development Authorities (RDAs)
It was announced in the Emergency Budget that
all nine Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) will be abolished.
Outside London, many of their functions will be undertaken by
local enterprise partnerships—joint local authority-business
bodies brought forward by local authorities themselves to promote
local economic development. We have asked for outline proposals
for new partnerships to be submitted by 6 September. In London
the Mayor is proposing that the LDA should be abolished and its
continuing functions absorbed into the Greater London Authority.
Closures announced on 19 July
Vince Cable announced on 19 July that the Strategic
Advisory Board for Intellectual Property policy (SABIP), SITPRO
(Simplifying international Trade) and the Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment Advisory Body (WAB) will all close in the
next year and that the British Shipbuilders Corporation will be
abolished next year.
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