Tag: vince cable

UK presses ahead on driverless cars

Posted on February 11, 2015 by - News

Screen Shot 2015-02-11 at 10.41.23The Department for Transport said that it had given the green light to test driverless cars on public roads.

Transport minister Claire Perry said she believes “driverless cars are the future. I want Britain to be at the forefront of this exciting new development to embrace a technology that could transform our roads and open up a brand new route for global investment”.

The coalition government launched a competition to research and develop driverless cars with pilots in Greenwich, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Coventry.

Business secretary Vince Cable said he believed that the industry will be worth as much as £900 billion in 10 years time.

Perry and Cable are visiting the Greenwich project, which is following up research conducted by Oxford University and Nissan.

They will unveil a driverless pod that will be tested in Milton Keynes (pictured).

The government will introduce a code of practice to give industry a framework to trial cars, to be published this spring.

UK backs retail sector’s luxury expansion abroad

Posted on March 13, 2013 by - News

jewelsAs many as 1,000 posh retail outfits will get assistance from the government to foster further international growth over the next two years.

The UK Retail Industry International Action Plan was developed by the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the retail industry. The goal is rather straightforward, taxpayer money will be used to help the retail sector expand into expanding overseas markets.

Business Secretary Vince Cable believes retail has a big role to play in British exports, as the government tries to rebalance the economy.

“With this action plan UKTI will back small and large retailers across the UK to grow and expand into new export markets,” he said in a statement. “The UK’s dominance in e-commerce puts retailers in a world-beating position to capitalise on the fast growing demand for British goods and luxury brands.”

The plan is focused on luxury retailers, who aim to expand into bustling cities such as Beijing, Moscow, Mumbai, Istanbul, Shanghai, St Petersburg and other cities with plenty of nouveau riche in white Bentleys.

According to International Business Times, the global retail sector is set to grow by 8 percent through 2016, which is not the case with most European markets, including Britain.

However, it should be noted that British retailers are doing rather well abroad, even without government handouts.