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12 June 2015
Business leaders and politicians are coming together on 26 June in Rugby to debate the roadmap to long-term economic recovery at a Question Time-style event hosted by Coventry & Warwickshire First.
“Many of the economic indicators look positive,” said Martin Gibbs, Chair of Coventry & Warwickshire First and Senior Partner at Dafferns Chartered Accountants. “Locally there is good news. The Rugby World Cup will draw attention to the region, there are major investment projects underway and with small and medium sized businesses citing skills1 as the biggest barrier to growth the skills strategy is delivering results.”
“But there is plenty of macro-economic uncertainty blurring the picture. The UK’s debt to GDP ratio remains high, Greece may not meet its payments later this month and there is the uncertainty of the UK’s future in Europe.
“During this Question Time-style debate local business leaders and advisers can challenge local politicians, experts and business representatives on these and other issues relevant to our local roadmap to recovery.”
On the panel will be Mark Pawsey, MP for Rugby; Michael Stokes, Leader of Rugby Borough Council; Andrew Smith, partner at law firm Shakespeares; Jim Griffin, CEO of The Autins Group and chair of the Rugby Branch of the Chamber of Commerce; Craig Humphrey of the Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub; and local economist Myles Mackie. The debate will be chaired by Martin Gibbs.
Run by its members for its members Coventry & Warwickshire First is the only forum exclusively for professional and financial services firms in the region.
The debate is taking place at The Benn Hall, Rugby, CW21 2LN, beginning at 7.30am and finishing at 9.30am.
1 FSB Voice of Small Business Index for Q1 2015: 37% of respondents said getting staff with the right skills was a barrier to growth. This compares to 25.4% for the same period the previous year.