Businesses and the Regions

The debate comes, as the Minister suggested, at a time of great financial uncertainty. Businesses throughout the UK face falling demand, rising bills and—as was mentioned with regard to the banks—a squeeze on their finances. Throughout the country, businesses fear that the boom of the past 16 years is turning quickly to bust. The Prime Minister may be in denial, but many of our constituents do not have that option. They face potential redundancy, and the businesses that they have built up over many years face closure. That is why I believe that the Government should scrap their planned tax rises for small companies. What, for example, is the economic logic of increasing small company corporation tax by £370 million in this of all years? As business owners in Cornwall said to me recently, they need a tax rise like they need a hole in the head. We need further action. The Government should cut payroll taxes for the smallest employers to help them save money and thus keep jobs. Conservative Members want to help more small firms claim business rates relief. The Local Government Association reckons that, across England, only half the eligible firms benefit from the relief, despite its being worth up to £1,100 per annum. More needs to be done to help eligible firms claim that money, and I am pleased to say that my party is leading the way. May I bring to the Minister's attention the concern about Government contracts that was raised with me when I met businesses in Birmingham last month? As he said, we have some excellent high value manufacturers and service firms in the midlands. Yet some of the newer small businesses told me that they feel excluded from doing business with the Government because of the red tape around state procurement. The Government are the biggest purchaser of goods and services, spending roughly £125 billion this year alone. What needs to change? First, the Government should scrap the rule that requires three years of audited accounts before firms can even be considered for bidding. Secondly, small firms in more remote locations need to be able to access contracts online more routinely than they can at the moment. Some contracts are online, but such a service is far from comprehensive. I have rural enterprises in east Hertfordshire, and their ability to keep track of Government contracts is limited, partly because of their location. Many Members will find that that applies to businesses in their constituencies if they are located away from major urban centres. To help them, all state contracts worth more than £10,000 should be published online as a matter of course, not on the current ad hoc basis. Thirdly, there should be a single pre-qualification questionnaire for Government contracts that are worth less than £50,000. If a firm pre-qualifies for one Department, what is the logic behind making it go back to the beginning and reapply to another Department, given that it was clearly eligible for one Department? Taken together, those reasonably small steps could make a big difference to many businesses in my constituency and, indeed, in every region.