• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Friday March 22 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Business West issues list of ‘demands’ of next government

Business support organisation Business West has issued a list of ‘demands’ of the next government.

The organisation, which operates the chambers of commerce in Bristol, Bath and Wiltshire as well as the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, says it is uniquely placed to understand what local businesses need from the next government through the Quarterly Economic Survey which it conducts on behalf of the British Chambers of Commerce, coupled with our ongoing conversations with members.

It says the region has seen a real lack of investment in skills and dealing with core issues, such as transportation and housing.

“Tackling these issues, most of which are interlinked, requires serious investment that lasts beyond just one political cycle,” says Business West.

Managing director Phil Smith said: “We are calling for long-term initiatives in the following ten areas, which will help our economy be healthy, and our businesses and communities thrive.”

Transport

Business West says government urgently needs to address transport connectivity – fundamental to improving economic growth, social mobility, cohesion and achieving net zero targets – in the region.

“Areas with well-connected transport routes tend to have higher productivity. But our region’s weakness in transport is not only a drag on current and future economic growth, it also a serious obstacle to delivering for our worse off citizens and on our region’s economic inequalities,” says Business West.

“A failure to build a full transport system has been felt hardest in our areas of deprivation for whom lack of transport infrastructure and provision cuts away the ability to access opportunities to learn, work or grow a business.

“We need urgent, significant, investment in public transport.”

Planning for new homes and businesses

“The people who live, learn and work in our region need housing,” says Business West.

“Whilst our region is an attractive place to live due to its large cultural offering and access to green and blue spaces, residents are facing unaffordable house prices and rental fees.

“We cannot understate the housing crisis’s huge impact on the ability to attract and retain talent in our region. This is also creating wider pressures for businesses who are looking to start, grow and invest. Less land available means fewer premises and increased price pressures. In a drive to create more homes we must not overlook the need to plan for employment land too.

“We require long term strategic planning to help overcome the significant challenges of our region: space for our future homes, for businesses to grow and the transport, energy and other infrastructure needed to support this growth in a sustainable way.

“At present our planning system is slow and stifling economic development. It is too expensive and stops us planning across local authority boundaries. This hampers attempts to tackle our housing crisis and create new jobs and businesses.”

Skills

“We need enhanced investment in education in order to address the skills-gap and drive social mobility in our region; not just for young learners, but lifelong learners too,” says the organisation.

“We need government programmes, and further education, to be more closely aligned to business needs, for today and the medium to long term.

“This also relates to the issue of apprenticeship standards. Existing standards are overwhelmingly designed by large companies to support their requirements. We need to see more support for SMEs, which represent over 99.7 per cent of the South West’s business population.”

Innovation

“Our region is home to 15 universities, and educates over 180,000 students. This helps drive UK innovation. Greater regional funding would further boost innovation within our region,” says Business West.

“A revised approach is needed to attract investment into startups and scaleups, given the decline in venture capital post-Covid and investor caution. Support measures should include tax incentives, R&D grants, and enhanced accelerator programmes.

“We look forward to reform of the UK Pension Funds so that they can invest in these early-stage businesses. The Government and private sector players should collaboratively develop and execute R&D strategies, ensuring they align to business needs. This collaboration is vital to create competitive, globally relevant technology and products.”

Net Zero and Green Growth

“Our region currently has among the least clean sources of energy supply in the UK, especially during peak times,” says Business West.

“However, our region has the potential to be a leader in green energy supply through solar, wind, hydrogen, tidal, and nuclear power generation. Our grid connectivity is hindering this.

“We need improved transparency about grid capacity at a national, and local, level. We need greater investment to improve delivery times for new power capacity and connections. This is essential for meeting net zero targets. Without it, the implications for decarbonising energy, manufacturing and transport are huge.

“We urgently need investment to support a modal shift towards greener forms of transport, and the ways in which we heat our buildings, as well as more support for SMEs to decarbonise. This is fundamental to achieving aspirations for a sustainable economy.”

Phil Smith, managing director of Business West

Business West has also called for action in the areas of Foreign Direct Investment; International Trade; Devolution; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and Artificial Intelligence.

“The business community requires urgent and effective support to leverage AI, and other disruptive technologies to their best advantage. Transfer of AI technology expertise into UK workplaces is going to play a huge role in improving the UK’s workplace productivity,” says Business West.

“We need to remain competitive on the world stage amidst growing and highly productive global competition, and to establish centres of excellence in emerging technology.

“With nearly half of UK businesses without plans to use AI internally due to barriers in knowledge and budget, support for innovative SMEs to invest in this game-changing technology is going to be important under the next government.”