A different approach is needed

Aug 26 2009 by Kevan Carrick, The Journal

THE call to wean North firms off welfare has sparked an 'interesting' debate. It's been a pet subject of mine for some years. While Government grants and tax incentives have their place, they also lead to a dependency culture.

Of course, the North East has been dependent for many years on Government aid and that reliance is becoming greater. According to a recent report from the Centre for Economic and Business Research, State spending is likely to account for over 63% of the regional economy in 2010/11. That level cannot be sustainable.

In exceptional times I have no problems with otherwise viable firms receiving a hand-out. I cannot see the point of bailing out the banks if we do not protect the fabric of our economy too.

Hand-in-hand with this approach, however, firms must wake up and smell the fair trade coffee. In the brave new post-recession world we will all need to do things a little differently.

At this point, I’d like to give an unashamed plug for Business Link in the North East.

There is a plethora of new Government announcements and campaigns, such as ‘Real help for business now’ and ‘Solutions for Business’, offering all sorts of help and Business Link is the best place to start steering a course through them.

The help available falls roughly into two camps. The first is a guide to the grants, loans and guarantees available. Business Links can point you in the right direction.

The second is advice on how to get help to improve performance, including a free business health check – which is where we start getting back to reality. Free workshops and seminars offering practical advice are available across the region on various dates under the Keep Your Business Fighting Fit campaign and I would advise all firms to check out what is available at www.eventsnortheast.co.uk.

The workshops cover such areas as managing cash, risk management, training and marketing and from next month it will also include advice from a chartered surveyor on how best a company can reduce its costs.

Kevan Carrick is partner in JK Property Consulting LLP and Policy Spokesman for RICS North East