Businesses and the Regions

My hon. Friend is prescient as always, because that is precisely my next point. The question is: what should the Government do now to help business in the regions? First—this relates to my hon. Friend's point—they should not dilute agencies that are meant to aid business by loading on to them functions that they neither want nor need. I have had a string of meetings with RDAs, all of which made it clear that they do not want the planning powers. I look forward to meeting an RDA that does want them, but none has contacted me yet. As the regional assemblies are collapsed, the idea of transferring planning powers to the RDAs makes no sense. That is why we propose instead that responsibility for the regional spatial strategies should return to the hands of local government—to people who are directly accountable to the communities that they serve. Secondly, the quality and accessibility of business support needs to be sharply improved. The Minister confirmed that the Government had announced a reduction in the number of business support schemes last week, but I am yet to be convinced that Ministers really understand how and why business support must be business led, not Whitehall driven. It is also clear, however, that we need to look ahead to see how we can strengthen the economies beyond the south-east. To do that we need to ensure that the future of economic development is closer to the real centres of economic activity. After all, the administrative boundaries of the regions rarely reflect local economies. Let us take my county of Hertfordshire as an example. Hertfordshire's economy faces south towards London, but we are lumped in with East Anglia. The M27 corridor along the south coast, for example, is a natural travel-to-work area, but the Government have split it into two regions. The future lies not in Whitehall-led policies, with artificial boundaries, but in enabling closer co-operation both between local authorities and between councils and businesses. After 16 years of continuous economic growth, business is facing the harsh prospect of declining demand and shrinking cash flow. It is vital for businesses, in whatever region they lie, that we focus on how we can help them to survive. That is why my party has set out positive ideas to help them to cut costs, keep jobs and ease cash flow. That is also why the Government should strip their procurement budget of needless red tape, to enable small businesses to compete for this valuable work. I hope that Ministers will consider carefully the suggestions that we have made in this debate. All tiers of government have a part to play in the coming months to help businesses survive. Like the rest of us in the public sector, the Government must not forget that it is not they who create wealth, but business. Business creates the wealth and jobs on which the rest of us rely. It is important that Government Members remember that.