John Shimmin MHK, the Minister for Economic Development, confirmed he is confident that his Department can drive further economic growth, job creation and thus Government income generation and for the Isle of Man following the Treasury Minister’s Budget speech today.
In terms of the budget for 2013/14, the Department estimates it will generate additional income of £1m from growth in the Ship and Aircraft Registries and the TT. As a result, the Department is able to reduce its net revenue budget by £1m (-7.7%) compared to 2012/13 without having to cut efforts to grow the economy.
In addition, the Department is implementing savings worth over £0.75m annually. As a result, the Department will be significantly expanding its business development efforts to grow the economy within its budget. The Minister stated:
'It is vital that all Departments find ways to improve both effectiveness and efficiency and so maximise the value for money they provide. While the net cost to the taxpayer of my Department is reducing by £1m next year, due to additional income and a range of savings I am confident we can provide additional support to key sectors. As a result, I am confident my Department has the resources we need to grow the economy while also helping to balance Government’s budget.'
The Department’s priority is helping to grow the Island’s economy. The Minister commented:
'Our economy enjoyed another successful year in 2012 with growth of 3%, which was significantly above the average of 1.4% across the world’s developed economies*. We estimate that the Department helped create over 130 new jobs last year in the export-generating sectors such as financial services, manufacturing, e-gaming and aviation services. We are committed to building on these achievements over the coming year. Indeed, we are forecasting growth of 4% in 2013/14 in what remains a tough global economy.'
The Department is forecasting that for 2013/14 the Isle of Man will enjoy net job creation of some 165 jobs within key export-generating sectors, even after allowing for possible job losses in some parts of financial services. This should enable the economy to create 500 to 550 new jobs in total, which will help to both grow the economy and reduce unemployment.
The Minister added:
'We are working hard with the private sector to ensure that 2013/14 is an even more successful year for our Island. We have clear programmes of support in Financial Services, Established Sectors such as our Visitor Economy and Manufacturing as well as Emerging Sectors such as Aviation and Space that will all continue to grow and diversify our economy, making the Isle of Man more resilient.'
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