The Business Magazine launches ‘Setting the Agenda’ study in partnership with James Cowper Kreston

Business is often a central topic of political debate but what do business owners and senior decision makers really think government can do to make a difference to their prospects?

The Business Magazine is partnering with James Cowper Kreston, leading accountants and advisory firm, to take a deep dive into this question that will explore the disconnect between government policy and decisions which affect the business community in the Thames Valley and the Solent.

The partnership with  James Cowper Kreston, who are specialists in working alongside SMEs to help them maximise their potential, will consult extensively with business communities in each region and gather their views on what the Government must do to support business.

The research will then be presented to influential two think tank groups in the Solent and Thames Valley who will consider and debate the data from our research.

Their findings and the highlights of the research will then be published within a pull-out magazine within The Business Magazine in March which will then be presented to key government figures. 

The film industry has provided a major economic boost for the Thames Valley 

James Cowper Kreston Managing Partner Sue Staunton said: "As a firm, we have always very strongly believed in not just being service providers to businesses  but being with them on the journey  as part of the sector they operate in.

"We see that there are issues and that there is disengagement between people working in business and what is going on in terms of policymaking.

"It is really important that messages get to policymakers about what is really needed rather than what a lot of consultants think is needed.

"We want to facilitate a discussion, bring people together and ensure they have a voice."

The next General Election will be held no later than January 2025 with the real prospect of the United Kingdom seeing a new administration come to power for the first time since 2010. 

The research and Think Tank will look at attitudes from the business community to this potential power change and what it could mean for the business prospects in the Thames Valley and Solent. 

Sue Staunton said: “There needs to be a real understanding of the sorts of businesses there now are in the UK and not base policy around the businesses that there were in the UK pre-pandemic.

“Our political leaders need to recognise the constant need for change in business and be flexible in supporting that push for change.

“There is also an interplay between business and the wider community that needs to be recognised as it is an integral part of the world that we now live in.”

The study will also probe the outlook of enterprises in the Thames Valley and Solent, how they have performed since the pandemic, their experiences of exporting and doing business overseas since Brexit while also exploring their intentions to make investments and acquisitions over the next 12 months and beyond.

“We need to recognise that we are in a global market and the need for companies to operate on a global stage has to be embedded within policy making, said Sue.

“Decisions have to be made about what sort of economy we want and then the strategy made to fit around the businesses that will power this economy and keep them going not just for next five years but in the longer term.”

The research will also look into the productivity experience of business owners and senior managers in the two regions to gain an insight not only into the causes but the potential changes that could be made to improve it.

Sue Staunton said recruitment was a key component of the productivity problem as companies struggle to find the people with the right skills to fill their vacancies.

“A lack of engagement with innovation and technology can also be linked to poor productivity as companies are unable to use new ways of doing things that solve problems in the modern economy, she added..

“There is a need to replace tried and tested methods that are no longer as effective.

"We are behind some of our overseas competitors when it comes to making efficiencies. A poll of more than 4,000 G7 business leaders in the G7 productive business index showed that UK businesses lag behind their peers in all the biggest developed economies except Japan, due to a lack of investment and improvement in areas such as management and leadership, technology adoption and innovation.

“This is also linked to mindset and management and trying to do the same things in the same way as they have always been done.”

One of the Government’s biggest levers is the tax system and it has shown in recent years with R&D tax credits and tax incentives, which has attracted some of the world’s biggest names in film to the South East, that tax can be used as an incentive to drive change through innovation.

The R&D tax credit system has been altered in recent years and this study will probe business reaction to these changes alongside gathering views on how else the tax system can be used to help support business.

Sue said: “R&D tax credits are impactful and you also have other schemes that incentivise investment such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme. Schemes like these help to support
businesses to maximise their potential and we need to ensure that the UK tax system incentivises business growth and investment”