www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com 13 CHIEF EXECUTIVE


Ensuring the deck isn’t stacked against business


Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive chiefexecutive@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com


I


s running a business in Glasgow becoming too arduous? Are the increasing burdens on small and medium-size companies likely to deter real entrepreneurial spirit? These interesting questions were raised by a senior Glasgow business person at a recent Chamber council meeting. The wider issues of modern society, including an education


system that has been failing to prepare many young people for a productive working life, has placed greater expectation on business, in terms of taxation, training and health and safety. This social function has always been an unwritten and accepted part of the ‘deal’ about running a company. However, when you start to tot up all the extras that Glasgow businesses now have to deal with, then this can have a serious impact on the very viability of business. When you consider rate increases, apprenticeship levies, and National Minimum Wage legislation, this all begins to eat away at margins that are already under acute pressure. If you’re a city centre retail business faced with the increasing challenge of digital delivery and the extra prospect of Sunday parking charges and congestion charges, which may or may not be a good thing, it starts to get very tight indeed. Add the extra burdens of Brexit, and there is a growing sense among business people that I speak to that national UK and Scottish legislators see businesses purely as a way of pulling in much- needed taxation. The question to ponder is, are we taking a sensible


view for some sectors? Two critical sectors feeling the pain are retail and leisure, both essential for the city. Many Europeans who came across to work in Scotland when the EU borders opened up are heading back to Poland, Romania and Spain because the sterling they earned has less buying power. It means staff shortages and unfilled vacancies that we need more Scots to fill. Glasgow depends on its vibrant retail and leisure sector. If we are to realise the tourism target of a million extra visitors to Glasgow over the next six years, we need buzzing shops, cafés, restaurants and great places to stop and shop. While we welcome all the major national brands with their modern stores, we also require the quirky retailers, the artisan food-makers, and local companies that make our city such a flourishing place. Scotland has been doing a great deal to encourage entrepreneurship with organisations extolling young people to ‘follow their dreams’. The truth is that running most growing businesses is a serious day-to-day battle to win customers and make profits. We have had a good economic run since the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. The city economy in Glasgow has been growing at a


steady pace. According to the latest statistics, we have put on 17 per cent between 2012 and 2017. But this economic growth is a fragile beast if businesses keep


facing more onerous conditions. The Chamber remains confident that Glasgow is in a strong economic position to exploit all kinds of emerging opportunities. However, we are also watching very closely and we will fight for our members if we feel that the burden is being unfairly stacked on business.


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