IT may seem a long way off now but next May's general election will soon be upon us.
With the party conference season now in full swing, the leaders of the main political parties have already started their sales pitches.
And prospective parliamentary candidates and current MPs should ignore the power of the business vote at their peril.
Much will be promised by politicians between now and May 7 when we go to the polling booths.
But, in a preemptive strike, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce is formulating a list of demands – key areas which it wants the next government to focus on in order to ensure the economic recovery continues.
As a part of this process, the chamber has been holding round table events with a panel of invited business leaders and experts.
The Derby discussion, backed by the Derby Telegraph, recently took place at the chamber's Pride Park offices and featured a panel representing the different industry sectors that make up Derbyshire's business community.
Together, they discussed six key areas that they would like to see addressed by the next government: skills, local growth, infrastructure, the cost of doing business, business investment and developing our global presence.
The conclusions drawn from the debate, which was led by Derby Telegraph editor Neil White, will go towards the chamber's election manifesto, which will be launched at the Houses of Parliament on November 25.
Here's what was said on those key topics:
SKILLS
NEIL WHITE (NW): What should the Government do to develop the talents of the next generation to meet the needs of business and what can it do to best support the development of the current workforce?
PETER DEWHURST (PD): I talk to a lot of employers and closer engagement between businesses and colleges/universities is essential. Schools have almost become like machines – preparing students to take their A-levels so they can go on to university rather than preparing them for industry. For some people, university is not the right option.
STEVE MIDGLEY (SM): In construction, there is a massive need for people who are not necessarily at the top of the academic ladder. There is now a greater value attached to the title of apprenticeship.
The current regime has made a good start when it comes to promoting apprenticeships – I hope the next government will continue this. The cost of training apprentices could be looked at, along with issues surrounding the minimum wage.
PHIL STANYER (PS): I do a lot of work with schools. I was staggered when the Government stopped compulsory work experience and did not put anything in to replace it. Some kids are leaving school with diabolical interview skills and are not measuring up to what businesses want – basic things like turning up on time every day and doing a full day's work. That ethos has not been built into them at school.
PAUL JEFFELS (PJ): The curriculum needs looking at. The type of maths and English schools are teaching may meet the requirements of university but often cannot be applied to the world of work.
MIKE BAULCOMBE (MB): Schools have to meet certain targets in terms of getting kids into university. If they don't hit those targets then they get less funding.
SM: If that is the case then I agree with the idea that, as well as being judged on the number of kids they get into university, they should also be judged on how many they get into employment. It would also be an idea for the teachers themselves to try doing a bit of work experience so they are up to speed with the demands of the workplace.
JODIE GUTTRICH (JG): Speaking as someone in the hospitality industry, I have real trouble getting casual labour. There is nothing wrong with being a waiter or a cook. Getting chefs is a real challenge. It's a very good job which pays well. But schools aren't teaching these vocational skills.
LOCAL GROWTH
NW: Should government go further in devolving funding and decision-making to local levels? What structures do/would best enable businesses to influence local decision making? What measures would best support local businesses to benefit from public procurement opportunities?
SM: I'm very split on the localism issue. I would rather see consistency. The main issue that affects my business is planning. If you devolve planning to too low a level you get into "nimbyism".
JAYNE BELLENIE (JB): I would like us to have more control over spending – but I would not want this to involve yet another tier of government or local authority.
MB: We don't have a municipal authority like Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds. We have three cities within 20 miles of one another who like to compete against one another and that's the challenge. The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership could provide a bridge, working with Leicester.
PS: This idea isn't fully crystallised in my head but what might work is that the LEP controls the funding, then the next layer would be the unitary authorities, rather than the many district councils. I think it would be an idea to look at how things are working in Shropshire and Cheshire, where they have done away with district councils.
INFRASTRUCTURE
NW: How can the Government solve the country's lack of long-term planning and fix the barriers to development that exist in planning legislation? Also, what should the Government do to achieve long-term energy security?
PJ: A lot of my career was spent in the energy business. There was a running a joke that government would never set out a prediction for energy consumption in 10 years' time. In this area, there is a fashion for not planning ahead – and that has to change.
Energy production and consumption are major concerns. Coal-fired stations like Ratcliffe on Soar cannot go on forever. We should start working out what energy consumption will be like a decade ahead so we can address these issues and find the money to meet it because energy production requires a massive outlay.
PD: There is a real appetite in China to look at renewables. We have local companies who could benefit from this. There is an opportunity for us to lead the world in this area.
SM: The trouble is that governments never plan anything beyond the next election. Issues like this should be set aside from the political process.
JB: Maybe all political parties should be made to sign up to an agreed energy plan and stick to it?
COST OF DOING BUSINESS
NW: What needs to happen to the business rates system and how should the Government approach reducing the costs associated with business regulation?
What approach would best support lower energy costs for business? What are the main employment costs and what should the Government do to reduce these?
PJ: I think employment costs need to be tackled. You have two tax systems: National Insurance and Income Tax. Both are calculated differently. Why not merge them and save us the hassle?
JB: The workplace pension was a fantastic idea – but it meant that we needed to be trained up to do it and that was an extra cost to us.
HELEN WILLIAMS (HW): The removal of the retirement age is going to make things very difficult and could be a big problem as the years go on.
SM: There should be a point where the retirement age cuts in but employers should be encouraged to keep those staff on, reviewing things on an annual basis.
I believe that there should be a range of ages in the workforce. But will this result in people driving buses when they are 75?
PS: I firmly believe that employers should have a say on the retirement age. But businesses have to be careful, otherwise they could be accused of discriminating.
SM: I think we would all like to see a reduction in red tape. I've not seen any impact from the current government's pledge that, for one piece of legislation introduced, two pieces will be abolished.
HW: Employment law takes up a lot of our time – time that would be better spent running our business.
PS: I think it would be helpful if politicians had a better understanding of what it's like to run a business. They need to be better educated about business.
JG: I think MPs need to engage more with organisations like the chamber to understand the issues.
PD: You could get them to sign some kind of pact pledging to do so.
PJ: MPs hold surgeries for their constituents. Why can't they hold separate surgeries for businesses in their constituency?
BUSINESS INVESTMENT
NW: What policy measures would best support small and medium-sized businesses to access finance? What are the main barriers to businesses moving from investment plans to actual investment?
PS: The way the regulators are approaching the control of the banks is causing a blockage. I know we cannot afford a repeat of the crisis back in 2008 but, at the moment, the way the banks are controlled is stopping lending.
There is also a lack of equity funding around. And, when it is given, the conditions are so onerous that it makes shows like Dragon's Den look like the nice side of the process. The conditions are so tough that people can end up losing control of their business to their investors. There was the roll-out of the Business Bank but I've not seen it make much difference. It's certainly not visible.
SM: Why don't we create our own regional equity fund? Perhaps the Business Bank should be regionalised and come under the control of the LEP.
HW: We were successful in getting grant from the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund to cover the cost of repairs at our premises when we couldn't get a loan. It was brilliant and I really liked the process.
SM: The problem with applying for government money is that it takes too long for them to make a decision. We need a response within two or three months.
MB: I think time is the issue here. If it's a "no" then fair enough – at least you know where you stand. In terms of obtaining funding its the timescale that needs to be looked at.
JB: I'd also like to see the Government address the time it takes for larger customers to pay up. They should push those big companies to pay up quicker.
DEVELOPING OUR GLOBAL PRESENCE
NW: What should the UK's role in Europe look like? How can export finance be improved? Where are the key opportunities for our businesses to grow internationally? What changes would facilitate easier movement of goods and people to and from the UK?
SM: I certainly think we should be in Europe – and a lot of people around this table would probably agree.
MB: I think as consumers we have huge concerns about being in Europe – but as business people it is different. There is a fear of the unknown if the UK left. It's a bit like what happened in Scotland recently. The last-minute "no" voters became worried what would happen if they were no longer part of the UK.
JG: We need to remain in Europe. It helps us to do business freely and makes it easier for overseas companies to set up in this area.
MB: America looks to the UK as its first port of call in terms of getting a foothold in Europe. It might be less inclined to do so if the UK left the EU.
SM: I think we should get some independent academics – not the politicians – to calculate the cost of staying in Europe and leaving Europe. Then we will know once and for all what the right call is.
