MP says entrepreneurial potential “must be unlocked”

“Each of these businesses had a story of triumphing despite considerable setbacks, a spirit of resilience and determination, which will be more important than ever if we have a No Deal or a hard Brexit which takes us away from a close economic partnership with the EU.

“These entrepreneurs and thousands more like them need support and advice and funding like never before. It is such a difficult, uncertain time for businesses and making investment decisions is increasingly difficult.

“The entrepreneurial spirit is so strong in our country. We talked about the need to remove the confusion about where to go for business advice and for better access to finance. Many women, black and minority ethnic people, people with disabilities and anyone from a deprived community find it particularly difficult finding the support and funding they need. 

“I often reflect that we try to run an economy on the talents of only a fraction of our population. The entrepreneurs’ comments reinforced that feeling. We also talked about how hard it is for anyone trying to find funding for a business outside London and the South East of England.

“Sefton Central has many, many people bursting with ideas and potential. Too often, they lack the opportunities to realise their potential. We must unlock the dormant talent of the neglected regions of the UK.   

“There was great interest in the idea of a one stop shop for business support, where businesses can go to find the advice, mentoring and training that they need. The conversation focused on the need for much greater potential for government procurement with smaller firms and for large firms to make it much easier for a range of smaller firms to contract with them and to include social purpose in their procurement policies. The benefits of responsible and sustainable procurement include greater innovation and higher quality goods and services and flow from making the most of the talents across the whole economy. But they also include the importance of minimising carbon footprints.

“Small firms often struggle with complex and time consuming Pre-qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) and the need for sky high insurance cover. The limitations of such short-sighted contracting arrangements continue to be exposed by scandals like Carillion and the continuing struggles of Interserve. 

“Contracting directly with smaller firms, not least with those with social purpose at their heart offers a viable and sustainable alternative and is more in evidence in other countries like the US, who have targets for procurement including with businesses run by women, black and minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities and veterans.

“There is a global economic opportunity in tackling climate change, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates to be around $26 trillion. The UK has many successful businesses not least in the renewable energy sector. With the right support for businesses, we can be more optimistic about our future prosperity even at this moment of great peril especially as we already have many businesses leading in the low carbon sector.

“Like other MPs, I shall go back to talking about Brexit and how we sort out the mess we are in. But the discussion about business support was a reminder that if we make the most of the innovation and spirit of our businesses, we can have a vibrant future, however unlikely that might seem right now.”