Executive Director’s Report
March 2008
The campaign for better transport links stepped up a gear with MPs challenged on rail services to Rugby, transport links, transport links across the Welsh border and new ways to fund transport needs. The campaign to stop plans for new housing clouding out the needs of business was heard in London and in Birmingham. The Minister for Crime Reduction agreed to be our keynote speaker. A new report has revealed that Midlands businesses have a real chance of getting work from the sponsors to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Transport
Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber, West Midlands Business Council and Rugby Council joined forces to call on the Government to improve rail services to Milton Keynes and its surrounding area.
Senior Institute of Directors figure and Chairman of the West Midlands Business Council’s MKSM Working Group, Richard Ward, said:
“With the Government deciding to increase the population of Milton Keynes and the surrounding area to around 2 million people, the requirement for better transport services between the Midlands and this area will become a basic need”.
“However, if the 2009 train timetable is followed from 2010 onwards, then services from Rugby – close to this growth area – will remain inadequate and not up to the job of meeting increased demand”.
“The 2009 timetable will already mean a reduction in services to London from Rugby in the peak morning period and cuts in services to Preston and other parts of northern England”.
“While this is a serious problem over which the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber have rightly sounded the alarm if this timetable is followed from 2010 onwards it will make preparations to address the expected increase in population harder to cope with”.
“That is why for the first time, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber, West Midlands Business Council and Rugby Borough Council have joined forces to call on Rail Minister, Tom Harris MP, to ensure the rail timetable is up to the mark to cater for the expected increase in demand”.
Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Rugby Branch Chairman, Simon Leech, added:
“The growth of Milton Keynes and the surrounding area is a concern for the businesses of Rugby, but is also a massive opportunity. This is why having an efficient regular rail service is so important for Rugby. With the proposed growth of Rugby over the next twenty years the borough will need a regular service to London. If the service is not up to scratch it will severely harm the businesses of Rugby. One of our biggest strengths is our transport infrastructure and we will do everything in our powers to make sure it stays in place”
Councillor Neil Campbell, Rugby Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economy, Development and Culture stated:
"In the light of the growth levels planned in the West Midlands, and in particular Warwickshire, and in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area which includes Northampton and Daventry, it is vital for the capacity and frequency of rail services between Rugby and the Milton Keynes growth area to increase and to allow Rugby to remain a hub for passengers travelling to London and the North West”.
“The current timetable is inadequate and unsustainable."
In the meantime, the council leaders in the West Midlands conurbation decided that road charging – which may have released new money from the Government for transport improvements would not go ahead. This was the back ground to a speech delivered by the Minister for the West Midlands, Liam Byrne MP, who said that new ways had to be found to fund transport improvements.
As a consequence, the West Midlands Business Council – with colleagues from the Federation of Small Businesses – met with the Rail Division of the Department for Transport in London. It was agreed to work with the Department on new ways to fund critical public transport improvements.
However, in addition, the West Midlands Business Council said the Welsh Assembly Government should also be helping out in funding cross border transport links – a call that was praised by the main Welsh newspaper, the Western Mail in its Good Friday edition.
MPs were told that money should be found to improve transport links across the Welsh border.
In a submission to the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee, the West Midlands Business Council called for co-operation between the Welsh Assembly Government and English public agencies to improve transport links and public services.
West Midlands Business Council Executive Director, James Watkins, said:
“If politicians and officials from England and Wales put their heads together they can find ways to improve public services and transport links across the border”.
“We have called for English public bodies and the Welsh Assembly Government to share the cost of financing major transport work, such as key by passes, more road bridges and a better rail network”.
“Rural urban areas also need better access to public services - so we have called for the Welsh Assembly Government and English bodies to share the cost for setting up one stop shops for people and businesses on both sides of the border to get access to the services they need to boost the economy and serve the needs of local people”.
“Different marketing of the Welsh Mountains – depending on which side of the border you are on – won’t drive tourists to this beautiful area. Co-ordinated marketing across the border would help to do the trick”.
“We welcome the decision of the House of Commons’ Welsh Affairs Select Committee to examine the issue of cross border services”.
“We hope this inquiry will be the long awaited development we have all been striving for to end the bureaucratic red tape that holds up the delivery of top quality services for people in the border areas”.
Skills
The Minister for the West Midlands, Liam Byrne MP, launched an action plan to tackle the skills crisis.
The West Midlands Business Council had campaigned long and hard for real workplace training, a careers service that fits the needs of people of all ages and qualifications that make sense for businesses.
We are delighted all these points – and more – are included in the action plan.
We are grateful to the West Midlands Business Council colleague and Birmingham Chamber Council member, Clive Stone, for all his hard work in gaining these successes.
We will now campaign for the implementation of the action plan.
Crime
The Minister for Crime Reduction, Vernon Coaker MP, will be the keynote speaker at a major crime busting conference.
The West Midlands Business Council – in association with Birmingham City Council – will be holding its Annual Business Crime Conference at Birmingham Council House on 18 June.
West Midlands Business Council’s Regional Business Crime Forum Chairman – and Federation of Small Businesses’ Regional Policy Unit Chair - Mike Cherry, said:
“We are grateful that the Minister for Crime Reduction, Vernon Coaker MP, has agreed to be our keynote speaker at a major conference to be held in Birmingham on 18 June”.
“The aim of the conference is to bring the police, local authorities, the Regional Development Agency, Crime Reduction Partnerships together with businesses together to exchange best practice and ideas in the fight to combat business crime”.
“This is not a moment too soon. With the Government Office statistics showing that business crime costs the West Midlands £14,000 per hour we can simply no longer sit back while the criminals hold back our businesses as well as the creation of new jobs”.
“The pain and hardship caused by business crime must not be forgotten and our aim is for this conference to be the turning point for all concerned in the fight against business crime, and we are grateful to Birmingham City Council for their kind support of this event”.
This is a free conference – but numbers are limited. For attendance, please contact the West Midlands Business Council on 0121 245 0140 or e-mail info@wmbusinesscouncil.org.uk
Planning
The Government has been warned that thousands of new homes across the Midlands should not be at the expense of creating new jobs.
The warning from the West Midlands Business Council came in response to a Government consultation – technically known as PPS 4. The aim of the consultation is to set national planning policy, which all councils would have to follow, which would place the needs of business at the heart of the new national planning regime.
West Midlands Business Council Deputy Chairman, Dr Sarindar Singh Sahota OBE, said:
“Ministers are spot on in saying that from now on the needs of jobs and the economy will be at the heart of the national planning regime. If there is not the land for business growth then the jobs we need to create in the Midlands just won’t happen”.
“But what is odd is that while the Government – on the one hand is saying the economy must be centre stage when it comes to planning – it is also saying on the other hand to local councils that it should increase the number of new homes to an extra 400,000 homes across the West Midlands region over the next 20 years – without any clear understanding as to how this relates to the need to create jobs”.
“This excludes the new homes that the Government may push for with the creation of new ‘eco towns’ here in the Midlands”.
“We have set out our red lines in our response to the Government. We have said that for planning rules to accommodate the needs of business, new housing must be planned with infrastructure – not make a decision to build new homes before working out how to sort out the infrastructure – and that new homes must be near land for jobs – otherwise we will just create the sink estates of the future, with plenty of homes but little opportunity for local people to get local jobs”.
“If the Government accepts these red lines, not only would this be good news for business – but it would also mean that Ministers can meet their aims for more homes and a better economy”.
“Our campaign for land for jobs and land for homes to go hand in hand will not let up – it makes sense for business and it would be good news for Midlanders”.
In the meantime, West Midlands Business Council colleagues questioned a Government official who gave assurances that the needs of business will be addressed in a study the Government is undertaking as to whether or not extra housing is needed in the region.
However, in the same month, the Government also said that new towns – dubbed as “eco towns” – could be created in south Staffordshire and south Warwickshire. The West Midlands Business Council will be responding to this development.
Tax and Regional Public Agencies
The Government has asked for views on how regional public bodies should change – which would include an introduction of a new tax on business.
Business has responded swiftly to today’s development. West Midlands Business Council Chairman, Barrie Williams, said:
“When Ministers first suggested changes to regional public bodies last summer the key issue was whether the voice of business within the public agencies was to go because of plans to abolish the West Midlands Regional Assembly”.
“However, deep within the document that was published at that time – known as the Sub National Review – were plans for local councils to introduce a new tax on businesses – the Supplementary Business Rate”.
“Business has responded with alarm at this development. For with plans for 2010 to remove the business voice from the Assembly and the introduction of a new business tax at the same time, many firms complained they will face taxation without representation”.
“These firms are right – any suggestion of a new tax as part of the regional shake-up – whilst abolishing the voice of business alongside the abolition of the Assembly – just won’t wash. Taxation without representation cannot work in a mature democracy”.
“We will read today’s document carefully and will respond fully so that the interests of business across the West Midlands region are not forgotten in the charge to change the public agencies”.
Research and Development
West Midlands Business Council has been invited to be part of a working group – convened by the West Midlands Higher Education Association – to make it easier for businesses to access R&D opportunities. It has held its first meeting.
Olympics
It has been revealed that Midlands firms could gain valuable work from multinationals who are sponsoring the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In a special report - prepared for the West Midlands Business Council by Warwickshire firm, Commercial Doctor Ltd, available free to all West Midlands regional businesses on www.london2012.com/business - it reveals that multinationals would welcome the flexibility of small and medium sized firms to help promote their image before and during the London 2012 Games.
Firms can then register on this site for the new tendering service from the Olympic organisers.
Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive and Chair of the West Midlands Business Council’s 2012 Games Business Taskforce, Louise Bennett, said:
“Today’s report is just what small and medium sized businesses across the Midlands have been asking for – a straight forward common sense guide to getting work from the millions of pounds that will be spent by multinational firms backing the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games”.
“It is the flexibility and ingenuity that small and medium sized businesses have to offer – especially here at the heart of the country – that will help the sponsors project their marketing”.
“The report reveals the top ten business sectors that have a good chance to gain work from the 2012 sponsors, which are:
- Marketing, Branding, Public Relations and Website Development and Management
- Travel, Transport and Accommodation Management
- Temporary Staffing, Recruitment and Training
- Event, Venue and Overlay Management
- Corporate Hospitality
- Temporary Buildings and Structures
- Merchandising – products, logistics and services
- Audiovisual recording and broadcasting services
- Facilities Management
- Security services
“With sponsors ranging from Lloyds TSB to McDonalds, the opportunities for getting a piece of the action are significant”.
“Midlands firms no longer need to work in the dark to get this work – this free and easy to read report is just what firms need to take that first step to boost their bottom line”.
Advantage West Midlands’ 2012 Games Business Manager, Jim Johnston, added:
“This confirms what we felt all along – that as well as the £10 billion or so worth of direct contracts from the London 2102 Games, there will be many more billions of pounds worth of business from London 2012-related sources”
“We urge West Midlands firms to seek these out, starting by registering on the new London 2012 ‘business dating service’, CompeteFor, at www.london2012.com/business”
Further information on business from the Games can also be found on www.ready-for-business.co.uk and www.villagesupplychain.com | 
