The former minister who was asked by the last chancellor to help turbocharge inward investment into the UK is being lined up as the next chairman of Britain’s most influential manufacturing industry trade body.
Sky News has learnt that Lord Harrington, who also served in government as Boris Johnson’s minister for refugees after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is expected to be named as the new chair of Make UK.
Industry sources said the appointment of Lord Harrington was expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
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If confirmed, he will succeed Lord Hutton, the former business secretary and defence secretary.
His appointment would come at a time of growing pressure on Britain’s advanced manufacturing sector,
Last month, Make UK launched the Industrial Skills Commission in an attempt to tackle what it described as “the growing skills deficit in manufacturing and engineering across the country”.
Robert Halfon, the former minister who is jointly chairing the commission, said: “The new government has committed to reforming the current Apprenticeship Levy and replacing it with a Skills and Growth Levy.
“But it is imperative that we make sure this new levy provides enough of the right apprenticeship opportunities at all levels so that employers across the length and breadth of the country have access to the skills they and our country need to grow.”
Make UK is one of the so-called B5 – the handful of business organisations, including the CBI and FSB, which have a regular dialogue with senior ministers.
During his first stint in government, Lord Harrington helped write the industrial strategy in 2016, and to strike sector-specific deals for the automotive, aerospace and life sciences industries.
More recently, he was commissioned by Jeremy Hunt to lead a review of the UK’s approach to foreign direct investment.
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Lord Harrington is now advising the Labour administration on the implementation of his recommendations.
Since leaving government, he has taken on a number of private sector posts, including the chairmanships of Regal, a private London property developer, and the UK’s Real Estate and Infrastructure Forum.
Make UK declined to comment, while Lord Harrington could not be reached for comment.