TheCityUK team is now hybrid working and we’ve started easing back into holding and attending in-person or hybrid meetings and events, including at the recent Party Conferences.
It was good to see so many of you at the Conservative and Labour Party Conferences. Our fringe events at each drew good audiences and were a great opportunity to discuss the key themes from our ‘A roadmap for recovery’ report and the role of the industry in supporting national economic recovery. Our thanks go to Conservative Home and New Statesman for partnering with us, as well as our panellists, City Minister John Glen MP, Dr Kay Swinburne of KPMG and chair of the IRSG and Economist Dr Gerard Lyons (Conservative Party Conference) and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade Emily Thornberry MP, Angela Eagle MP, Michael Collins of M&G (Labour Party Conference). We also co-hosted the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee Reception, which saw TheCityUK share the stage with Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP.
Last month saw the launch of our new international strategy, ‘Making the UK the leading global financial centre’. Its aim is to see the UK regain its position as the world-leading international financial centre in the next five years. As well as generating extensive media coverage in mainstream UK and international outlets, the successful launch event featured a keynote from Trade Minister Greg Hands MP and a lively panel discussion on international competitiveness, which included City Minister John Glen MP, IRSG Chair and Vice Chair of Financial Services at KPMG Dr Kay Swinburne, Lord Mandelson and Dr Linda Yueh. This important piece of work was prepared in collaboration with partners and members from across the industry and provides a framework for our international engagement over the coming years.
We also very recently launched our ‘Global talent mobility’ report in collaboration with EY and the City of London Corporation. It reflects on progress made against recommendations from our recent reports, the introduction of the UK’s 2021 immigration system, and how we continue to move forward to ensure UK-based businesses have access to the high-skilled talent they need to grow and compete globally. Subsequently, it was very positive to see the Migration Advisory Committee last week endorsing one of our long-standing recommendations on short-term work in their Intra-Company Transfers report.
Preparations are well underway for our National Conference 2022, in partnership with PwC, on 16 November in Bristol and Online. The event, also kindly supported by Hargreaves Lansdown and Marsh, will focus on local and national perspectives around how the industry is driving innovation, supporting the rebalancing agenda and a sustainable recovery post-pandemic, and progress on diversity and inclusion. More information about speakers and registering your place can be found here. We’re also well progressed with planning for our new International Conference, which will take place in April next year.
With COP26 less than a month away, we’ve been working closely with the City of London Corporation and the major sector trade associations to coordinate industry activity. We will be running a session as part of the Corporation’s ‘Green Horizon Summit’ showcasing the enabling role of the industry in helping the economy adapt to and reach net-zero targets. This will be followed by a Q&A session on lessons learned, challenges faced and what more the industry could be doing to enable the transition. In the lead up to COP26, we have been involved in various activities through our Anglo-Italian Dialogue and held the final event in this programme in Milan at the end of September. Organised in partnership with the British Embassy in Rome, the event explored the role of financial services in supporting a just transition, and featured opening remarks from Lord Grimstone, Minister for Investment.
In support of the 11th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) last month, members of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) joined the government-to-government dialogue and presented the latest IUKFP policy paper ‘Developing GIFT City into a global services hub’. The meeting was attended by both the Chancellor and the Indian Finance Minister, both who mandated the IUKFP to launch workstreams on pooled investment vehicles and UK-India capital markets connectivity. Separately, we submitted a joint response with the City of London Corporation to the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) consultation on the UK-India FTA, and held a roundtable focused on the FTA with the UK chief negotiator and chapter leads in early October.
Our Next Generation Leadership Council (NGLC) continues to make good progress, with some great ideas and work in train. They also continue to join various group meetings and update regularly on their activity at our Leadership Council meetings.
As ever, these are just a few highlights of our activity. More information on some of our other recent work and latest news can be found on our news page. If you would like any further information on any of our work or events, please contact us.
Miles
