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'Now is the best possible time for the technology industry in the Humber' [Grimsby Telegraph (UK)](Grimsby Telegraph (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) During a speech to mark the launch of London's Google Campus in March 2012, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne unequivocally claimed the Government's ambition was to make the UK the technological epicentre of Europe. He stated that he wanted "every corner" of the country to develop its own technology cluster, but two years on, how much progress has the Conservative-led Government made? Our Parliamentary Correspondent, Soraya Kishtwari, investigates. ON March 29, 2012, the Chancellor opened the Google Campus in London's East End - an area dubbed the Silicon Roundabout - to much fanfare. Addressing an audience of newly-installed entrepreneurs at the new facility offering desk space and mentoring for technology start-ups, Mr Osborne said: "When people ask, 'give me an example of the Government's industrial strategy', I say this: 'We want nothing less than to make the UK the technology centre of Europe. "This is the path we need to take to create new jobs, new growth and new prosperity in every corner of our country.'" As well as promising to cut the corporation tax rate to 22 per cent by April this year, Mr Osborne told his audience that the Government was "introducing generous new tax breaks for animation, TV and video game production". At the time, the Government attracted some criticism from northern-based companies for being too London-centric, with a handful complaining that it shouldn't encourage projects like Google Campus and Tech City to congregate in the capital, in isolation from the rest of the country. Nevertheless, Mr Osborne's speech was designed to reaffirm the Government's wider commitment to see the rest of the UK flourish - in particular, England's northern cities - recently announcing major infrastructure projects like the Northern Hub and HS2. But a new report from think-tank Policy Exchange suggests that, two years after that speech, when it comes to the technology sector, there remains a substantial gulf between the Government's ambitions and the extent of progress made. It cites a report by auditors KPMG and Markit which found that 21 out of 33 London councils have a higher proportion of staff employed in technology-specific roles than the national average. This pattern is repeated in other areas too. Research and development spend across the UK in 2012 totalled Pounds 10.6 billion, with the lion's share (39 per cent) going to the South East and East of England. Compare that amount to the 1.6 per cent investment in Yorkshire and the Humber. The authors of the report suggest policymakers should work to deliver a more balanced approach to spending in order to help attract and promote investment to the regions. Nevertheless, they insist that clusters are the way forward. "According to the Centre for Cities [think-tank], the UK's top 31 economically significant clusters (across all sectors) together 'employ four million people - one in seven of the working population - and offer average salaries that are typically higher than those in the surrounding region.' They also cite a report, published in June, by Oxford Economics which claimed that there are 34,000 technology businesses in London, and that in the next decade there will be a further 11,000, creating 46,000 new jobs. "If government cares about technology companies' ability to succeed, grow and create jobs, it should care about tech clusters," they say. But while their findings suggest an uphill struggle for northern regions, the picture emerging from the Humber paints a very different story. The Hull-based Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) is the city's first dedicated workspace and venue for digital and technology companies. The C4DI development is a work in progress, after securing a Pounds 15 million investment deal, 75 per cent of which is private-sector led. Together with his partner John Connolly, co founder Jon Moss sees the C4DI as being a vehicle for helping traditional companies in traditional sectors use technology to help them innovate, as well as supporting tech start-ups. While it waits for its own state-of-the-art purpose-built facility to be constructed, the beta version of C4DI currently offers more than 3,000 sq ft of workspace, including 35 desks, and multiple meeting rooms, but its main draw is its broadband speed; at 3,000 gigabits per second (3Gbps), it has the fastest connectivity in the country. "The G20 forecast for the UK economy shows the tech/digital economy contributing 11 per cent of GDP for the next five years versus seven per cent for the last five. This equates to 500,000 net new direct jobs and 5.8 million new indirect jobs being created over the next five years. If you carry that trend forward, by the middle of this century everyone in work will be working in a modernised tech economy," says Mr Moss. On C4DI's success, he says: "We have achieved more in 12 months than has been done in 12 years." At a time when his own tech cluster appears to be flourishing, Mr Moss finds it difficult to be pessimistic about the so-called "brain- drain" cited by Policy Exchange. "There's a huge amount going on and we're not sure that there is this brain-drain happening; in any case, it's much less than what it used to be." He points to the partnership C4DI have in place with Hull University and Hull College and the opportunities available for the computer studies and business graduates interested in developing a career in the digital technology sector. We have this amazing opportunity, this perfect storm taking place. As far as we're concerned, it's the best possible time for the technology industry in the Humber," he says. Where he does agree with the report is on its assertion that when it comes to tech clusters, Westminster's gaze never strays too far from the capital. IT'S THE BUSINESS All the latest news at www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/business "They are massively London- centric. And when they do talk about these clusters outside London, it's usually places like Cambridge, Leeds and Birmingham that get mentioned, but slowly and surely, we are also getting people to talk about what's happening here around the Humber." WHAT'S ON " But emerging tech clusters like C4DI can't rely on central government to do their publicity for them and that has been another challenge. All the entertainment news at www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/ entertainment "Getting more support from local organisations can't be underestimated. The work we do needs to be publicised and marketed. The council, the local area, the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) all need to play their JOIN THE DEBATE part to let people know we are here." " Perhaps a marketing campaign aimed at highlighting the benefits of setting up home and business in places like the Humber - where salaries go much further than in the costly south - would also help?mobile/ Mr Moss says: "Absolutely. As I say, there's this perfect storm, which includes this low-cost of living, low-cost of operating a business, amazing connectivity, local events like the City of Culture 2017 [in Hull] - a world class event - plus the Pounds 15 million development we're overseeing. He adds: "There's every reason to be positive." ? ON THE WEB: For all the latest business news, log on to www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/business What is the cause of 'brain drain? ACCORDING to centre-right think-tank Policy Exchange, upon graduating from universities across Yorkshire and the Humber, more than half of all students - 55 per cent - leave the region for other parts of the country. This mass exodus, comprising many technology graduates, is more pronounced in Yorkshire and the Humber than in any other part of England; by comparison, the North East and North West each lose just over a third of their university leavers. video Policy Exchange argues the southern flight of talented graduates from northern universities is a major stumbling block for creating the sort of "technology clusters" - geographic concentrations of specialist interconnected firms and institutions - Mr Osborne and his Cabinet colleagues would like to see. action While Britain boasts 1.2 million people working in the technology sector, "the fruits of this success are predominantly being felt in and around London and the South East", meaning that cities around the Humber are losing out on the otherwise booming digital entrepreneurship sweeping the south of the country. Policy Exchange's head of technology policy unit, Eddie Copeland and research fellow Cameron Scott, who wrote the report, say they believe graduates need greater incentives to launch their businesses near the universities where they studied. With time, they say, this would also result in creating greater local digital job opportunities for future graduates from the same comment university. It is all part and parcel of nurturing a tech cluster "ecosystem". "Universities play a pivotal role in many tech cluster ecosystems, and the report argues that more needs to be done to encourage them to promote entrepreneurship among their students," they say. "Enabling students to retain the intellectual property (IP) of ideas generated during their studies would be a positive place to start. Universities should also provide figures showing how many of their recent graduates have gone on to entrepreneurial activities, and the courses they studied." They point to social media network Facebook, the brain-child of Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg, pictured, had Harvard not allowed him 50 per cent ownership of the IP rights, they doubt it would have propelled Mr Zuckerberg to turn it into the globally recognised brand that it is today. We have this amazing opportunity, this perfect storm taking place. It's the best possible time for the technology industry in the Humber Jon Moss tablet (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |