By
Amanda Vigar, Managing Partner, V&A Bell Brown LLP
Congratulations to Sajid
Javid MP on his appointment as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and
Skills and to Damian Hinds MP as Exchequer Secretary.
Both are new to their jobs,
so let’s get them started on the right tracks and remind them that the Battle-axe
will be watching every move they make.
Of course, she will also be
letting them know (directly) what she thinks of their performance! One wonders if the rolling pin will get
through security at the House of Commons?
Sajid has started by making
the right noises. One of his first pronouncements
was to recognise small business
(the Government’s beloved SMEs) as the "engine room" of British
industry, vowing to get "heavy-handed" regulators off their
backs.
A welcome sentiment, but the proof of the pudding will be in how much he
can achieve in the next five years with the dark satanic red-tape mills of the EU
still working overtime!
Sajid needs to be telling Mr Cameron to take a hard line in Europe on the
mountains of regulations they produce every year. Up and down the UK entrepreneurs are swamped with
unpaid admin work they do for the government (and Brussels) – you may remember
the article about it a few months ago where it was estimated that an average
small business spends 22 days a year on it.
If anything is going to put off people from setting up in business or employing
people it's the pain and non-value added admin that goes with it.
As a former banker Sajid should know how the banking system works. I will
be expecting him to look at why the banks are still making big noises in public
about lending to SMEs then forcing them to jump through so many hoops that they
are put off applying for the finance needed to develop their businesses.
Maybe we should just give up on the banks and ask him to expand the Growth
Fund programme that has seen critical expansion money being lent to the life
blood of the UK economy.
How about using the cash from the sale of the taxpayers shares in Lloyds
and maybe one day RBS to top up the fund?
Or better still why not give more enhanced reliefs for entrepreneurs
investing into the future of their business – not just on exit but up front
relief! After all, they actually keep
people in jobs, so the money saved on benefits could be recycled to encourage
investment.
Meanwhile Damian claims to have worked in the pub/hotel industry for 18
years so should be well used to the effect of excise duties on drinking
behaviour. As a result, it will be interesting to see if the alcohol excise
duty is frozen in the forthcoming budget helping to slow the rate of pub
closures that we have seen in recent times – often the last community facility
in the village.
