Leicestershire Chamber represents its members' interests and works with government at all levels to help influence the debate and promote a business-friendly policy agenda.
This section highlights current activities being undertaken to achieve this.
This page is edited by Max Boden, Policy Manager
Contact: 0116 204 6606 | boden.m@chamberofcommerce.co.uk
The British Chambers of Commerce along with consultations with Chamber member companies has produced a handy one page precis ninety-day plan for Business Growth called Delivering for Britain.
Based around the four topics of Public Finances, Infrastructure, Employment and Trade & Exports this gives an at a glance look at what business would like from government to help UK Business Growth.
When the General Election was announced, the President of Leicestershire Chamber wrote to all candidates to set out the case for business. The text of her letter is given below. A copy of the Leicestershire Chamber’s Manifesto for Business can be downloaded.
Our message is simple:
- A new relationship between business and government is essential if our nation is to recover from the current economic crisis on equal terms with the rest of the world providing the basis for sustained success in a world of change.
- The Chamber is very conscious that the private sector must add new value to the economy and generate that true growth to secure everyone’s future.
- It takes a genuine commitment to a constructive relationship, at all levels of government, to make that possible.
Our manifesto sets out what we look to government to address and offers in return what members and the Chamber can do with that support to make it happen.
Overall the impression is that the shock of the last quarter’s situation has abated and members have stabilised their businesses, although their weak cashflow situation makes them vulnerable.
The sharp fall in the level of sales has reduced and pessimistic forecasts of future business have proved to have been exaggerated. This has helped to limit job losses. However there remain significant skills shortages and the reduction in training spending will not help businesses to recover quickly when new opportunities emerge.
Manufacturers continue to feel the pressure but have shown signs of responding to the favourable exchange rate and the reduced cost of raw materials.
A full copy of the report including statistical analysis and graphs can be downloaded for your information. If you have any comments please contact Max Boden.
To ensure that the right information is available in one place to all businesses contending with the current economic slowdown, there is now a single point resource giving information for all assistance from government to businesses.
This information is up to date and comprehensive, covering survival programmes covering financial help, financial health checks as well as growth initiatives dealing with investment, access to advice, expertise and skills.
The link to this single resource is www.realhelpnow.gov.uk
This covers all initiative by all government departments and agencies.
As an association of businesses the issue of business crime is of importance to us, and our members. We regularly work with the police and other local associations to find ways to reduce crime, to make our members more aware of ways in which they can work together to reduce crime and, if crime has occurred, to make it easier for it to be reported.
We are very pleased to be associated with the launch of a new website www.bizcrime.org.uk, funded by the LSEP, in consultation with Leicestershire Police, which gives more information on this and provides an easy online reporting tool in which local businesses owners can report any incidents to the police allowing it to be matched with similar incidents and reported to the police and other authorities.
Do you know a business that is not doing things by the book? Does it make you angry that other businesses get away with flouting the law? You are not alone; a recent Department for Business study, found that over half of small business believed their profits were affected by the unfair trading practices of rivals. The recently introduced Consumer Protection and Business Protection Regulations have given Trading Standards Officers greater opportunities to tackle a much wider range of unfair practices.
In order to fully utilise these powers, Leicestershire Trading Standards is looking to obtain more information on rogue traders. Officers wish to encourage more local businesses to report unscrupulous traders on the rogue reporting site rip off tip off. The site allows anyone to leave information in the strictest confidence, and anonymously if required. If you have any information about a business’s unfair practices you can report it at:
