Business welcomes Queen’s Speech
THE Queen’s Speech unveiled plans to hand the Bank of England more powers over the banking industry and inject new private capital into the Royal Mail.
The 22 Bills and one draft Bill indicating what David Cameron’s Government hopes to achieve cover a range of sectors from airports to green energy, but the emphasis was on cutting the deficit and restoring economic growth, a theme welcomed by business groups.
Under the Public Bodies Bill the Government will seek to save a further £1bn by cutting bureaucracy and slashing the number of quangos.
This eagerness to cut back on public spending has cast a shadow over plans to convert an area around Manchester’s Piccadilly Station into a new home for 5,000 civil servants.
The plan – dubbed “Whitehall of the North” – is meant to save money by moving jobs from London but it will require a substantial financial commitment from the Government.
Liz Meek, regional director of Government Office for the North West, said: “While the detail of the implementation of the new Government’s priorities is not yet known we will continue to explore the potential Mayfield offers for savings and sustainabilty. We expect the Government’s view on relocations will be considered as part of the spending review in the autumn.”
Under the Financial Reform Bill there will be a shift in responsibility for the macro-regulation of the banking system from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to the Bank of England. There was also an NI Contribution Bill which will block next year’s 1% rise in NI contributions by employers.
Miles Templeman, director-general of Institute of Directors (IoD), said: “The Government is obviously right to identify deficit reduction as the ‘first priority’. But it will now be important in the forthcoming emergency Budget that ministers stick to the implied commitment in the Conservative manifesto of a four-to-one ratio of spending cuts to tax rises.
“We believe the UK has a problem of too much tax already and have argued throughout that the deficit should be tackled with the vast majority of the emphasis on public spending reductions. This is the best way of securing recovery.”
John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general, said: “The coalition is right to put deficit reduction and securing economic growth at the heart of its first Queen’s Speech. The programme that has been set out is ambitious and far-reaching with a clear sense of renewal. Businesses recognise their responsibilities and look forward to playing their part.”
The Forum’s of Private Business’s head of campaigns, Jane Bennett, said: “Hopefully, the measures outlined in the Queen’s Speech will go some way to getting the nation’s finances back on track without jeopardising recovery.
“As the Forum has already argued, the compromise reached over National Insurance contributions isn’t ideal and will still create a bureaucratic burden for smaller firms. However, it is preferable to the larger increase previously proposed by the last Government.
