We are facing a time of enormous change in our society and our economy, driven by a process of globalisation that is becoming recognised – if not yet fully understood – in homes up and down the country.

To survive and succeed, we are told that businesses in the UK must get better at innovating and at converting their ideas into added value products and services that people want to buy. Only by constantly evolving will our economy resist the low-cost competition from India and China, it seems.