Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 2 ] F R E E P O R T S O V E R V I E W The Government’s flagship freeport programme will play an important part in the UK’s post-Covid economic recovery and contribute to realising the levelling-up agenda, bringing jobs, investment and prosperity to some of the most deprived communities across the four nations of the UK with targeted and effective support. This bespoke, world-leading freeport model aims to achieve three objectives: • Establish freeports as national hubs for global trade and investment across the UK • Promote regeneration and job creation — the lead policy objective • Create hotbeds for innovation. Establishing national hubs for global trade and investment One of the core objectives for freeports is to establish them as national hubs for global trade and investment, intensifying the economic impact of the UK’s ports and generating increased economic activity across the country. There are well-established interdependencies between investment and the export and import of goods and services, which may benefit existing businesses in affected areas. For instance, foreign-owned companies exported £96.3 billion of UK services between 2016 and 2018, 31.4 per cent of the UK’s overall services exports. Investment in and around freeports, as well as imports into them, will therefore be essential to the success of domestic companies and in delivering on wider objectives such as levelling up, clean growth, innovation, and job creation. Investment The economic impact that international investment has on host economies is well established and is particularly important to the UK, providing a significant contribution to business turnover and job creation, as well as contributing to increased productivity and broader economic growth. The Department for International Trade’s Inward Investment Results, for instance, show that the UK attracted 1,852 Foreign Direct Investment projects in 2019/20, creating 56,117 new jobs and safeguarding 9,021. Trade In addition to the increased investment, freeports provide businesses and ports with the opportunity to improve current practices, whether in making processes more efficient, maximising developments in production and shipping, or acquiring the expertise to secure their position within vital supply chains. Regeneration and levelling up The second objective of freeports is regeneration. Freeports should harness ideas and investment from the private sector to deliver jobs, sustainable economic growth and regeneration in the areas that need it most. Since the freeports consultation was launched in February 2020, the UK Government has been working with ports, businesses, local authorities and wider stakeholders to design a brand new, bespoke freeport model for the UK, with a comprehensive package of measures designed to boost trade, employment and innovation. Freeports should harness ideas and investment from the private sector to deliver jobs, sustainable economic growth and regeneration in the areas that need it most The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, visits the Royal Docks in London as he announces the new freeports strategy Credit: HM Treasury