YP Comment: Time to pull in same direction on skills and industrial strategy

She has also created the impression that she will be far more interventionist than her Tory predecessors – tackling injustice in all its forms is central to Mrs May’s mission – and next week’s Budget will provide a foretaste of the Government’s ability to deliver an “economy for everyone” when it is so pre-occupied with Brexit.

Yet today’s appraisal of Mrs May’s much-vaunted Industrial Strategy by Parliament’s Business Select Committee is a reminder that the Government will only achieve the requisite growth if the whole Whitehall apparatus starts pulling in the same direction.

It’s not. Take one policy by way of an example – housing. There’s a chronic shortage of affordable homes. Yet the fact they can’t be built in sufficient numbers is not only due to logjams in planning policy, but also the construction sector’s inability to recruit staff of the right calibre. This is just one example. There are countless others, and the genuine goodwill that exists towards the PM will dissipate if progress is hindered by Whitehall’s blinkered approach. Firmer foundations are needed.

Yes, Britain’s creaking infrastructure needs overhauling but today’s report highlights failings on skills which compound this week’s misgivings about the Government’s unambitious digital strategy. His opposition to Brexit might be angering Mrs May but Lord Heseltine hit the nail on the head when he said that “industrial strategy starts in primary schools”. He’s right. Not only is it good economics but it is good politics for younger people to become even more aspirational and ambitious in their own outlook.

Fly-tipping rise

FLY-TIPPING is a scourge not only of our towns and cities but increasingly our countryside, too. The sight of discarded mattresses, fridges and tyres is an eyesore that blights the landscape and it is also a social nuisance that costs cash-strapped local authorities millions of pounds each year to clear up.

This is nothing new, of course, but what is particularly worrying is the fact it is increasing, with official figures showing the number of incidents having risen for the third year in a row. According to Defra, councils across England reported 936,090 cases of fly-tipping in 2015/2016, up four per cent on the previous 12 months.

Last year, local authorities were handed new powers 
in an attempt to crack down on the problem, including on-the-spot fines of £400 for those caught red-handed, though it remains to be seen what impact this has had.

However, campaigners are concerned that the pressure on council budgets is causing some waste collection services to be cut, which people have “taken as a licence to dump their waste illegally”.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) warns that Defra’s figures do not tell the whole story, pointing out that private landowners are often left to foot the bill when rubbish is dumped on their land.

It should not be too much to ask for people to dispose of their waste properly. But equally, if we want future generations to enjoy our green and pleasant land then there, has to be a ‘zero tolerance’ approach towards fly-tipping that is properly enforced. It is 
the only solution if the country is serious about eradicating this festering sore once and for all.

Three cheers for village pub

IT is a heartwarming tale – a village pub resurrected by its local community has now been named the best in Britain.

Residents in Hudswell, North Yorkshire, are celebrating today as it is announced the George & Dragon has won CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year award. The inn closed in 2008, but within two years the community had pulled together to buy it back and carry out a major refurbishment.

Along with its quality real ales and beer terrace overlooking the Swale Valley, the hostelry is truly at the heart of village life as the home of the local library, a shop and community allotments.

The trend for community-run pubs is growing as people fight to save their locals – the way the George & Dragon has gone from closed doors to being selected as the country’s best pub in less than a decade is a shining example of how to make it work. Let’s raise a glass to the Yorkshire grit and determination that made it all possible.