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Alan Johnson MPStockport Chamber of Commerce and Industry Annual Dinner |
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Mr Deputy Mayor & Mayorness, President, Bishop, honoured and distingushed guests. Business in Stockport and the North West Your Chamber of Commerce covers a wide spectrum of business. Financial services: Independent Insurance, the Co-operative Bank call centre at the Pyramid. High tech manufacturing: BASF, BAe Systems. Top quality food manufacturing: United Biscuits and a special mention for Frederic Robinson, one of the country's finest brewers. And you are in a high technology region with enormous further potential. Business expenditure on R&D in this region is over £1 billion per annum with Unilever over at Port Sunlight and AstraZeneca just down the road from here and of course eight top class universities. We have recently awarded £9.7 million to Manchester and Liverpool Universities for a new Tissue Engineering Centre and encouraging further business links with the universities is very much part of the DTI's agenda. You are busy in Europe. Despite the very real and difficult problem with the strong pound, manufacturing exports from the North West to the EU are worth £7 Billion per annum. Well above the national average. And the companies exporting to Europe from the North West are not just the multi nationals. We estimate that almost 40% of small and medium sized enterprises in this region are trading with Europe. The Foot and Mouth Outbreak So the challenge is to maintain your position and grow. But challenges can arrive from the most unexpected quarter. And sadly, some of them are far from uplifting. As we are out in the country, perhaps you will allow me a word on the foot and mouth outbreak. I should like firstly to express how desperately sorry we all feel for the farmers, the families, the communities and the countryside businesses which are affected by this outbreak and I understand that there were more cases confirmed in Cheshire today. This has impacted on the countryside as never before. But our response to the outbreak must take account of the changes which have taken place in the countryside over the past 30 years. There are three important rules: 1.Obey all "keep out" and "closed" signs. 2.Do not go near livestock. 3.Don't leave waste food anywhere. But this does not mean that the countryside is closed. People can still visit rural and seaside towns and villages. They can travel to hotels, guesthouses or private homes using made up roads. Many footpaths remain closed but we are reviewing where footpaths can be safely reopened. In the meantime you can walk, ride or cycle as usual on tarred roads and rights of way which are open. It is desparately important to our tourism industry as we approach the Easter Break that visitors to UK attractions from home and abroad that it is safe to travel in and visit areas where no restrictions apply. Company and Individual Learning But what about the challenge to Stockport which is a flag carrier for change. You have excellent communications. An expanding airport. The newly completed M60 orbital motorway. And further good news on the way with the Commonwealth Games, the extension of the Metrolink to Stockport and the complete overhaul of the West Coast Main Line. With your excellent communications, you have a leading edge in Greater Manchester. But competitive advantage today may become the common currency of tomorrow. Whether the challenge arises from a new and regenerated East Manchester or from a slowdown in the US, there is never an opportunity to sit back and relax. Learning, educating, investing, upskilling is a lifelong pursuit for companies, communities and individuals alike. The Knowledge Economy And that is the importance of the Knowledge Economy. The overall level of skill which is needed to participate is increasing daily. This is why we are so determined to continue the drive to improve the skills of our workforce ready for the challenges of the future. In our White Paper "Opportunity for All in a World of Change" we have set out the vital next steps that Government, business and individuals must take to secure economic success in the decade ahead. This means: - measures to allow all regions to fulfil their full potential, for closing the skills gap, helping industry through restructuring and nurturing new industries as they develop; - an industrial policy which is active but not interventionist. Its not our role to pick winners or try to resist inevitable change;- and its certainly true that the government of business is not the business of government. We see a close link between the skills of individuals, the enterprise of communities and regions, the innovation of business and the ability of the UK to keep pace with and get ahead of change. We also see that a strong manufacturing sector is a vital and integral part of the economy. Our first task on taking office in 1997 was to lay the basic foundations for economic success . To ensure economic stability, competitive tax rates, investment in our science base, a regulatory framework which promotes competition and encourages enterprise. Now that the foundations have been laid we have a once in a generation opportunity to radically change Britain for the better. An opportunity to establish lasting economic success in every region. And that means Brinnington, Adswood and Bridgehall - some of the most deprived wards not just in Stockport but in Greater Manchester. We need to enable the talents of all our people to be put to use. We do so not just in the interests of social justice. But to ensure the continued strength of our economy. The reality is we simply won't be able to build a strong economy if we have a weak and divided society. We must ensure that success filters into all parts of the country. The North West Development Agency A better understanding of the links between the regional economy and local neighbourhoods has to be fostered. This is why we are strengthening the role of Regional Development Agencies. The North West Development Agency will be given additional flexibility to manage their finances within the Single Budget framework, boosting their effectiveness and efficiency. They will have full financial flexibility from 2002-03. This will include the ability to carry over their resources from one year to the next. But this will be matched by increased accountability through objectives and targets for meeting strategic goals. Support for Small Business A key battleground for the Government is to ensure that the flow of new businesses is maintained. This means new start-ups, and new activities for existing firms. Across the UK at any one time 1.4 million people are actively involved in setting up new business. Half a million actually achieve that goal. In the North West roughly half of all new business survives more than three years. We must increase that proportion. Finance for new business is a crucial issue. But new knowledge-intensive businesses with no assets behind them often find it difficult to raise money from the banks. Financiers may be hesitant to provide risk finance to start-up, knowledge-intensive businesses because the sectors in which they operate are new and unproven. This is why we are promoting funds such as the Enterprise Fund and the Phoenix Fund. The Enterprise Fund venture capital programmes are equity funds that will invest on a commercial basis, expecting good commercial returns. The Phoenix Fund is to encourage entrepreneurship in disadvantaged areas and within disadvantaged groups. The Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme offers support to viable business proposals that are unable to obtain conventional finance. Networking Funding is not the only issue. Quality advice and networking links such as those taking place here tonight are crucial. Information flows, whether informal or the more formal provision of business advice, are crucial in developing business and the Government recognises this. This is one of the reasons we have put such emphasis on the Small Business Service, giving it a much more powerful position in Government and a Chief Executive, David Irwin, who himself has a long and successful track record in running and growing small business. As well as the provision of top quality advice, one of the key priorities of the Small Business Service is the elimination of unnecessary bureaucracy. We're committed to ending the culture of "if it moves, regulate it". For example, we have increased the audit threshold (below which small companies are exempt from having to carry out a statutory audit) from its current level of £350,000 to £1 million. This will make the exemption available to an additional 150,000 companies and save business up to £180 million this year. In December last year we announced a series of measures to cut back unnecessary business regulations, including simplifying the complex rules on fire safety and on weights and measures which baffle many businesses - and streamlining the employment tribunal system. We do this because we recognise the vital importance of small businesses to our economy and want to do all we can to help them succeed. Toast to the Stockport Chamber of Commerce The Stockport Chamber of Commerce is one of a number of partners working with the Small Business Service in south Manchester to deliver business support services to the business community. This Chamber has a long and distinguished record of support to the local business community. So finally to finish I would like to propose a toast to the Stockport Chamber of Commerce. May you and your membership continue to flourish and grow to the benefit of the people of Stockport, the North West and therefore the country as a whole. The Stockport Chamber of Commerce. |
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Other speeches by Alan Johnson MP
(the following are available from the archive) |
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