 The UK is on the brink of a decade of huge economic change, on a scale not seen in a generation. This isn't just about recovering well from COVID-19 and the deepest downturn for 300 years it created. The 2020s will be a decisive decade of change because as well as emerging from the pandemic, we are also exiting the EU, urgently transitioning towards our net zero future and adapting to digital technologies. These shifts will affect all of our lives and our livelihoods, presenting new opportunities, but also creating new challenges. What the UK lacks is an economic strategy, a strategy to navigate the changes created by COVID, Brexit and net zero, a strategy to renew the UK's approach to economic success for this new era, and crucially, a strategy to overcome the stagnating living standards and high inequality between people and places that have held Britain back. Big economic change is coming, and let's not kid ourselves that the UK is well prepared because we're not. Our track record isn't great, and if you think back to the 1980s, when huge numbers of people lost their jobs, whole families and communities were devastated, we have got to do better this time. The Economy 2030 Inquiry will explore economic change from the perspectives of people, places and firms living through it. We'll look at how we've coped with those things in the past, and what people want from their work and for their towns and cities in the future. The UK's departure from the European Union presents a huge change in economic governance. It comes at the same time as other changes in the economy, the global economic slowdown from the pandemic, as well as increased tensions between global superpowers. Amongst all this, what we want to understand in the inquiry is to think about how the UK can create economic resilience as well as equitable growth. This decade will require fundamental structural change as we make the shift to the net zero economy. This will bring huge environmental and economic benefits, but it also requires major investment and some disruption for citizens, as workers and consumers that will not be felt equally. The more we delay these key shifts, the tougher the transition will be, and the sooner we realise the benefits, the better for us all. If we handle this change in the right way, we could see a return to the strong living standards growth that families need, and build a more equal and greener economy. But muddling through with another decade of Britain falling behind similar countries, risks undermining our living standards and leaving our country diminished and divided. Successfully navigating the 2020s requires both a better understanding of what this country is going through and a proper plan to shape the UK's economic future. That is what the country needs, and that's what the Economy 2013 inquiry is all about.