POLITICS
Chamber identifies priorities and asks of Government
At the end of last year the Government released its Industrial Strategy White Paper, highlighting the five priority themes of Ideas, People, Infrastructure, Business Environment and Places as being areas in which the country should focus its efforts and resources in order to enjoy success. With 2018 now well underway, local areas – through the Local Enterprise Partnerships – have been challenged by Government to develop their own Local Industrial Strategies, translating the big national agendas onto the local scale. Responding to this, over the coming
months the Chamber is embarking on an engagement plan with its own members, identifying those challenges for Government to meet and opportunities for East Midlands businesses to realise if we’re going to succeed. These will be pulled together into a new 2018 Manifesto for East Midlands Businesses. “The consistent message we’ve had from members over recent months has been one of frustration at the uncertainty within Government,” said Chris Hobson, the Chamber’s Director of Policy. “What we’re seeking to do with our 2018
Manifesto is to give Government some very clear and specific messages around those policy areas that need to be developed to enable our businesses to succeed. In return, we have a fantastic offer to make to the overall success of the UK economy”. As a starting point to its conversation with members, the Chamber has drawn up a list of five broad talking points:
1) INVESTING IN REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE A recent study found that the East Midlands received only 60% per capita of the national average in terms of infrastructure investment. The Chamber is calling for this to be increased to 100% of the national per capita average by 2020. Chris said: “This lack of investment is holding
the region back. The East Midlands has to be shown to the rest of the world to be a good place in which to invest. It won’t achieve that status with a Victorian rail network, crippling congestion on our roads and poor broadband connectivity. “What we want to hear about from members
are those significant infrastructure projects that they think we should be calling for support on.”
2). REDUCING DAY-TO-DAY COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS The Chamber has identified several areas under this heading where Government already has it within its gift to make life easier for firms. They include avoiding knee-jerk reaction to populist demands, fixing the ‘broken’ business rates system, reducing the red tape burden businesses
36 business network February 2018
face, encouraging employment and ensuring the domestic workforce has the necessary skills. Chris said: “There have been a number of well-
intentioned initiatives made law in recent years and while not wishing to make light of their value, they have been introduced without consideration for the impact they will have on business, both in terms of production and administration. “The question we’re asking our members is,
which measures should we be pushing back against the hardest, and which barrier – if removed - would make the single biggest difference to them.”
3) GROWING OUR INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT If the UK is to succeed then it needs to grow internationally, and the East Midlands has been leading the way in this. The importance of getting this right has only been emphasized by the Brexit negotiations. Chris said: “Our Quarterly Economic Survey
results over the past year have shown East Midlands businesses expanding their activity overseas, and it’s really encouraging to see businesses looking to enter into new markets. “However, they need continued support for
this. It can be a slog to develop something new and help through additional funding for new ventures, market visits and of course a sensible aviation policy that reduces the costs of making
The Chamber's 2018 Manifesto, through engagement with members, will identify key asks of Government
those links are all musts. We want to hear from our members where they see the biggest opportunities and what measures would best help them to succeed overseas.”
4) GETTING TO GRIPS WITH SKILLS The perennial problem for businesses and one that successive Governments and Ministers have tinkered around the edges of. “Education reform must be driven by the
realities of the labour market and the long-term needs of future employers, not the pet project of any one individual. The importance of this is increased when we look at any changes to immigration patterns. “In the meantime we need to focus on what’s
in our gift to control – how do we support businesses to invest in training, how do we develop stronger links between business and education, and how do we make sure businesses are taking advantage of the opportunities that already exist, for example through our universities”.
5) DEVELOPING COMPETITIVENESS IN OUR SUPPLY-CHAINS The East Midlands is home to an incredibly diverse business base and a whole eco-system of supply-chain businesses. The opportunity exists for these businesses to become more competitive. “Government has a real focus on productivity,
but sometimes this can be misleading. What businesses really want is to be competitive, and as a result of that, to win more business. Being highly productive can make you more competitive, but so can offering good value,
‘What we’re seeking to do with our 2018 Manifesto is to give Government some very clear and specific messages’
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