Chancellor Rishi Sunak and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng have written an an open letter to businesses on the government’s Plan for Growth.

The letter sets out the key pillars of investment that the government will focus on as it looks to recover from the pandemic, create jobs and drive forward key government priorities.

The letter comes ahead of the second meeting of the Prime Minister’s Build Back Better Business Council today, which will be one of the ways that the government engages with business to drive forward the Plan for Growth.

Ahead of the second meeting of the Build Back Better Business Council, prime minister Boris Johnson, said: “With great progress being made on our vaccine programme and our roadmap underway, 2021 can really be the year of economic recovery.

“Our Plan for Growth sets our path to invest in infrastructure, skills and innovation to build back better, whilst harnessing the strengths, resilience and creative spirit we’ve seen from businesses over the past year, so we can level up opportunity and prosperity across the country, eliminate our contribution to climate change and forge ahead as a truly Global Britain.”

The joint letter from the Chancellor and Business Secretary says: “Creating and supporting jobs and helping to drive growth in existing, new and emerging industries is the government’s central economic focus. That is why we are transitioning the Industrial Strategy into our plan for growth and its related strategies.

“The plan for growth builds on the best of the Industrial Strategy from 2017 and makes the most of our strengths right across the economy. It refreshes and goes further than ever before on critical policies and guides the government’s longer-term growth strategy as we build back better, so we can unite and level up the country, support our transition to net zero by 2050, and seize the new opportunities of a Global Britain as an independent nation.

“Backed by three pillars of investment as the foundation of our economic recovery – infrastructure, skills and innovation – we can put the UK at the forefront of opportunities and give businesses the confidence they need to invest and grow.

The government is still taking forward the best elements of the industrial strategy, including continuation of existing sector deals.

The letter goes on to say: “The government is, and will continue to be, a champion of the needs of business and industry as we build back better from the pandemic.

“We will work closely and collaboratively with key stakeholders to ensure that our plans address challenges faced by business and grasp opportunities for future growth. That is why we have convened the Build Back Better Business Council, to draw on the expertise of industry and government to ensure that the plan for growth is delivered successfully, and in partnership with business.”