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The Rt. Hon. Patricia HewittWomen in Rural Enterprise Conference |
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| (Delivered by Tim Evans on behalf of the Secretary of State)
I would like to start by offering sincere apologies from the SoS. I know that she was very much looking forward to being here today, but as you will appreciate she is a very busy person and involved in a lot of parliamentary business which has resulted in increased pressure on her diary commitments. I have, therefore, been asked to deliver the speech on her behalf. As Izzy explained in her introduction, I work for the Small Business Service. The SBS is an agency within DTI. The SBS vision is that the UK should be the best place in the world to start and grow a business. I have particular responsibility within SBS for support for start-up businesses and rural issues so I was more than happy to represent the SoS.I hope that you get what you want out of today - whether you're thinking of starting a new business, returning to work, considering a career change or wishing to progress with your current employer. Looking around, I can see that you have certainly brought together some impressive exhibitors, employers and other organisations, and most importantly women from many backgrounds. The challenge I would now like you to imagine that I am the SoS, difficult I know, whilst I deliver her speech. Both I and my colleagues are really excited by the potential for women to seize the initiative and establish new businesses which may transform both their own - and their families' – lives. Given the right opportunities and support, you can also help transform the UK economy and help us achieve economic growth. The challenge for Government is to ensure that the right level of support is there, at the right time, in the right place, so that any woman, from any background, who feels "perhaps I could have a go at that.." is enthused and enabled, rather than deterred. The Vision We want to ensure that opportunities for enterprise are open to all: young or old, male or female and regardless of ethnic origin or where people live. Government is committed to encouraging more women to start businesses - UK scores well in relation to other European countries, but poorly in contrast to the US compared to which we have relatively low levels of entrepreneurial activity amongst women, but there is good news too. Latest research shows that the number of women starting up their own business is on the increase:
The Barriers Well, women have to overcome more hurdles than men including: a lack of confidence, sex discrimination, not being taken seriously, and raising a family. Whilst many women believe that their home life improves with work it is the skills and experience they gain from organising a family that gives women an advantage in organising and setting up business. We have to build on this. Business Links/SBS Action to Support Female Entrepreneurs This is where the Small Business Service and the Business Link network are playing key roles, alongside private sector service providers such as banks. There is a wide range of activity that is going on around the country through Business Links and others, to provide flexible support to women entrepreneurs. For example, Business Link Shropshire is making great efforts:
This is the kind of service we need to make sure is available to many more women than at present. Much more could and should be done, and there is much scope for innovation. Support for women entrepreneurs is very much at the heart of SBS' efforts to promote enterprise. Tailored support services for women have been part of the larger picture for many years, but now they are receiving renewed attention. SBS is actively examining other ways of overcoming the specific difficulties that women may face when setting up a business. The opinions voiced at events such as this one are an invaluable input to this urgent work. Effects of Foot and Mouth I know that many rural businesses have been hit hard by the affects of FMD, and that these difficulties have been exacerbated by the slump of tourism following the events of 11 September. I know that the West Midlands region was particularly badly hit with calculated losses of £2.1 billion in turnover and some 6,000 jobs lost. The affects have been felt across a broad section of rural communities and the Marches (Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire) were particularly hard hit with some 460 farms directly affected by having their livestock culled. With hundreds of others seriously disrupted by the associated impact. Government Support The Government has made substantial amounts of funding available to help the region recover. This was delivered via a variety of programmes. Firstly, by the enhancement of the existing Farm Business Advisory Service, to enable farms directly affected to receive quality advice and assistance in developing plans for their future, this could either have been restocking or looking at ways of diversifying into other areas such as Tourism and Leisure. Secondly, through the Rural Task Force (RTF) established by the Government but led in the West Midlands by Advantage West Midlands with a range of partners including the SBS and regional BL network. The RTF examined ways to provide additional assistance to the most hard-pressed communities. The RTF established the Rural Recovery Fund (RRF), which has allocated £4million to small businesses in the West Midlands so far. The majority of this has been to businesses in the Marches with £2.9million being given in grants to 252 businesses. Businesses like those of: Tracy Lankester – a Fitness & Nutrition Consultant Tracy is a personal fitness trainer/consultant who has developed a programme which includes the pursuit of outdoor activities which are carried out in the hills and tracks around her base in Little Stretton, Shropshire. Her grant was spent entirely on marketing and advertising. Lou Fielding, Fielding & Co. – whose business involves Bespoke Catering/Corporate Entertainment Based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Fielding & Co's business relied heavily on servicing outdoor events and agricultural shows. Her grant has been used to invest in new equipment, marketing, IT equipment and training. Jennifer Brereton, Prints & Originals Jennifer publishes limited edition prints of livestock that she sells at agricultural shows. Her grant is being used to purchase new printing equipment, marketing material and IT equipment, enabling her to expand into markets in New Zealand. Thirdly over £0.5million was made available to the Heart of England Regional Tourist Board to underpin additional promotion of the Region as a viable open for business tourism location. The majority of this support has been delivered through the Business Link network, in the Marches, Shropshire and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Business Links under contracts from both the SBS and Advantage West Midlands. They have worked with a wide range of local, regional and national agencies and partners to ensure that a cohesive recovery strategy was developed and the most effective implementation plan designed. ICT / Sectoral support As previous Minister for e-commerce, the Secretary of State was very keen to report that women's use of IT is increasing. However, the number of high tech and IT related firms started by women is still relatively small - and is dwarfed by the "domestic and personal services" sector. Government is starting to address this imbalance, and DTI, in partnership with DfES, is supporting a new strategy to address specialist skill needs in IT, electronics and communications. Part of this must be to support more women to acquire professional level skills and encourage them into ICT careers in greater numbers. We are undertaking an investigation of how other countries tackle this problem to see what we can learn from them. And we will seek to address the particular needs of women as we work with industry both to improve the image of ICT jobs and to improve recruitment and retention practices. There is also a Women's Unit in the Government's Office of Science and Technology, which is working to help women get in, get on, and stay in science, engineering and technology careers. ICT in Rural Areas Latest research shows that small firms in Britain's rural areas are more positive and better prepared to use computers and the Internet than their counterparts in other parts of Europe (according to The Impact of Information and Communications Technologies on EU Rural Areas, published by Small Business Research Trust, December 2001). Responses from more than 1,000 people living in rural areas revealed a wide, and growing, use of computers and the Internet at both home and work. Small businesses with experience in using computers were positive about making more use of e-commerce and tele-working in the future. If we could persuade as many women as men to go into IT, we would have done a lot to overcome many current skill shortages. Women can and do excel at the technical stuff; women are also strong on key employability skills, such as communication skills, team working, business awareness, that are so vital to IT jobs. So what action is the Government taking to meet these challenges?
The White Paper also recognises explicitly the challenge of women's participation in ICT; a stated goal is 'for the UK to match the best of our competitors with regard to women's employment in ICT'. But we also must be honest and say that Government alone will not solve this problem. What we need is a partnership between business, education and Government if we are to make a difference. We need to improve the image of ICT, getting more girls and women to appreciate the potential of it in their everyday lives, to become enthused about it and to want engage in it, either through a vocational education or via a non-technical route; and we also need the positive role models from teachers and business women who are succeeding in IT. We need to ensure girls and women have the right access to IT in schools and colleges, working and social lives. We must ensure that the learning and career paths in ICT are defined in ways that have meaning and relevance to women. We must also address the business culture that militates against women's recruitment into and retention within ICT employment. Barriers: Confidence, Caring, & Responsibility I mentioned earlier that lack of confidence is the single greatest inhibitor to women either starting or developing a business. And of course there are other factors: women still do the lion's share of the work in caring for children and elderly relatives. I believe very strongly that the range of family friendly policies - including moves on parental leave, part-time working, improved maternity rights and time off for emergencies - which the Government has introduced will help all women in employment. These measures will enable more women to take their place in the world of work, to gain experience and develop new skills and -most importantly- to gain the confidence and self-esteem that is needed to go it alone in business. Women are already playing a vital role in British business. I firmly believe more have the potential to do so. The task of the Government is to provide a climate in which their natural flair, creativity and determination can be channelled even more effectively into the world of enterprise. But it's all of you who will really make a difference. Finally, I would like to thank everyone involved in planning this event, all the exhibitors, employers and other organisations that have come together to make today such a success. In particular, I would like to thank all of you for attending. I wish you all the best of luck for the future, and hope that today has provided food for thought and encourages you to make changes for the better in 2002. |
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Other speeches by The Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt
(the following are available from the archive) |
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