BOSSES need better leadership and management skills if Britain is to secure the economic recovery, a report states today.

The call comes in a major policy document by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development which also urged the government to take a flexible approach to its policies on taxation and spending cuts if the pace of recovery slows in coming months.

The CIPD said its document, Blueprint for Growth, aimed to set out the measures needed to secure the economic recovery, improve job prospects for all and boost UK productivity.

Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser to the CIPD, said: “The Government wants to foster a strong private sector-led economic recovery, but we have yet to see a coherent strategy for economic growth to sit alongside the Chancellor’s very clear cut approach to reducing the fiscal deficit.”

He said government policy must include efforts to boost productivity by improving the way businesses managed their employees.

And he added: “The Chancellor should also demonstrate a willingness to ensure there is sufficient demand in the economy to reduce the considerable unused capacity available at present and – if necessary – revise the speed and scale of the planned fiscal squeeze.”