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The Rt. Hon. Patricia HewittStatement at the Press Launch of Enterprise for all |
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I am delighted to be launching this paper today with Gordon Brown and Estelle Morris. As Gordon said, in our first term we created a strong platform of stability and employment. The task in our second term is to build on this. I am absolutely clear that enterprise is the key to our future prosperity. My priority is to encourage enterprise, boost UK business and productivity, giving both employers and employees the best possible platform from which to develop their own potential. So our commitment is to put in place the policies that will ensure the UK is one of the best places in the world to do business. I want to help UK business get to the future first. Firstly, reform of our competition regime. An effective competition policy is vital to the economic success of the UK. It is a key driver for innovation, productivity and growth. The approach to competition we inherited in 1997 had unclear objectives, Byzantine procedures with inadequate penalties, and was not properly transparent. We have laid the foundations for modernisation with the 1998 Competition Act. Building on the work by Stephen Byers, I now intend to make a decisive break with the past. So I am planning to make British competition authorities fully independent of political influence within a long term framework where the objective, set by Government, is to promote competition and the consumer interest, with transparent procedures and enhanced parliamentary accountability. Today we are announcing proposals to give the OFT and the Competition Commission a formal role in advising on public sector regulations which could be anti-competitive. They will act as a crucial early warning system on regulations that are anti-competitive. The OFT will have a duty actively to promote competition in the economy and there will be duty on the Competition Commission to develop remedies that promote competition and the consumer interest. We will consult on introducing a new criminal offence for individuals engaging in cartels - making those responsible for cartel behaviour personally accountable. This would send a powerful signal to those who bend the rules that this government is committed to effective competition and delivering a fair deal for consumers. We will not tolerate cartels. They are a sophisticated form of theft from consumers. So our competition policy will be good for business and good for consumers. These are radical steps. So we will consult first with stakeholders and we will publish our proposals in full in July. Another key area where we are determined to make progress is in creating a favourable climate for small businesses to start, innovate and grow. The success of our small business strategy depends on addressing the fear of failure. Ensuring that businesses do not fail unnecessarily and encouraging those who have failed honestly to try again. We will therefore introduce new legislation to reform the law on personal bankruptcy, to reduce the penalties for honest failure. We will also publish proposals in July for changes to the law on corporate insolvency. We want to establish a more level playing field among all creditors. This will give business creditors more influence over the outcome of insolvencies. As Gordon has indicated we will remove the Crown's preferential right to recover unpaid taxes ahead of other creditors. Another key initiative is a review I have set in hand of my Department's support for business. Business support is a vital part of DTI activity. We spend around £1bn a year on this. But I believe there is scope to target this investment in a more effective and coherent way. I have therefore asked for an urgent review to be carried out, focussing initially on our support for industrial manufacturing. The results of this initial review will be reported to me by late Summer. These are just some of the highlights of the proposals for business in this paper. There are many others I could mention. I believe this is a powerful package of measures which I am confident will have a major beneficial impact on enterprise and productivity. Click here to access the HM Treasury press notice on Enterprise for All. Click here to access the associated statement by Chancellor Gordon Brown. |
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Other speeches by The Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt
(the following are available from the archive) |
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