Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill

Debate between Baroness Wheatcroft and Lord Mitchell

Wednesday 7th January 2015 Grand Committee

[Lord Mitchell (Lab)]

My Lords, first, happy new year to everybody. At Second Reading, the general tone that came from these Benches was that we welcome the Bill. We welcome it because we, the Opposition, realise only too well that national growth in productivity, investment, exporting and employment—all of which we desperately need—can come only from a strong political culture that supports small and medium-sized companies. The Government, and in particular the Conservative Party, want to lead us to believe something else, but we refute it. Labour stands for a dynamic business sector that will prosper with strong support and without the debilitating threat hanging over us of the possibly of the UK leaving the EU two years from now.

I must admit that even I have struggled to keep up with each of the announcements that the Government have made for various forms of funding for small business. Given that it is my job to keep up with all of this, I wonder what the average small business man at the sharp end makes of it all. Let us take a look at Funding for Lending. I said at Second Reading that I thought it was a flop, and the Minister—the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe—chastised me and said that I had got it wrong. But I still have to say that I do not think I have got it wrong; I think I have got it right. Much of the funding that has been advanced to the banking sector has been assigned by the banks to the business areas that they know well: in particular, mortgage lending, which is easy, profitable and relatively risk-free for them, as opposed to lending to small businesses, which is hard work and risky, and probably cannot make anything like the same return.

Predictably, they went for the easy option and the route that minimises risk and maximises profit. As a business, why should they not? But that is not what the Government said was going to happen. Investment in small business has made little progress, which is why I called it a flop. The noble Baroness may think otherwise but I can assure her that, based on my own background in equipment leasing, I know the SME funding scene. She may be told by the banks and by her officials that small businesses are being helped, but I speak to those at the coalface and know that many businesses strive in vain to get vital funding. We have to do more to help them.

With that in mind, I turn to this first group of amendments. They are designed to ensure greater security and understanding of the action that the Government are taking with the aim of supporting small businesses. They will enable us to better account for the effectiveness of the steps taken in this direction. The first of the two amendments requires the Secretary of State to undertake an immediate strategic review of the key issues affecting small businesses and, in doing so, design better policy interventions to support them. The second requires that, allied to this strategic review of what small businesses need from government, the Government should publish an annual report which details the steps that they are taking. Taken together, the intention is, first, that there will be a greater level of strategic thinking about the correct policies to support small business in the future and, secondly, that Parliament will be better able to scrutinise these policies.

The truth is that this is required because all is not well with regards to the policy framework for small businesses. During the term of this Government, they have been adversely affected by a £1,500 rise in business rates in what by any account have been difficult trading conditions. It is our view that they should now see a freeze or a cut in business rates. This is one immediate step that could be taken towards supporting small firms. When it comes to receiving advice about how to strengthen and grow small businesses, the landscape remains confused. I have to say that when I go around and ask those who are running small businesses what is the main issue that really bothers them, it is business rates—so this needs to be looked at very seriously.

In the United States, the Small Business Administration represents a successful model for providing support and advice, and indeed for directing policy, and one that we should look to imitate in this country. It is often easier for large companies, especially those which can pay for lobbying advice, to understand how to approach business and how to look for the support that government may be able to provide. In the UK, responsibility for small businesses lies with the Minister of State, who has additional sectors to his brief. In the US, the head of the SBA is a member of the President’s Cabinet: surely we should have the same prominence here.

Perhaps the most important area which the report sought by these amendments should look at is access to finance. There has been a great deal of activity with the intention of improving credit conditions for small businesses—but, as I have said, with only limited success. The Federation of Small Businesses’ Voice of Small Business index shows that small firms are struggling to get the finance they need and still require greater competition and choice in the banking options available to them. Without improvement in these areas, we are unlikely to see significant improvements in credit conditions. The latest Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey shows that credit availability fell slightly during the last quarter, while Funding for Lending figures show that net lending to small businesses remains negative, despite improvements for larger businesses. This issue will arise throughout our discussions in Committee and these figures provide the backdrop to it.

The amendment would also require the Secretary of State to look closely at how best to support small and medium-sized businesses that want to export. This is vital and goes to the heart of the kind of economic recovery we want to experience. The news over the recess that the UK’s current account deficit is at one of its highest ever historic levels should serve to focus our minds on the importance of exports. The export-led recovery that the Chancellor promised has simply not taken place, and to meet the impossible target of £1 trillion a year by 2020 would require nominal growth of around 10% per year—way above current levels and, I must say, way beyond anything I can imagine.

The OBR’s latest forecast has revised down the contribution that trade is expected to make to GDP growth for every year of the next Parliament. Policy action taken to improve this does not show much sign of having a positive effect. The £5 billion export financing facility has helped few businesses. This is a huge missed opportunity. Also, I simply do not understand why we are forever cutting back our embassies and trade capabilities. You cannot set up an environment for export if you are not represented in the countries concerned. In my travels, I frequently come across foreign business people who say that the UK does not take their own country seriously and how good it would be to have more ministerial and trade visits.

Finally, we need to see increased help for those who want to recruit apprentices. The number of apprenticeships actually went down last year, so this is another area that the Government could usefully look at both in terms of future needs and the efficacy of current government policy. I hope that the Minister will be able to accept these amendments, which represent a good way of combining strategy planning and support for small businesses and the effective scrutiny of policy interventions. I beg to move.

[Baroness Wheatcroft (Con)]

My Lords, I take issue with these amendments. What we do not need is another report into the problems that small businesses face. There is no shortage of information on these problems, not least from the Federation of Small Businesses, to which the noble Lord referred. We know what the issues are. There is not enough finance available for small businesses. One of the things that this Bill attempts to do is make access to finance easier. It also includes lots of measures that will help small and medium-sized businesses. However, what those businesses need is action now, not another delay while another report is produced. As we get regular feedback on what the legislation does, that will become more than apparent. Organisations such as the federation will not hesitate to make clear what they think about what the Government are doing. This would be just another bureaucratic exercise when what we need is action.