06 BIG INTERVIEW TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2017 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2017 COMMENT 7 S Sponsored by S

§Continued from page 5 CANCELLED: The live, work and do business in is kept at the Midland Mainline fo re f ro n t . ” will no longer be However, he believes that Government electrified could make life easier for the sector by re- cognising its technological value to the c o u n t ry. Jim said: “On a national level, many of the gaming sector’s needs are held in com- mon with other sectors –physical and di- gital infrastructure and cyber-resilience, skills, supportive business environment, and supportive regulatory and tax envir- onment. “But I’d love to see more forthright championing of the sector as exemplifying the new generation of UK industry –flex - ible, highly-skilled companies combining knowledge and creative sector strengths to create intellectual property with global reach and value. “This is clearly a national story –t h e re are very few barriers to the knowledge and creative sectors being a strength right across the UK.” Jim’s background is in mathematics and teaching. He joined 15 years ago as a software engineer. GAME ON: Rare won two Baftas for its for its multi-million-selling Sports series, above, and also created many suc- He said: “It was my first job in gaming, cessful titles for Nintendo including , Country, Wizards and Warriors, and and after three life-changing years in teaching I saw video games in general and Rare in particular as the best fit between my training as a mathematician and coder, my passion for the medium, and my wish More investment is vital to unlock It’s no longer enough just to put absome good content on a disc. We have to continually adapt economic growth and prosperity our products Jim Horth he East Midlands has the lowest The East Midlands’voice three world class universities. Our region are to unlock our competitive advantage. spend per head in relation to in- offers quality of housing and lifestyle Investment to date, including motorway to be part of something with a creative, frastructure of any region in the needs to be heard if which is second to none, with beautiful upgrades and smart motorways, have cultural output. United Kingdom. There is a des- green spaces. largely been focused on the West Mid- “Currently I’m the person in the busi- perate need to improve infra- spending on infrastructure The Midlands is the largest economic lands. ness responsible for figuring out how we structureT and connectivity. area outside London, accounting for 18 Within the Midlands Engine we must adapt to a continuous always-on business There will be major opportunities if we is to be increased, argues per cent of the UK population and manu- have a clear and consistent voice. cycle, establishing functions from player get this right, and significant barriers to facturing output. We are at the centre of Private and public sector must come to- support, business intelligence, online en- trade if we do not. Jane Cowley pioneering science research, and have a gether to bridge the gap. gineering and live incident response for The Midlands Engine Debate contin- competitive advantage given our low cost Weneed to fill the skills gap and increase when things don’t go smoothly. ues. way below the national average, and fol- base. the skills pool looking to local, regional and “It’s no longer enough just to put some There is a concern that the voice from lowing the recent cancellation of Midland A third of heavy freight vehicles travel national infrastructure which must lead to good content on a disc and move on to the West Midlands is so much stronger. Mainline rail electrification plans, we are through our region. an improvement in productivity. next thing. What do we need, therefore, to achieve, in danger of believing we are the The Chamber of Commerce latest We need to be vocal in that we are open “We ’ve got to continually monitor, to be heard and to correct the significant Cinderella of UK regions. quarterly economic survey demon- for business and if we succeed, the UK suc- change and adapt our products, deal with history of under-investment in Leicester- In contrast, our region is strates the resilience of the East Mid- ceeds. Local, national and global busi- live customer sentiment and balance what shire and in the East Midlands. one of the fastest-growing lands area. nesses must connect, setting politics aside, we think is right with what our audience The most recent HM Treasury report economies outside the Surely our priority must be to market ourselves. demands. confirms our region is losing out in terms South East, produces 21 therefore for investment to unlock We must call our decision-makers to ac- “And we’re doing that with a global of public investment. per cent of UK manufac- economic growth and prosperity. count, and explain to them that we are not audience who don’t sleep when we do.” It has the lowest level of public expendit- turing output, has the So what do we need? Cohesion so easily overlooked when investment de- For Rare it’s obviously working. The ure on ‘economic affairs’, and the lowest second largest airport and leadership. cisions are made, and have an effective and business has a trophy cabinet full of level of public expenditure on transport, in dealing with freight in the It is essential that we speak uniform approach underpinned by robust awards, including two Baftas for its multi- total and per head. UK, in East Midlands Air- with one voice and business argument, and real deliverables, million-selling Kinect Sports series. It has the lowest level of public expendit- port, and is at the heart clearly articulate the to realise the economic potential of this re- Meanwhile, the team has high hopes for ure on rail per head. of the transport net- reasons why invest- gion, and deliver jobs, homes and prosper- which is already getting an In addition, the East Midlands is within work in the UK, and ment in our region will ity that we in the East Midlands wish to enthusiastic response from insiders and the third lowest regions in terms of ex- therefore the heart of produce return. see. early fans. penditure on health care, on education, the logistics sector. Investment in our IJane Cowley, left, chairs Leicestershire If it matches expectations, there’ll be and on services generally. We have so much infrastructure is des- Business Voice and is apartner at Gateley law plenty of celebrating in sleepy Twycross. Our productivity within the region falls potential. We have perately needed, if we fir m.