A video message from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon George Osborne MP, welcomed business people to Winchester City Council's 'Business in the 21st Century' Conference' on Thursday 14 February.
The Chancellor took time out of his busy schedule - sandwiched between a trip to Brussels and a campaigning visit to the neighbouring constituency of Eastleigh - to stress the importance of business to the future of Winchester.
In his message Mr Osborne said: "Congratulations to Winchester City Council on organising today's conference for local businesses. The Council understands that Winchester's future is about encouraging companies to invest, to create jobs and to foster innovation and skills. Invest in Winchester: it's a great place to do business and it's a great place for the future."
The aim of the City Council's Valentine's Day event was to signal to local business that it was putting the economy 'at the heart' of its work from 2013, and among the visitors was local MP Steve Brine, who dropped in for an hour in the morning.
The conference was held at INTECH Science Centre, where delegates were impressed by the UK's largest capacity digital planetarium, and by the surrounding science centre which does so much to instil a love of maths, engineering and technology in Hampshire's young people – the workforce of tomorrow.
The packed audience of over 130 local businesses also heard presentations from the Chair of the National Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Network, who provided an insight into what LEPs mean for local businesses, and Chris Cooper from IBM, who explained how all businesses can deal with tough economic times by working smarter and developing in the process.
Cllr Robert Humby, Winchester City Council's Deputy Leader, said: "We are proud that George Osborne described Winchester as an exciting local council which understands the needs of local businesses. Winchester City Council is aiming to put business first in the coming years.
"The District is performing well in these difficult times, but we will not rest on our laurels. We don't simply want to be the place where people come once for planning permission, a parking permit or a premises licence: we want to be a supportive partner throughout the life cycle of their business."
Pictured; Steve Brine joins Cllr Rob Humby
More information...
Watch George Osborne's film here.
