Matthew Hancock: Enterprising spirit is driving recovery

High levels of job creation and growth have been possible because we have a clear plan that is working. Based on a realistic assessment of the British economy, we have a credible plan in place to deal with the deficit that has kept interest rates low, allowing businesses to grow and create jobs.

Cuts to tax and unnecessary red tape have helped free them up to concentrate on investment and expansion. We’ve also made finance available to aspiring entrepreneurs through our Start-Up Loans programme – some 2,117 entrepreneurs in Yorkshire and the Humber have accessed these loans since 2010, with over £10m awarded.

The second part of our long-term plan is about ensuring the right kind of growth in the future. It needs to be highly skilled – with a strong emphasis on manufacturing and exports – and the benefits of the recovery spread to all parts. The good news is that all of these ingredients are here in Yorkshire.

With the recovery now under way, many Yorkshire firms I meet are thinking long-term about the skills they’ll need to expand and grow. Since 2010, 233,000 people have begun a new apprenticeship inthis region. These opportunities really matter to the life chances of young people, giving them the skills and experience to climb up the career ladder. It’s why we’ve said we’ll give businesses the support they need to create three million more apprenticeships across the country in the next Parliament.

Along with more skills, a key part of our economic plan is exporting more of the products we make. Again Yorkshire is leading the way on this as it has in centuries past. Look at local success stories like Batley’s Angloco, which sells rescue vehicles to 50 countries around the world, or the Pudsey-based AW Hainswort, a woollen textiles firm which has been in family hands since 1783 and is now ramping up exports to China. As Business and Enterprise Minister, I’m visiting both these firms this week to find out what more we can do to help other businesses across the UK break into new markets.

One of the major problems with the growth we saw in previous decades 
is that it was too heavily tilted towards London and the South East. As a Government, we’re committed to making the most of every region’s local economic strengths.

In 2010, we set up the Regional Growth Fund, which makes targeted investments at companies and projects with high growth potential. Yorkshire firms like Absolute Engineering in Skelmanthorpe, which makes precision equipment for the latest industrial printers, or gear technology specialists SEW Eurodrive in Normanton, are now benefiting from these awards, investing the money in the next generation of high-tech manufacturing jobs.

Yorkshire is also at the heart of our vision to create a northern economic powerhouse to rival that of London.

Through stronger and more decisive local politics, through investment in local innovation and by linking up the great cities of the North into a single giant business cluster, it’s a vision we’re determined to pursue in the next Parliament and beyond.

But while the right policies for business are important, just as vital is the attitude of local employers, who across the UK have been determined to bounce back after tough times.

For me, Airedale Springs in Haworth epitomises this spirit. Airedale has been manufacturing high quality bespoke springs for 70 years. Five years ago a devastating fire completely gutted the historic Ebor Mill factory. The company acted fast, putting £3.5m into a new factory and keeping all existing staff in employment.

Like the wider economy, Airedale had suffered a catastrophic shock, but with hard work and a plan in place it had come out fighting.

This is the spirit we need to harness in the months and years ahead. It’s what’s driven the recovery and it’s what will power us through to a more prosperous and secure future.

Matthew Hancock MP is Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Energy. He is undertaking a two-day tour of Yorkshire this week.