Firms ready to shoulder burden
Oct 28 2010 James Ramsbotham, is chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce
BBC Radio 4’s Evan Davis opened his interrogation of George Osborne on the morning after the Spending Review by demanding to know what was the Chancellor’s ‘Plan B’.
The Today programme presenter was vociferous in pursuing this line, desperate to glean how the coalition Government would escape from the mess when Plan A went wrong.
The knee-jerk assumption that the current course would end in disaster followed mud-slinging on all sides in recent months as to who was responsible for the current financial predicament.
The reality is that we are where we are. Recriminations will not solve the problem. We have been presented with a solution, the wisdom of which will only be fully understood in several years’ time.
We need to make a strong fist of delivering this recovery to make sure we get individuals and families back on their feet. In particular, a tremendous amount of the responsibility for driving growth sits squarely on the business community’s shoulders. We relish this opportunity.
NECC’s role at this time becomes ever more important.
The level of support and assistance it provides for its members will save them money, help them expand their businesses and also offers the best possible platform for companies trading globally.
Being part of a worldwide network of chambers, NECC provides solutions for companies at a range of levels to help them develop and thrive across the globe.
While the coalition Government has stressed the importance of the local agenda, it also used the Spending Review to reduce the resources that councils have available to deliver their services.
This will undoubtedly create a difficult environment for them to serve their communities. However, it is crucial that local authorities look first at the measures they take to support firms in their area. Businesses will not be able to deliver the growth required to bring the UK’s bank balance back to the black unless councils work closely with them to achieve this.
Some immediate areas to work on include the role of planning departments in bringing developments to fruition more swiftly and painlessly than currently happens and also for procurement teams to adopt a seamless and streamlined approach to awarding contracts that recognises the power of commissioning local firms to deliver goods and services.
Nationally, the Government must do more to encourage exports, which is why NECC was disappointed to see UK Trade & Investment’s budget cut. Chambers of Commerce can do much to prosper international trade, but this is made more effective when working in tandem with the public sector.
Finally, we must see a change in attitude on transport. Scrapping funding for the A19 upgrades is a mistake that will cost the North East dearly. Independent experts calculated the economic benefits of carrying out this work would outweigh the actual costs by £5 for every £1 spent.
Businesses are ready to shoulder the burden of the recovery, but we need the tools to do the job.
James Ramsbotham, is chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce
