The 500 pages that make up this draft bill will form part of what Labour hope will be an oven-ready plan to dramatically change councils if political agreement can be reached after the election.

Universities South West Executive Director Deborah Watson said: "We are delighted that 12 Innovation Vouchers have now been awarded and we are oversubscribed. A reserve list has been created and only 'oven ready' projects will be considered for possible reserve places at this stage."

HR leaders have a role to play in helping business leaders and line managers understand that we cannot expect governments or education systems to churn out off-the shelf, oven-ready employees — we must develop our own workforces by widening the pools from which we recruit and develop people and by creating new and varied career paths.

The need for experienced staff — what Rob Wirszycz, the former director-general of the Computing Services & Software Association, calls "oven-ready people" — suggests that companies will expect to be taking the people they need from their competitors.