BT's £2.8 billion boost for East of England Economy
Communications company supports the employment of 35,700 jobs across the East of England
Spends nearly £1.1 billion a year with local suppliers
BT generated a massive £2.8 billion for the East of England economy in the past year, according to an independent report published today.
The report, by Regeneris Consulting, also shows that the communications company supports more than 35,700 jobs in the East of England through direct employment, its spending with contractors and suppliers and the spending of employees.
In employment terms, BT’s impact in 2012/13 was larger than the region’s Higher Education sector. Nearly £1.1 billion was spent with East of England suppliers.
The overall beneficial financial impact of BT activities is expressed as a “Gross Value Added” (GVA)* contribution. For the East of England, the BT GVA totalled £2.8 billion – equivalent to £1 in every £40 of the East of England’s total GVA.
Dave Hughes said: “BT and its employees make a major contribution to the East of England’s economy. They are a key part of its prosperity and economic well-being. BT is at the centre of every community and our day-to-day work benefits every local authority area right across the UK.
“I’m also well aware that BT people throughout the region really want to contribute in a positive way to the communities in which they live and work. Every day BT employees help millions of people to communicate, do business, be entertained and stay informed.
“But BT’s role in the region is more significant than even these massive figures suggest. In addition to the activities analysed in this comprehensive report, we are creating a high-speed fibre broadband network which will be essential to the future success of local businesses and households. The potential benefits to the region offered by that network are huge by any standards.”
“Social Study 2013 – The Economic Impact of BT in the United Kingdom” analyses the key role BT people play in economic, business and community life across the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It highlights the positive contributions made by BT through the salaries and wages of employees and contractors, and the beneficial impact of its procurement and overall expenditure around the UK.
The report highlights that BT in the East of England –
• Is responsible for the employment of 10,600 people – 9,460 direct employees and 1,140 contractors – with a total employment income of £438 million
• Provides work for a further 25,100 people through BT’s spending with businesses that supply its equipment and services, and the spending of employees
• Committed £2.5 million to community, charity and voluntary programmes, spread around every East of England community in 2012/13
• Has enabled more than 75 per cent of its employees to work flexibly, with more than 1,060 homeworkers – 10 per cent of the direct workforce.
BT is investing £2.5 billion in its commercial fibre broadband roll-out in the UK, and is working in project partnerships with governments, regional and local authorities to extend next generation broadband even more widely – especially to more rural and remote communities.
In the East of England BT has already made fibre broadband available to 1.7 million homes and businesses and is working with six super-fast broadband partnerships across the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Bedfordshire. .
BT continues discussions across the East of England with prospective public and private sector partners about further government initiatives and local projects such as Enterprise Zones and Connected Cities.
Volunteering is also a core element of BT’s strategy to be a responsible and sustainable business leader. Every BT employee is entitled to three fully paid days each year to volunteer for their chosen cause. In 2012/13 BT people volunteering in the community provided more than £13m of in-kind support and assistance, some 43,600 days. In region, employees contributed 6,680 days, some 48,100 hours during the year.
UK-wide, BT’s total GVA contribution is assessed at £18.5 billion. It supports 231,510 jobs directly and indirectly and last year spent £7.2 billion with UK-based suppliers. As a result of the full economic impact of BT, the firm supports £1 in every £70 of GVA in the UK economy and one in every 100 employees working in the UK economy.
Stephen Nicol, Managing Director of Regeneris Consulting, commented: “Our analysis confirms the sheer scale and reach of BT’s economic contribution to the UK and its constituent local economies. BT makes a contribution to every town or city across the UK. At the UK level £1 in every £70 of wealth created is attributable to BT: this is one of the single most important contributions to the UK economy by any firm.”
The full report is available at –http://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTUKandWorldwide/BTRegions/England/Factsandfigures/Factsandfigures.htm
*Gross Value Added (GVA) measures the value of all goods and services produced in an economy. GVA combines wages and operating profits from companies and other organisations. Growing GVA can reflect improvements in workforce skills, productivity, R&D and innovation. The figures for BT show the value added directly through BT's services and additional value generated through BT's suppliers across the nations and regions.
