Weekly Policy Report 9 – 13 January 2023 

We hope everyone is surviving January so far. We were somewhat happy, despite the wet and wind (call this dry January?), to make it to the office this week for the first time in 2023 after rail strikes kept us at home last week. It has been an interesting start to the year though. Here’s what we have been thinking about…  

The discount scheme – On Monday, the Chancellor announced the level of support for business energy costs that would be available from April. The new discount scheme will provide some reassurance, particularly for some exporters that are high energy users, but less certainty for other sectors. Here’s why.

Zero to hero – The ‘Mission Zero: The Independent Review of Net Zero’, otherwise known as the Skidmore Review, has been published today by the government. We were provided evidence to the review on behalf of our members and were pleased that this was quoted in the final report. Here’s our take on the review.

Compromising? – This week the UK and Brussels issued a joint statement on a tentative deal that would grant Brussels access to the UK’s IT systems for trade across the Irish Sea. There is still much to be resolved, but it seems things are heading in the right direction. Read more here  .

Recession or progression? – Monthly statistics show that GDP grew by 0.1% in November 2022. This is better than expected, and calls in to question whether, once we have data for December, the UK will be technically in recession. Here’s our analysis.

The maths problem – The Prime Minister has proposed that students should study some form of maths until the age of 18. We are debating whether this would be a good addition to the curriculum. We feel people may be divided on the issue…

Policy Voice – We are always keen to hear about your views on these types of policy issues. As a member, you can contribute to the debate through our newest Policy Voice survey, which should be in your inbox as of this morning. What do you think about the maths problem? Do you feel reassured by government support on energy? How confident are you in the UK economy? Find out more about Policy Voice here.

Next week watch out for…

Tuesday 17 January

  • ONS will release labour market statistics for January 2023

  • We are hosting our Director’s Update webinar for Q1, exclusively for members, in which we will digest the previous 3 months for business, and what is anticipated over the next quarter. Sign up here.

Wednesday 18 January

  • Prime Ministers Questions at midday

  • ONS will release monthly inflation statistics for December 2023

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