The Coalition’s first 90 days – good for business?
GWE Business West’s assessment of the
Coalition Government’s first ninety days in power – has it been
good for business? Set against the British Chambers of Commerce
twelve clear policy challenges how well have the government
performed?
Overall we would say that there has been mixed progress – with
excellent results in some areas, whilst other key barriers to
business growth have not been addressed and remain a concern to our
members:
- Need for greater clarity on local planning – in order to ensure
that businesses are not faced with further barriers to growth in
the future
- Need for a clear commitment from Government to strengthen UKTI,
rather than weaken it through cuts
- Need for clear commitments to roll out high-speed broadband in
underserved areas, with clear timescales and a longer-term vision
for technological change
- Need to maintain, and even grow, investment in
productivity-boosting infrastructure – clarity on the state of
Britain’s business infrastructure, transport, energy, and digital,
is critical for long-term investment planning.
Phil Smith, Managing Director of GWE Business West says, “The
Coalition’s overall progress after ninety days has been
encouraging. Early action on deficit reduction and burdensome
employment regulation has been strongly welcomed by business – and
many of the measures in the Chancellor’s emergency Budget struck
the right balance.
“However, business wants to see more progress in areas such as
international trade and reform of the UK’s planning system. Many of
the Coalition’s proposals on planning have been disappointing,
including the decision to abolish the Infrastructure Planning
Commission. We are concerned about the gap between national and
local planning, its implications for future growth and our ability
to plan for longer term strategic growth.
“We challenge the Government to build on the good progress it
has made over its first ninety days, and to look again at areas
where it can do more to remove the barriers to private sector jobs
growth.”
Click here to see the
British Chambers of Commerce Report