THE Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has challenged the UK Government to make the economy the most competitive in the world by 2030, as the country stands in the “foothills of extraordinary change”.

Setting out its roadmap for economic growth, the group called on ministers to create a modern industrial strategy, which will raise living standards and boost sluggish productivity.

And the CBI, which says the UK Government should strive to reduce the productivity gap between the worse and best performing regions by 15 percentage points by 2030, says new targets should be set to measure the success of the strategy. These targets include income levels, employment rates, income distribution and how economic activity is dispersed across the country.

Responding to the Government’s Building our Industrial Strategy green paper, the CBI said the strategy should be underpinned by six areas of action, ranging from improving skills policy and boosting innovation, to delivering infrastructure projects and maintaining a stable tax framework.

The group advocates more power for local regions to develop strategies for their areas, and for the progress of the industrial strategy to be measured against clear performance indicators, independently monitored.

“The UK is at the foothills of extraordinary change as we look to redefine our role in the world and adapt to rapid technological advances in the workplace,” said CBI boss Carolyn Fairbairn.

“A new industrial strategy must aim to make the UK economy the most competitive in the world by 2030.”