BHCC - Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce

The Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce is this week launching a national Charter for Business Recovery – a campaign calling for government support in two specific areas that the Chamber believes will stimulate business growth and stop the economy ‘flatlining’.

The start of September saw a number of further indications that the national business economy is still faltering. In particular, on Monday last week, gloomy figures about the performance of the UK service sector during August sparked a rash of newspaper articles and an ITV news report from Brighton, featuring Robin Scott, of Brighton’s Makemedia, and Rob Shepherd speaking for the Chamber, which happily concluded that Brighton was faring better than the nation as a whole.

This report was followed mid-week by a renewed call from the Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, for the government to institute a so-called ‘Plan B’, focused on a drop in the VAT rate.

However, as mentioned by Rob Shepherd on the ITV News at 6.30pm last Monday, the Chamber’s plan is much more specific. Julia Chanteray, president of the Chamber, explains: “Ed Balls’ drop in VAT may be a welcome shove in the right direction but we don’t believe it’s enough to inspire a real business recovery: not while bank wallets stay closed and businesses wonder how they are supposed to finance new products and services, the bedrocks of growth and new employment.”

The Chamber’s plan falls into two parts: banking and taxation. Julia Chanteray continues: “Whatever the banks may say, ordinary businesses know that affordable lending is either hard or impossible to find, even for extremely safe, sure-fire companies. Banks claim to be lending but are hiding behind annual targets that are easy to dodge.

“So part one of our plan calls for banks to report their lending rates, lending targets and actual commitments on a monthly instead of an annual basis. This will create a transparency we don’t presently have. And to make this work, we’re calling on the government to take the lead, demanding this monthly transparency from the banks that we taxpayers still own, following the bailouts.”

Part two of the Chamber’s Charter for Business Recovery focuses on taxation. “While the government is so committed to cuts, there’s little point asking for extra spending,” continues Julia. “So our Charter is designed to stimulate new business investment – not least from the banks – without reducing HMRC’s overall income.

“In short, we’re asking for tax breaks for new product and service development, very similar to tax breaks already enjoyed by some industries for R&D, but spread across manufacturing and service businesses. When new products and services succeed, businesses pay tax on them and HMRC benefits. But while they’re being developed, short-term tax breaks make it attractive to finance their development.”

She concludes: “There’s been a lot of talk this week about needing a ‘Plan B’ or, if you’re a government supporter, a ‘Plan A Plus’, but not very much substance. So the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce, knowing what’s really needed on the ground, is taking the initiative and starting a national call for some specific measures which we believe should be at the root of any ‘Plan A Plus’.”

For further information please see The Argus news article or contact Sarah Springford, director, Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce, tel: 01273 719097, email: director@businessinbrighton.org.uk

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