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Less than one per cent annual productivity growth is far less than Britain needs

Be the Business has responded to the latest ONS figures showing productivity growth annually of 0.9 per cent in Q1 2018, compared to the same period in 2017. Quarterly productivity fell by 0.4 per cent in Q1 2018 when compared to Q4 2017.

Today’s publication of Q1 productivity figures from the Office for National Statistics comes as the government closes its call for evidence on how less productive businesses can learn from and catch up with the best – a process announced by chancellor Philip Hammond in his Spring Statement. In its response, Be the Business identified the vital role of management ambition and capability in driving up investment, exports and technology adoption to close the productivity gap.

Commenting on today’s ONS productivity figures and the chancellor’s call for evidence, Tony Danker, chief executive at Be the Business, said: “The UK remains a long way off the kind of growth needed to close the productivity gap. We need a path to sustained growth in national productivity as quickly as possible, and that will only come from improvement in management and technology practices.

“The chancellor has acknowledged this in his review of productivity which is focused on what firms can do rather than governments or central banks.”

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Notes to editors

Be the Business is a new business-led organisation created to close the UK’s productivity gap. Chaired by Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, Be the Business is spearheading a business-led drive to help companies across the UK improve their performance.

Find out more here.

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