Tag Archives: cites

The Independent View: Without thriving city economies, there can be no sustained national recovery

By Alexandra Jones | Mon 7th April 2014 - 8:00 am

This year, George Osborne delivered his Budget against a backdrop of better than expected growth, higher than expected employment, and a deficit reduction plan that exceeded previous OBR forecasts.

His speech, unsurprisingly, made much of the success of the “long-term economic plan delivered by a coalition Government and a Conservative Chancellor”. Yet the fact that our cities still lack the powers they need to fulfil their economic potential, and drive growth locally, will constrain future growth for large parts of the UK economy.

Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged city deal, featured, greater manchester, leeds, local growth deals and Wales | 7 Comments

David Heath MP reports back on the CITES conference and global agreement to protect sharks and manta rays

By David Heath MP | Tue 19th March 2013 - 12:55 pm

Much of my work in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs centres on the last two parts of the title, so it’s good just occasionally to be able to make a difference on the other part of the agenda, the environment. I had just such an opportunity last week when I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

I was in Bangkok, Thailand, leading a trade mission on behalf of British meat and livestock to the biggest trade fair in Asia. But the timing meant that …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged defra and worldwide fund for nature | 1 Comment