East Midlands unveils bold plan to put people at the heart of inclusive growth

A game-changing inclusive growth plan to transform the lives and livelihoods of people across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire has been unveiled.  

The Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward and the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) have today launched the Inclusive Growth Commission report, the first of its kind in the UK.  

Today’s publication of the Commission’s final, ground-breaking recommendations is a major moment for the East Midlands. It is a chance for partners to work together to improve lives and jobs across one of the UK’s largest regions and to set an example others can follow.  

The final report brings together new ideas for skills, health, housing and transport. It is designed to help people across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire access good jobs, better opportunities, and develop stronger communities.  

The report shows there’s a big chance for the East Midlands to grow. If the region attracts more investment, it could bring in £200 billion by 2035. Supporting the 18 most promising new industrial sites could help 30,000 low-paid workers earn around £6,700 more each year. Helping people build stronger networks and connections could add £1.4 billion in extra income for the poorest households over the next ten years. And if worker health problems are reduced, it could save up to £10 billion every year. 

This is a plan built with and for the people of the East Midlands. It is also the first regional model of its kind in the UK – practical, scalable, and designed to influence national debates on growth, levelling up, and the future economy, leading to: 

• A healthier, better-paid, more skilled workforce 
• Better access to affordable housing and transport 
• Stronger, more connected communities. 
• A distinctive East Midlands identity that attracts talent and investment. 

Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward said: “The East Midlands is a region of huge pride and ambition. We’ve always been a place that builds, creates and leads, from our world-class manufacturers to our thriving new industries in green energy, life sciences and the creative economy. However, too often the opportunities our people deserve aren’t spread fairly. That’s why I asked the Inclusive Growth Commission to look hard at the barriers and the solutions.

“The Commission’s final report makes clear the challenge is not aspiration as we have that in abundance, but the pathways that turn ambition into achievement. Too many young people face broken steps on the journey to a secure job, a decent home or affordable transport.”

Getting on and getting up  

At the heart of the plan is the UK’s first “Opportunity Escalator”, setting out clear pathways for people to access opportunities and progress in work and life. 

• Get on: It is about removing barriers that hold people back: improving transport links within and beyond the region, ensuring affordable homes are available where the jobs are, and creating healthy neighbourhoods where care, community and opportunity come together.     

• Get up: This is about matching local skills with better paying jobs and showing clear next steps, the Escalator helps authorities, education establishments, employers and local people take action to support fair and inclusive growth. It helps people to “get up” the Escalator. 

To make the Opportunity Escalator work, the Commission has set out flagship priorities to ensure every community benefits. These include: 

• Providing every young person access to career guidance, work experience, and wellbeing support — with a clear path into work, training, or further education.  
• Boost school performance and making sure adults can retrain for jobs that are needed locally like green energy and digital skills.  
• Tackle poor health as a barrier for people working, by integrating healthcare and employment services, and promote fair, flexible workplaces through a Good Employers Charter.  
• Strengthen community ties by supporting local enterprises and delivering services through trusted venues like schools, libraries, and community hubs.  
• Attract investment into the region to boost the economy. 

The Commission is also calling for the UK’s first regional plan to strengthen social connections as well as economic ones, including more support for grassroots leaders and community groups, and investment which delivers not just profit, but greener, fairer, healthier places across the East Midlands.  

Pictured: Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward and Chief Executive of EMCCA, Amy Harhoff with young people from the region

Mayor Claire added: “The Commission’s concept of an ‘opportunity escalator’ captures perfectly what we must build: a fair system of visible, achievable steps that works for everyone, wherever they start.

“This is a call to action for all of us – government, business, communities – to invest in our people and places. As Mayor, I am determined to lead that change. Together we must remove the barriers that hold people back, and make sure the East Midlands is a region where every young person has the chance not just to dream, but to thrive.”

The East Midlands Inclusive Growth Commission was set up in November 2024 by East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) and council leaders across the region, who appointed the RSA to run the high-profile commission.  

Andy Haldane, the Chair of the Commission, said: “When the Mayor asked the RSA to lead this Commission, the ambition was to end a cycle of underinvestment in the East Midlands and redesign growth from the ground up.

“By developing an ambitious new engine for growth, the Opportunity Escalator, and through the Commission’s recommendations, we’re equipping not just the region, but the whole country with a blueprint for people-centred inclusive growth.”

Tom Stratton, Chief of Staff at the RSA, said:  “This Commission set out to shape a new approach to economic growth in the East Midlands, one that unlocks opportunity for everyone, wherever they live and whatever their circumstances. The Opportunity Escalator and recommendations published today do exactly that.”

“EMCCA now has the tools to align the Government’s top-down Industrial Strategy with a bottom-up, East Midlands-specific model of growth – starting with people’s existing skills and setting out the steps needed to move into better paid, higher-skilled jobs.

“As devolution gathers pace and demand for fresh growth models grows, we hope this report marks the start of an ongoing conversation.”