44 finance


Berkshire LEP: collaborating to drive


national growth On June 27, the Government announced its vision for the British economy with its ‘Investing in Britain Future’ programme, which 'seeks to build the British economy and deliver lasting prosperity', writes Steve Lamb, chairman for Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership


The driving force for this vision has been placed, not in Whitehall’s control, but in the hands of 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) through “the creation of the £2 billion Local Growth Fund… for developing skills, housing and transport across the country”.


With local business at the vanguard, Thames Valley Berkshire LEP is increasing its capacity to meet this challenge and drive economic growth for the UK exchequer, which is already greater than anywhere else in the UK except London.


Limiting house price inflation


The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee should consider limiting annual house price inflation to 5% in order to prevent another housing bubble, reckless bank lending and a dangerous build up in household debt, according to new RICS research launched this week.


With excessive price growth and high mortgage lending having led to a vulnerable banking sector, specific policy on limiting growth is needed. Such a policy could be implemented with caps on elements such as loan-to-value ratios, loan-to-income ratios, and mortgage durations, or imposing ceilings on the amount banks are permitted to lend, should prices exceed a given limit.


Sending a clear and simple statement to the public that the Bank of England will not tolerate house price rises above 5% would help restrict excessive price expectations across the country. This policy


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Already, through its Growing Places Fund, the LEP has helped to kick start local projects: To date, over £10.5 million has been allocated to businesses and schemes in Berkshire, and by forward-funding three town-centre regeneration schemes, for example, this investment will help to create over 5,000 homes and 9,000 jobs in the short to medium term.


Having taken the bold and innovative step earlier this year to invest £7.3m in a bespoke Funding Escalator for early-stage SMEs, over £1.2m has already been approved


would discourage households from taking on excessive debt out of fear of missing out on a price boom, and discourage lenders from rushing to relax their lending standards as they compete for market share.


Schemes such as this have been used in the likes of Canada between 2008 and 2012, during Mark Carney’s tenure as the governor of the Bank of Canada. At this time, the national regulator gradually reduced the minimum mortgage repayment period, the amount buyers could potentially borrow in relation to their deposit and imposed more stringent credit checks. It is widely acknowledged that these measures significantly eased the pressure on the nation’s market.


The only difference between what has been done before in other countries and what the Bank of England should implement is that of transparency. Public confidence is central to the success of this strategy and it is vital that any policy is communicated to the public in an open and accessible way.


in business loans for local start-ups and expanding, next generation businesses.


The LEP has also contributed to the UK hub airport debate by taking a lead across the wider Thames Valley to commission evidence for the Davies Commission, mindful of the absolute imperative to secure the future of Heathrow and thus 7,700 jobs in Slough. Furthermore, in conjunction with Berkshire’s unitary authorities, the LEP has secured funding worth £13.3m to tackle road congestion and is investing in superfast broadband from 2015, which will generate more GVA and start to deliver digital infrastructure fit for the 21st century.


However, more can be done, and


Avoid the £10,000-a-day fine from the Pensions Regulator


Every employer in the UK now has a legal responsibility to help its employees save for their pensions. By the end of 2014 all businesses with 59 or more employees and by October 2018 all employers will have had to enrol eligible staff into a qualifying pension scheme and this change will come at significant cost – above and beyond just the increase in employer pension contributions.


For the larger firms, managing such a pension auto-enrolment scheme will draw on the valuable time, budget and expertise of their established pensions, payroll, IT and HR departments. However, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have neither the administrative infrastructure nor the resources to oversee such a resource-intensive project.


To meet this need, the team at Reading and Newbury-based Griffins Financial Solutions, Chartered Financial Planners


and IFA, is offering a new service which co-ordinates the whole process under one roof by one specialised team.


Griffins’ new single-source fully-integrated pension auto- enrolment service provides a web-based solution that works with both the payroll system and pension provider and will administer online reporting while ensuring ongoing compliance. It also keeps records for at least six years to comply with legislation.


Dion Prideaux-Reynolds, employee benefits manager at Griffins who has put together this unique package, said: “Pension auto-enrolment can be a headache for small and medium- sized businesses. This service ensures full compliance to the new pension legislation, leaving business owners to concentrate on running their businesses and helping to avoid the substantial fines of up to £10,000 per day for non-compliance.”


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – OCTOBER 2013


in order to exploit the full potential of the Government’s Local Growth Fund, the LEP has been working on a Strategic Economic Plan for the Thames Valley Berkshire sub region.


This plan can shape the future of Thames Valley Berkshire – if it represents the widest possible view of the business community. The LEP is a business-led partnership and we collaborate extensively. In order to strengthen our knowledge of the local economy we need your help. We would therefore like to invite you to comment on our draft Strategic Economic Plan (in late December this year). If you wish to have your say on the future plans for the Thames Valley Berkshire LEP area, please sign up – see details.


Details: strategicplan@ thamesvalleyberkshire.co.uk


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