Intellect presses government to promote IT in UK economic growth

The government has agreed to promote the role of technology in leading the UK's economic growth, following a meeting with IT industry body Intellect.

Business secretary Vince Cable and communications minister Ed Vaizey met with senior figures from IT suppliers at the roundtable meeting.

Speaking at the event, Vince Cable said: "Strong and sustainable growth is the key to rebalancing our economy. That's why the growth review not only focuses on emerging sectors, but also those that are already strong, like the technology sector."

The meeting was a response to criticism from Intellect director general John Higgins earlier this month that the government lacked a strategy for driving IT-led growth.

Aiding non tech-intensive sectors to exploit technology would provide growth opportunities, while raising the total productivity of UK tech-intensive businesses to the levels of their US counterparts would generate a 0.5% increase in GDP, said Intellect.

A technology summit will be staged later this year to examine key issues, including finance for the technology sector, skills and training and cyber security.

"The focus must be on the more efficient and effective use of ICT that enables innovation rather than simply the volume or scale of ICT usage. It is vital for the country to bridge the productivity gap," John Higgins said.