'We'll bust the forecasts' says Business Secretary Peter Kyle during visit to £9 million Black Country college

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the Government would help businesses hit with rising costs by boosting economic growth during a visit to a £9.3 million new Black Country college specialising in vocational skills.

Mr Kyle said the Government admitted that the war in Iran would have an impact on the economy in Britain, but said the Government was determined to ‘bust the forecasts’ and weather the storm.

Mr Kyle was joined by Halesowen MP Alex Ballinger, elected mayor for the West Midlands Richard Parker, and Sandwell Council leader Councillor Kerrie Carmichael for the tour of Sandwell College’s Cradley Heath Skills Centre, which opened last month.

He met with students taking part in construction, health and artificial intelligence courses, and watched a demonstration of a

“I’ve seen young people really discovering their skills, discovering what they enjoy when it comes to learning, I’ve seen a sense of excitement, not just about what they’re doing now, but a sense of excitement about their future.

“And when you see young people from all different backgrounds having excitement about their future, that is something that is really contagious.”

Mr Kyle, who left school with no qualifications due to his dyslexia, said he was particularly impressed to see people studying in later life.

“I went to secondary school when I was 25, sat in a classroom of 16-year-olds, so when I find people who are coming to learning later in life, that’s something I find really inspirational.

“This is a place of learning which is packed full of people exploring their potential, discovering an optimistic future based on their own skills, and that’s happening right here, and that’s something we should all celebrate.”

Mr Kyle said the Government had taken decisive action in two budgets and two spring statements to get a grip on the economy, and that included inflation, which had risen to 3.3 per cent in the year to March, largely driven by a rise in fuel prices.

“The last budget, for example was declared an anti-inflationary budget, and it would reduce inflation by 0.4 per cent,” he said.

“We didn’t choose this war, but the impact of the war will touch the shores of Britain and our economy.

“Being more resilient, being more prepared, and going into it with inflation falling, with unemployment falling, as it was before we went into this war, will stand us in good stead even in challenging times.”

Mr Kyle said the Government was committed to improving the opportunities for young people, both by investing in sites such as the Cradley Heath campus, and by the Youth Guarantee scheme which says that all 18-21 year-olds who have been out of work for 18 months or more will be guaranteed paid employment.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure that young people find their place in the workplace, and then when you’re in the workforce, you have a job which has the rights, the ability to have the life in the workforce, which is fit for the age we’re living in,” he said.

When asked about the pressures faced by small businesses who are struggling with rising costs, increases to the minimum wage and the rise in National Insurance, Mr Kyle said that stimulating economic growth would be the best way of tackling these problems.

He said the recent better-than-expected figures on economic growth showed that the Government was on the right track.

“We came into government when there was no growth in the economy, and there was very high taxation,” he said.

“We had to find another way, and that’s to get growth into the economy so that we can break the cycle of the past. The latest statistics show that we are being rewarded for the hard decisions we took in government, because we had 0.5 per cent growth, which was five times larger than the forecasters told us.

“It does show we as a government an bust the forecasts and exceed expectations,” said Mr Kyle.