FSB Business hustings at Allianz Park

Tonight we had the Federation of Small Business Election  hustings at Allainz Park.

The event started with  a 3 minute video/advert for the  FSB.

Chair Michael Lassman introduced the event by stating that under the coalition small buisness have lead the country out of recession by working 20% harder for 20% less money. There were murmurs of approval. With that he allowed the panel to intoduce themseves.

Alasdair Hill, the Hendon Lib Dem candidate said small biz  was the life blood of country. He said the Lib Dems had helped by jumping into bed with the Tories, thus putting (ministerial limo's) the country before party. He emphasised that only the Lib Dems committed to a strong UK in the EU.

Next up was Richard Hill Finchley and Golders Green UKIP. He runs local jujitsu club and is married to British Indian. He's worked in the UK and abroad. He loves foreign food, but hates an EU superstate (or words to that effect). He thinks over regulation from EU stifling business, because the  EU creates regulation. HE believes that you do not have to be in EU to trade with them, and that if we left the EU everyting would be just fine.

Next up we had Luke Parker,  Tory candidate Brent North. HE's the son of a pub landlord. He works for IBM. Rather bizarrely, he said his Dad spent his life in front of computer figuring out regulations, when he was small. I am guessing his age, but I'd say that when he was small, the only computers available were mainframes from IBM and not too many pubs had them in. Maybe he's just had a hard life and he's really only 14? He's paassionate about small businesses (although not enough to leave his job working for a multinational). He was pleased that 385,000 small firms paying less rates and that Govt procurement from 6 to 10% with small businesses.

Next up was Poppy, the Barnet Green. She told us that the greatest threat is sustainability. We need a Democratic voice and the other parties in hock of big business. She was here to reassert the right of small small business to vote green to stop other parties selling out. She believes in hyper localism.

Finally we had Sarah Sackman from Labour. She comes from small business background. Her Grandfather still lives above the family biz,  which has recently  gone on line. Sarah believes there is no contradiction between wealth creation and social justice. She feels there is no justice if for millions work doesn't pay and  millions work every hour and can't pay bills.

The 1st question was about min wage & London living wage.

Luke supports London Living wage and believes it can help rebalance economy

Poppy said the Greens been pushing longer than everyone and we need a less polarised society. She observed very few jobs lost to living wage.

Sarah said that raising people out of poverty is a key priority and can be done by strengthening living wage. She advocates Tax rebates for employers who opt in to living wage. 

Richard said  there are two aspects. It affects small biz and  that regulating market creates black market. It's all down to EU that we have a bigger black market than ever.

Alasdair Hopes for an increase in minimum wage.

Q. Which of their parties policy is best and worst for Small business

Sarah said the best is to cut and freeze biz rates and the worst to increase nat min wage.

Alasdair said best is  small biz bill forcing large companies to pay SME's on time. The worst was the commitment to capital investment is too slow

Luke said the best is getting finance to SME's . Worst and the worst were policies that don't help thehigh street.

Richard said the Best was to leave the EU and cut regulation. Worst. I don't know as he waffled about nothing in particular.

Paul Shea, former owner of Tally Ho discount asked  "do candidates recognise the damage done to high street by council parking policies"

Poppy said Paul is a prized campaigner. New pay by phone policies had terrible caused decline and Barnet was the worst council in the world. Starbucks don't pay their taxes. She said it is Not ok to let high street die. She will raise rates relief, reduce vat on cooked food.

Helen Michael, Finchley traders campaigner then stood up. She explained that she'd represented traders of North Finchley. In 5 years they'd collected 20000 sigs, attended meetings but all actions had been ignored. Arrogance & ignorance of councillors was unbelievable. Traders need a helping hand. She said time for politicians to stop talking and take action.

Luke said the problem comes from lack of disclipline in Council (maybe he's a fan of 50 Shades of Grey).

Richrd said Councils don't care about small biz. He said the public don't eaither as we all shop at Tesco and Sainsbury. UKIP have policy of local referendum, where 6% of local voters can trigger a referendum to address such issues.

Xohan, a local trader asked,  do you support local council planning control

Alasair said betting shops are a scourge. Greater restrictions on betting machinesare needed. He said we need imaginative localised planning regimes.

Sarah said  it is ironic that Barnet council Tories claim to champion local business yet has facilitated the demise of local High St. She will lobby the council to bring in fair parking and that local authorities need to be able to spend tax locally

Q. Lots of SME's have problems accessing finance.

Luke. Obviously an issue. Tories have prioritised over last 5 years

Poppy. Big banks haven't lent. Greens will control banks and  Break big banks up.

Richard rather uncharitably replied "Beware green communist" (he clearly doesn't know his political hisory). He added the current govt only interested in big corporations

Alasadir said the Greens &. UKIP miss the point because the coalition has released £3 bil of financing for SME's.

Sarah said one thing we need to address is competition in lending.

Q. Which party will bring criminal prosecutions against bankers. 

Sarah said we need to send out a message that bankers that it is unacceptable to break the law.

Luke said that  vilifying banks all the time is a bad things.

Local Tory agitator Dan Hope tried to trip up Sarah Sackman with a barbed question about Sweets Way "Under what if any circumstances is it ok to squat in commercial property"

Luckily for Sarag, Richard rode to her rescue. He said it is Ok when no democratic accountability

Poppy added  that the  Unregulated. Property market cused the problem as Government has made it illegal to occupy private property.

A Question from UKIP Activist Victor Kaye followed. "The London plan for housing says 40% min for affordable housing. Lucky to see 25%"

Sarah said there was no contradiction between wealth creation and social justice and that affordable housing is too expensive. She added we need political will to build social housing.

Alasdair said the housing squeeze was hurting business as workers need  local places to live and  Direct action is OK in cases where democracy has failed, but protestors need to think of end game

Richard said the housing crisis is all the fault of immigrants.

Q. COuld the £50 billion for HS2 how could that be better spent?

Luke.  The money could be spent elsewhere, but didn't really elaborate.

Sarah. Supports HS2. And said that it is no accident that leader of Manchester council wants HS2. All this is critical infrastructure to keep the nation ticking over.

Alasadir Supports HS2 for redistribution of wealth. He commented that it is funny that the greens are against HS2 as they like public transport and hate air travel. He said he'd move the start of HS2  north ????

Richard said HS2 is complete madness aimed purely at centralising power in London and a new report by lords undermines biz case. Odd really that a candidate wants to take wealth away from his own rejoin/

Micael then finished witha 2 mins slot for each, asking

Where would you vote against your own party?
 

Luke said "If not in Brent North interests. He added that it is right FSB are apolitical but said we are nt facing New Labour but old Labour and his campaign needs dosh!"

Alasdair said "In the last 5 years Lib Dems stabilised the economy, will balance deficit and won't borrow as much as Labour"

Richard said . All parties support EU apart from UKIP. He added thatBritain isn't a democracy.

Poppy. All other parties  big biz parties and all support TTIP (Richard objected and said UKIP don't. The Barnet Eye helpfully suggested that UKIP & the Greens form a coalition).

Sarah said she was  Rebutting Luke. She said the tories were supposed to be a Tories a party of effort. Too many people working too hard for too little. Fundamental betrayal of citizens if top 1% are only beneficiaries.

And that folks was that!

FSB Business Breakfast at Cafe Buzz - 2/2/2014

Now I don't normally blog too much about these meetings, unless there is something which warrants bringing to a wider audience. This morning we had just such an event. Poppy, the local Green party parliamentary for Chipping Barnet candidate addressed the meeting. One may think that of all the parties, the Greens share the least common ground with the small business communitee. I would certainly have jumped to this ill informed conclusion, but in actual fact, Poppy did an excellent job to dispel this impression.

So this morning I set off for Cafe Buzz for the regular first Monday of the month network meeting. This normally is a chance to catch up with a other local business owners, make new contacts and have a very pleasant breakfast. This morning it was freezing when I set off (see picture below), in fact as I have damaged my ankle, I thought twice about going. Bed seemed a better option. Anyway, you don't get to be Barnets top blogger by lying around in bed on a Monday morning!

She used the meeting to canvass business owners and find their views on how we can enrich and enliven our High Streets. The Green Party are supportive of the concept of local micro businesses, rather than huge multinational conglomorates, who siphon cash away and avoid paying taxes.




Poppy used her presentation to discuss some of the feedback. She spoke of the need for better public transport for local High Streets. Ideas mooted were free bus services on a Saturday, periods of free parking in local bays. Poppy noted that large supermarkets and centres such as Brent Cross have free parking, allowing their huge multinational chains an advantage over the small local High Street retailers. This cannot be fair. She talked about using local markets to reinvigorate the High Street and bring footfall in, but not in a way that canibalises the existing local trade. She said a recurring thing is that many see local High streets more as a destination for cafe's, restaurants and niche outlets, rather than for your weekly shop. I tend to think this is more true for affluent areas suchg as Mill Hill than working class ones sugh as Burnt Oak, where there is a thriving and vibrant retail environment, catering for the specific needs of the locality. It is interesting that you can get a better selection of fresh fish in Burnt Oak than you can in Mill Hill, which has a far higher retail turnover. Is there a lesson there for us.

Michael Lassman who organises the events has done a brilliant job in setting the events up. He's organising for the next three events before the election to have candidates from the other main parties. It is good for business to engage with politics.

As for Poppy, much as  I love her and believe her heart is firmly in the right place, I think that the Greens have zero chance of doing anything in the Borough of Barnet other than splitting the progressive vote. I think this is a real shame, because the House of Commons would benefit from a few MP's who are concerned about sustainability rather than vested interests and corporate sponsors. I've thought long and hard and it is a scandal that in the UK a party can have a majority in Parliamemnt with 37% of the vote. That means that 63%, the majority, have no representation at all. Whatever you may think of the Tories and Labour, it is 100% clear that both represent very clearly defined powerful vested interests. In a grown up, sensible democracy, we should have a bit more consensus. The one thing all of our mass media are keeping very quiet about is the fact that under the Coalition (love it ot hate it), we are now seeing the UK economy performing at levels far better than the rest of the developed world. Strangely no one has thought to say "Hang on, maybe the fact that decisions are agreed between two parties has resulted in a better quality of decision being made". None of us know what state the economy would have been in had David Cameron had an absolute majority or had Gordon Brown managed to secure another term. What I do know, is that under the coalition, our national GDP is increasing at levels unheard of under either Tory or Labour governments, compared to our nearest competetors.

One thing I've learned in life is that no matter how good a plan I've come up with, it has aways become a better plan when I've discussed it with another intelligent person and asked for their input. I cannot believe that George Osborne's economic planning has not benefitted from some rigorous analysis from his Lib Dem colleagues, in a way that a bunch of his own colleagues, keen to jostle for promotion and favour would not.

As a nation, we really need to have a long hard look at our political structures. I think everyone was impressed that Poppy came down and talked to business owners. I think most would feel she could play a positive role in the way we run our community. If this is the case, is it a good thing that our political system excludes her and the 13% of the electorate she represents. I am not a Green and I would not vote for them, but to exclude them is completely anti democratic. It does our country no favours at all.

If you run a small business and want to meet other business owners, pencil in the first Monday of every month, 8am at Cafe Buzz. It is well worth the effort. It costs £5 and you get a drink and a snack for yoru money. If you are lucky (or unlucky) you may even get to say Hi to me!

Barnet Council - Happy to help you run your business!

Today the Council posted the following press release - http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/604/council_to_host_business_expo

Council to Host Business Expo

Council to Host Business Expo

Published Monday 13 October 2014

Barnet Council and Re, the council’s joint venture with Capita, will be hosting a Business Expo on 23 October. At the event, local businesses will be able to tell the council how services can be improved and find out how to become a supplier to the council. Visitors to the Expo will also be able to hear from other businesses such as Action Coach and Pro Actions on topics like accessing finance, preparing business plans and doing business with the council. 

The Barnet Business Expo will take place at the council’s offices at North London Business Park (Oakleigh Road South) from 9:30am to 2pm. As well as exhibitions and networking opportunities, there will be seminars and workshops repeated throughout the day, so that business representatives can attend at the times that suit them. 

The event is part of a wider effort from the council to consult on proposals to make Barnet the “best place in London to be a small business”. The final proposals will be considered by the council’s Assets, Regeneration and Growth Committee on 15 December.

Barnet’s reputation as a borough of entrepreneurs and small businesses was enhanced last year as figures show that there were more small business start-ups in the borough than any other outer-London borough (Office for National Statistics Business Demography, 2012).

To book a place at the Expo event, or to find out about sponsorship, please e-mail barnetbusiness@barnet.gov.uk or visit www.barnet.gov.uk/barnet-business-expo. 

Chairman of Barnet Council’s Assets, Regeneration and Growth Committee, Councillor Dan Thomas, said: “I am delighted that the council is putting on this event and I am sure it will prove to be a worthwhile forum for local business leaders and decision makers to discuss how we can make our borough an even better place for business. 

“Barnet is already a borough of entrepreneurs with nine out of ten businesses in Barnet having ten or fewer employees. We want to explore what support the council can meaningfully give small businesses to grow in the borough.” 

 

There are many things I would like to tell the council about how they work with small business. I will however stick to a few pointers based on issues reported to the Barnet Eye.

 

1. Implement business friendly parking policies, such as restoring cash pay and display.

 

2. Conduct rates appeals in a timely fashion. There is no good reason why a local authority should sit on other peoples money.

 

3. Do not send Capita's Equita bailiffs into businesses to collect debts which are in the proces of being paid.

4. Cut red tape for small scale suppliers. One local business had to do a 56 risk assessment simply to replace filters at a local authority run school pond. 

5. Attend local events organised by the Federation of Small Business and other organisations. 

6.  Include  a "benefit to local economy" scoring in all contract awards big and small in Barnet. 

7. Stop wasting huge amounts of money on expensive consultants producing "High Street Regeneration schemes".

8. Protect sites that are used for business purposes and make it easier to amend the classification of business premesis, especially when there is strong local support. Give local people a say in change of use applications. 

 

9. Pay their bills to small business. The last dealings I had with Barnet Council, they refused to pay a £25 bill for a man with mental health  issues, who they had arranged to have "drum practice sessions" as part of his therapy. I was told that "the paperwork wasn't in order". To recover this money, would have cost me hours, so sadly I decided it wasn't cost justifiable. The end result is I don't do business with Barnet Council and one man with mental help issues couldn't carry on having drum practice. 

The council has a limited role to play in promotion of small business. I've been to plenty of  small business events organised by the council. Leaders listens business breakfasts and a couple of engagement with Capita meetings. It is always the same, fine words are said and nothing happens.  

 

As I say, I don't believe the conspiracy theories, but I do see the wastefulness. I speak to other people in other businesses and I see the pattern repeated. At recent business meetings, I've spoken to various people who tell me that Capita will make the Council more business like and business focussed. I am not so sure. I wish Councillor Dan Thomas well in his bid to improve things. I will not be attending. I have been to far too many such events and all have been a waste of time. Until fellow business owners tell me "Things are changing and the council is listening" what is the point. If the council want to prove they are listening, the secret is simple. Bring back coin operated pay and display and have 30 mins free parking in selected High Street parking bays. Every business I've spoken to agrees that this will help High Street regeneration and show the council is taking the issue seriously. 

And before you start saying anything, my business doesn't need High Street Parking, we have plenty on site. It is one of the reasons we are successful. On the first Monday of every month, there is a Federation of Small Business breakfast at Cafe Buzz in Finchley. This has been going for two years and apart from Michael Lassman, who organisese it, I am the only person to have attended every single event. I've met at least half a dozen very useful business contacts, including the website designer who has helped us generate a 60% increase in our business, and the photographer who has taken most of our publicity shots. It's not that I don't believe in such events, its just that I don't have any faith that the council will add any value until they show they are prepared to listen. 

It would be good to see Councillor Dan Thomas at Cafe Buzz on the first Monday of November. Maybe that would be a start.

Where is the cheese shop Matthew Offord promised us?

Perhaps the oddest election pledge from any MP anywhere was the one Matthew Offord made to the people of Mill Hill if elected. he promised us a "high quality cheese shop". One year on and it seems that whilst he's happy to campaign for human rights for Jack Russell terriers (at least I think that's what he was on about), he's conveniently forgotten the pledge to open a cheese shop in Mill Hill Broadway.

I must confess that I am partial to a nice bit of Roqueforte and a mature cheddar so I was hoping that Offord would actually deliver on his pledge.

Whilst Matthew's pledge has caused much myrth, many people have asked exactly what he said. I was told this by a voter I was convassing who asked Mathew what difference he'd make. He replied "Only the Conservatives are business friendly. Only the Conservatives create the environment where businesses thrive. I'd make sure that our town centres get the support they need to thrive. I'd make sure that places like Mill Hill Broadway are the type of place where someone would think "That's a great place to run a cheese shop, a thriving High Street".

I wrote the quote down. The Tories have been in charge of Barnet Council for nine years now. Is anyone aware of any new cheese shops anywhere in the Borough? We got a branch of Iceland to replace Woolworths, we've got several new bookies, including Paddy Power and Corals, We've seen plans for the Garden Centre to become a school. We've seen the Dizar gift shop come and go. Have we seen any of the small shops, which Matthew Offord was saying are vital to a vibrant High Street. No.

So what small businesses have done well in Barnet under the Tories? Well it may surprise you to know that there are plenty who've made a mint. Matthew Offord said that he'd "like to make it easier for people to run businesses without getting bogged down in red tape and bureacracy". He has lived up to his word on this. a small firm named Metpro Rapid Response was able to get £1.4 million worth of business from Barnet Council without any red tape or bureaucracy whatsoever. No contract was ever signed. Invoices were paid before purchase orders were raised. No checks were done to see whether CRB forms or licenses were in place. Sadly Matthew hasn't yet informed us whether he thinks that a bit more bureaucracy may have been a good thing. There are also stacks of small  businessmen operating as consultants getting paid a fortune by Barnet Council. One of these is the consultancy firm operated by Mr Andrew Travers. He works as Barnet Council's Deputy CEO  and his company gets paid around £14K  a month for his services. There are apparently 9,700 vendors who supply services to Barnet Council. I wonder how many of these have official contracts? I wonder how many of these get invoices paid before purchase orders are raised?

I run a small business. I am a member of the Federation of Small Business and I'd love to see Cheese Shops and other small businesses regenerating the High Streets of Barnet. Sadly, it seems to me that if you are in the business of setting up Cheese shops in Barnet, or any other sort of small business which is not council subsidised, you will get no help whatsoever. Here's an example. A friend of mine who runs a landscape gardening firm had to bid for some work with the Council. He had to fill in a document with over 60 pages of procurement documentation and 13 pages of legal documents. All of this for a contract worth £50K. He simply couldn't believe that Metpro could operate with nothing, having been forced to jump through so many hoops.

Let me tell you another thing. Several years ago, before I was a blogger or politically active, I discussed the issue of Business rates appeals with Tory Councillor John Hart. He said "They are a waste of time. The council always wins. I was on the rates appeal board for 13 years". I informed him I'd won several appeals and got thousands of pounds back. His response "We'll I find that rather hard to believe" (this was a bloke who'd knocked on my door, trying to win my vote). I've subsequently advised at least a dozen other small businesses in the process and all have achieved a reduction and a rebate.

Anyway I have this message to Matthew Offord MP. It is time to start living up to your promises to REAL small businesses. It is time to start "creating an atmosphere where someone would think Mill Hill Broadway is a great place to start a cheese shop". You may want to see just how much interest Matthew Offord MP has taken in small business - Here's his recent appearences - http://www.theyworkforyou.com/search/?pid=24955&pop=1#n4

A manifesto for small business

A few interesting facts

84% of new jobs created between 2002-2007 were created by small businesses
53% of small businesses have introduced new products in the last 12 months
Over 50% of turnover small businesses goes straight back into the local economy
Seven pubs close every day and 24,000 people have lost their jobs due to pub closures in the last year
Local authorities made £1.6 billion from parking charges in 2005, Barnet made more than any other Borough last year
13.5 million people work in small firms
Small firms contribute more than 50% of the UK turnover

I spent the afternoon at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) offices in a meeting helping to draw up the FSB's manifesto for the forthcoming elections. I've been a member of the FSB for a few years as I think that small business needs a voice. Now I'm just an ordinary member of the organisation and the meeting was open to any interested business. The FSB is not politically aligned. It's job is to make the voices of the diverse world of small business heard.

At the meeting yesterday there was a rather diverse group. Podiatrists, advertising agencies,  It firms, music studios,etc. Strangely enough, all of the people present had rather similar views and issues on the problems we face. As you know, in Mill Hill we've been pushing for free parking for one hour in the town centre. I raised this and guess what? Everyone agreed. Other Boroughs have different schemes, but parking is a huge issue. It affects, customers, deliveries and business owners.

The other issues which came up were the problems with Banks and the problems with bureaucracy.It seems that not a week goes by without more legislation, more rules and more costs imposed by the government. Another general gripe was the way local authorities make it virtually impossible for small local businesses to tender for contracts. Given that small firms are more likely to employ local workers, it seems obvious to me that every effort should be made to encourage local business to bid.

In my experiences with Barnet Council, there is no understanding whatsoever of the small business sector. This is why I am supportive of the Leader Listens business breakfasts, which at least starts a dialog. I was a little disappointed with the response from Barnet Council when I contacted them to let them know I was attending the meeting. I guess that there excuse will be that they will claim that they thought I was just fishing for reasons to bash Barnet Council on this blog. Sadly they never seem to see the bigger picture. There is nothing I'd like more than to say that Barnet Council is the most business friendly Local Authority in the Country. I doubt that will happen until there is a strong group of Councillors who have experience of successfully running local businesses and whoa re prepared to work across party lines to improve the Council.

I have a question for Deputy Leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Andrew Harper, who hosted the business breakfast. You heard my contribution to the meeting. Presumably you've read the blog I wrote about it. Presumably you've read this blog. Do you think it would be  a good or a bad thing if Barnet Council was recognised by the FSB as being the most business friendly borough in the country? Sadly, I have to report that this is not the current perception.

Anyway, I've said my piece, here's what I'd like to see happen.

- As many small business owners in Barnet join the FSB, so that we can effectively lobby the Council
- Barnet Council invite the Federation of Small Businesses to address a Leader Listens Session
- Barnet Council Officers and Councillors read the FSB manifesto for business
- All candidates for Council and Parliament publish their CV and so we can see their successess and failures in the world of business and their careers. Who employs anyone without reading their CV.

Please Note : This blog is my personal opinion and is not necessarily the official position of the FSB.