BPF News The BPF hosted a successful conference 'Plastics: The Industry of Tomorrow' at Shrigley Hall, Cheshire on 10-11 April 2003 to celebrate its 70 years as the Voice of Plastics in the UK. Lord Sainsbury, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for Science and Innovation, made the keynote speech. In a wide-ranging address, he emphasised government support for manufacturing in the UK. He stressed the need for innovation, research and the identification and development of new opportunities for industry. Lord Sainsbury underlined the importance of Best Practice and called upon delegates to access the Process Industries Centre for Manufacturing Excellence (PICME). Lord Sainsbury addressed Skills and Training saying that'part of the competitiveness gap between the UK and some of our competitors can be attributed to relative levels of skills.' He stated that 'Companies are going to have to do more to invest in their workforce' and reminded delegates that the Government has set up the Sector Skills Councils, which 'will put employers centre stage in helping tackle the skills problem'. Regulation was also covered in his speech, although Lord Sainsbury did not tackle the thorny issue of Climate Change Levy. He concluded his speech by underlining the importance of innovation stating it 'is critical to the success of British business and wealth creation in the future. That is a hard economic fact' and called upon 'Government, industry, universities and schools to work together to create best possible conditions for innovation in industry'.
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