Helping small and medium-sized businesses

I set up my first small business after having been a partner in a major firm of accountants and consultants for a number of years. One day I was surrounded by sophisticated accounting and expenses systems, secretaries and administrative support; the next I had to do it all myself. I remember my then business partner and I going to our first sales pitch and ending up afterwards in a rural post office in Kent where the manager kindly let us have a table on which to stuff envelopes with our first mail shot and post them. Setting up your own business can be a lonely affair and it is nice when someone's on your side.

As this was the dark days of the last Labour Government, I knew that the then Government was not on my side. How much easier life would have been, for example, if the previous Government had been as serious about cutting red tape as is our current Government. The article by Business Minister, Mark Prisk, on Conservative Home pushes home this point http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2012/02/mark-prisk-mp.html Red tape not only costs cash; it costs time. That is something you do not have lots of when you are setting up your own business and when you need to keep your focus on winning new work.

For all businesses, of course, cash is king. Having experience of international trade, I set out to ensure that each year at least half our income was generated in foreign markets with which we were familiar, including the Middle East. Good prices; but perhaps with more difficult cash flow implications! To be fair, our bank was reasonably understanding at the time but something like the National Loan Guarantee Scheme would have helped. Under this scheme, the Government will allow participating banks to raise up to £20 billion of cheaper funding over the next two years under a Government guarantee provided that the lower cost of funding is passed on to small businesses.

Finding funding other than from the banks has always been a problem for small businesses. Schemes like the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme which provides tax breaks on investments in early stage start-ups would have been something we would have seriously looked at to encourage venture capital and diversify rather than rely purely on bank loans.

If Government measures to help get money in to the business would have helped us, so would measures to limit the money going out. For many small businesses, business rates make up a significant chunk of expenditure. Doubling small business rate relief for two and a half years is a measure which I know from small businesses in my own constituency has brought real help. And when it comes to tax, a combination of the corporation tax cut for small businesses to 20%, the doubling of tax relief for entrepreneurs and the simplification of the tax system are all most welcome.

Whether you set up your own company or you chose the route of self-employment, this is not just about the Government encouraging growth and business for their own sake and that of the economy, important though they are. This is also about encouraging aspiration and helping those that wish the exciting challenge of living their dream through business to do so in the knowledge both that Government is on your side and that the Conservative Party has MPs who understand what you are going through because they have been there and done it.

Hosting Housing Association report launch

I hosted a reception in Parliament yesterday (31st January) to launch a report on the performance and efficiency of housing associations in England. The report, produced by the Chartered Institute of Housing, looks at how well-equipped the sector is to respond to change and how Housing Associations can deliver value for money.  South Oxfordshire's leading player in this field, SOHA, was a major contributor to the report. In 2009, SOHA was the first housing association to achieve a 3 star equivalent rating for Value for Money and Resident Involvement.

The regulator for social housing will shortly be producing a new regulatory standards framework for this sector and one result will be that there will be less monitoring from the centre and more powers given to tenants and their representatives to hold landlords to account. This mean there will more emphasis on value for money and the challenge of doing more for less.

I welcome the initiative of the Chartered Institute of Housing and all three providers involved in carrying out this study. Affordable Housing is a key issue for this constituency and I was glad to see this constructive approach to ensuring they deliver value for money. I am pleased that the new regulatory standards framework will give more power to tenants.

I was particularly pleased to be able to welcome SOHA to Parliament including the chairman of its Board, Carole Burchett, who is also a tenant. I have been pleased that SOHA has invested so much time in establishing good relations with its tenants and I have also been pleased to have been asked to be involved on a number of occasions.  What this report shows is that to get the best economies of scale you do not need to be a big, national housing association and that associations with the geographic concentratioin of SOHA can have an advantage in their closeness to their tenants."

In addition to changes in social housing regulation, the Government is committed to bringing about greater transparency within the Housing Association sector as a driver of efficiency and accountability.

Richard Peacock, SOHA's Chief Executive, commenting on the event said: "I was delighted that John hosted the launch of this important report. The government is right to challenge all housing providers to deliver value for money. Tenants expect high quality services and clear accountability. I'm pleased the report shows that Soha is delivering value for residents and that we are a good size to continue to remain an effective housing organisation based in the Oxfordshire community."

Engagements in 2011

As in the past, I have prepared an analysis of the engagements and activities I have undertaken in support of the constituency for the past year. In 2011 I undertook 254 engagements. These included almost 30 visits to schools or other educational organisations, over 20 visits to businesses or meetings with businesses, and over 20 meetings with charities and local councils.

MPs are based in Westminster Monday to Thursday. These types of activities are generally undertaken on constituency Fridays, and over weekends (especially for surgeries) as well as in the parliamentary recesses. The variety of these activities was wide in 2011 but a key compenent was my visit to 80 villages in the late summer in the course of 8 days – the most direct face-to-face engagement programme conducted by an MP in this constituency.

Trailblazing Thame

When I was wriritng Open Source Planning, the paper on which the Government's planning reforms are based, I had a firm belief that given the opportunity to shape where they live, local people would want to participate with confidence and would do so positively. What I heard on Wednesday when the planning minister, Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, and I came to listen to feedback in Thame on how its Neigbourhood Plan was coming together showed just how positive people were finding the whole experience.

Neighbourhood Plans are a key component of restoring local control over the planning process. They can make a big contribution to shaping the future of a local community and in Thame's case that means not losing its market-town character. Unlike the old-style parish and town plans Neighbourhood Plans become a formal part of the planning system.

Local residents who had been involved so far recognised the need to plan for the future of the town and they were setting about doing it with enthusiasm and with a long-term view. My experience has been that the fears from some developers that such plans would be NIMBY charters and used to frustrate development are being shown to be misplaced.

My congratulations to the Town Council for organising the feedback session. I believe that all of us who were there found the experience of great assistance. Thame is amongst the first in the process of putting a Neighbourhood Plan together – what the Government calls a frontrunner. After what I heard, the town's own description of themselves as a 'trailblazer' seemed perfectly appropriate.

Fears for local oak trees

Fears have been raised that oak woodland in the Henley constituency could soon be attacked by the Oak Processionary Moth. Its caterpillar attacks the leaves of oak trees and is a major source of leaf loss. The pest has spread widely in London, where it was only recently first discovered in the UK, and has proved difficult to control.  The moth is native to central and souhthern Europe but has spread north as far as Sweden arguably as a result of global warming. The caterpillars of the moth are covered with irritating hairs which contain toxins which can lead to skin irritation and allergic reactions in humans including respiratory problems.

The moth has already reached Pangbourne and has spread over an area of a kilometre around the village. Local MP, Alok Sharma, (Reading West) took up the challenge of dealing with this problem and sought my support and other local MPs in raising this issue with DEFRA Minister, Jim Paice and the Forestry Commission.

I am grateful to Alok Sharma for alerting us all to the problems this moth causes. The area in this constituency which is currently most at risk is Whitchurch due to its proximity to Pangbourne. A key priority therefore was to make sure that a large area centred on Whitchurch was properly surveyed to identify if the moth is present and where. I am pleased that the Whitchurch area will now as a result be included in the survey work being undertaken by the Forestry Commission in June this year.

The meeting with the Minister reviewed the spread of the pest and its impact, including the financial impact on property owners. Property owners will still be responsible for treating infected trees in 2012 – and possibly neighbouring trees if these are considered at risk. It also reviewed plans to eradicate the pest with further treatment of infected trees in spring 2012.

A key part of the programme of eradication is to understand which trees are infected and how extensive the spread of the moth has become. Although Whitchurch was not originally a priority for the Forestry Commission's programme because it was considered to be too far from the Pangbourne outbreak, as a result of our lobbying the area will now be surveyed. It is essential to me to ensure that this pest does not cross the river. I am glad that the Forestry Commission has accepted that Whitchurch should be comprehensively surveyed as early as possible.

Picture provided courtesy of the Forestry Commission

SODC and the planning inspectorate

A number of constituents who live in my constituency but near Wallingford have written to me to question the powers of the planning inspector appointed to examine SODC's Core Strategy simply to change the plan.  Under the existing law introduced by the last Government that is exactly the power planning inspectors have and it is yet another good example of why the previous planning system was broken.

Constituents have rightly asked where does such a power leave localism. Such a power does not fit with localism which is why the Government has abolished it in the Localism Act.

Under the old legislation, the inspector produced a report determining whether or not the plan was suitable for adoption i.e. to use the technical jargon was it 'sound'. The inspector was able to recommend modifications to the draft document. The local planning authority was bound to implement the inspector's recommendations.

Under the new legislation, there will still be a public examination of a local plan under a planning inspector to ensure that it is sound (but using different tests) e.g. does the plan comply with national planning policy. A Council will not be able to adopt an unsound plan.  However, the local council alone will have the power to ask the inspector for recommendations as to how the plan may be changed if he or she thinks it might be found unsound and which would make the document suitable for adoption. If the local council does not make this request, the inspector will be unable to recommend any changes.

In addition, local councils do not have to implement inspectors' recommendations. Where the inspector thinks the plan is unsound, the council will be able to make its own modifications and re-submit the draft document to the inspector for examination.

Although the Localism Act has now received Royal Assent, its provisions come into force at different times. This reform came into effect during January 2012.

Capping benefits

The New Year has started with a row in the House of Lords over the Government's Welfare Reform Bill and changes to the benefits system. This is a subject on which I get a steady flow of e mails from local residents. There is a genuine sense of unfairness that the welfare system has been left in such a mess by Labour, with too many people better off out of work and on benefits than if they entered the world of work. This area itself does not have large numbers on out of work benefits. The percentage on these benefits in South Oxfordshire is half the average for the South East. However, nationally, 5 million are on such benefits and almost 2 million children live in homes where nobody works.

People see it as not fair that benefit claimants can receive higher incomes than families who are in work. I agree. That's why the Government wants to introduce a cap on benefits – so that no family can get more on benefits than the average family does by going out to work. That average and the amount of the cap is £26,000 per household per year.

It is important that in fixing this broken system we look after the really needy and vulnerable. The benefit cap will not affect the disabled or those who work and receive working tax credits. There is no reason for anyone to be made homeless by these reforms when they can still receive the equivalent in benefits that someone in work would have to earn £35,000 a year to make.

The Government's reforms are popular because they are right. One poll showed 76% approval for a cap. Even the Independent newspaper agreed. It asked why the people can recognise fairness when they see it, but those who oppose the cap cannot.  Former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, is quoted as saying that the current welfare system encourages fecklessness and irresponsibility.  In a national newspaper he is quoted as saying that Britian's public debt was the greatest moral scandal we face and that unless we get the defcit under control and start paying back the debt we would be mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren.

There has to be a limit on the amount of money benefit claimants can receive. I think that limit is set at a fair rate of £26,000 – the equivalent to someone earning £35,000 before tax, a salary that many working families would be happy to receive.

Ed Miliband has fallen at the first hurdle and failed this key test of leadership and credibility. He promised to 'take the tough decisions' on reforming welfare and claimed that he supported the cap. But his party in the Lords backed an amendment that would wreck the cap. His tough words have been exposed as just posturing from a weak leader.

New Year Message

This message first appeared in the Oxfordshire Guardian in January 2012

Let me start by wishing everyone a peaceful and prosperous 2012. I also want especially to thank all those who have worked so hard for the many charities and voluntary organisations which make Oxfordshire such a good place to live and work. It has been a great pleasure to meet so many of you and to share a little in the work you do.

Whether you are sportingly inclined or not, the Olympics this year will be a major focus of attention and one which I hope we can all enjoy. I hope too that we will enjoy the benefits of the tourism the games will undoubtedly bring. It's also the Queens Jubilee – a key national celebration and a chance to celebrate a monarch who has given so much to this country. So, Britain will be on show to the world with a great opportunity to say 'come and invest here'.

Many of last year's issues remain and the continuing crisis in the Eurozone continues to exercise a big influence. These are and will remain difficult times with real fears and apprehension for the future. But it is worth remembering five important facts. First, in the first nine months of last year, the UK economy grew faster than the US economy. Second, since the general election, the private sector has created over half a million extra jobs. Thirdly, over the past year businesses have invested £119 billion across the economy, up £3 billion on the year before. Fourthly, our borrowing costs have fallen to record lows, and, lastly, Britain's credit rating has been restored to its previous highest possible level. Closer to home, in my own constituency, unemployment fell during the year including youth unemployment which benefitted from some of the 442,700 apprenticeship starts over the course of the 2011 academic year.

None of this is a reason for complacency but it is a reason for sticking to the path of restoring the economy and for focusing on those most in need of help and on helping working families make ends meet.

Local unemployment figures

The number of unemployed in the Henley constituency has fallen.

Figures released this month for October 2011 show that the number of unemployed claimants has fallen by 55 and now stands at 660. That is 55 lower than September 2011 and 68 lower than this time last year.There are only three other constituencies in the country which have performed better.

Throughout the year, there has been a downward trend in the number unemployed within the constituency. The figures show that unemployment in the constituency increased from 2006 to 2010 but has fallen back since the general election.

I welcome the fall in unemployment within the constituency. Some 80% of our local economy comes from the private sector. We need to make sure therefore that we continue to support and encourage our local businesses to help deliver the growth the economy needs.

Although this area has one of the highest proportions of degree educated people in the country, there is of course no reason for complacency here. We need to recognise the impact that unemployment has on individuals and their families. However, it is particularly encouraging to see that youth unemployment (those under 24) has fallen by 17% over the year in this constituency.

The role of an MP and Europe postscript

In a representative democracy the purpose of government and of an MP is to serve the best interests of the nation and of constituents based on judgement not on ephemeral opinion polls.  His or her role is not to represent constituents' views since there are always mutually contradictory views on any one issue.  However much we may all be disillusioined with the EU, the confused, ill-considered and opportunistic proposal for an EU referendum cannot be described as in the nation's best interests.

Opinion polls cannot tell us whether those who answer the question have given the issue any serious thought before the question was put. In addition, answers are often led by the nature of the question itself. Change the wording of the question and you get a different answer. Most importantly, opinion polls do not provide any context for how strongly an answer is felt or what priority the respondent gives to it.

Recent on-line campaigns are no better. Modern technology makes it all too easy to send an e mail at the press of a button with little thought given to the issue. How seriously for example am I to take campaign e mails which begin with the salutation "Dear [INSERT THE NAME OF YOUR MP]" and end with "Regards [INSERT YOUR OWN NAME]". Either way, this does not suggest a lot of thought was given to the subject or to the e mail before the button was pressed.

It's not just electronic communications. My office recently received complaints from constituents that I had written to them about an issue on which there had been a major campaign. They claimed not to have asked me for a response. As we had to point out, the petition they had signed clearly asked for just that in black and white.

It is only a year and a half since I and my party stood for election on a credible and achievable European policy which we have been successfully implementing to stop any more powers going to Brussels without the agreement of the British people and to bring existing powers back. This policy was set out in a manifesto for which 11 million people voted and which did not include an in-out referendum.

Europe is of course an important issue. Some, however, see it as the all-defining issue of our age. I do not; the defining issue is restoring the health of our economy. Those in the former group often seem to be unable to recognise that their view is not widely shared. So, they instead resort to threats or seek to question the motivation for an MP's voting record. One constituent even threatened to have me guillotined publicly – a threat in which the irony of a Eurosceptic recommending a European means of execution seemed totally to have escaped him

I am always interested in my constituents' opinions even when I do not agree with them. They can help me in forming a judgement. However, representing people does not mean simply doing what they say. An MP is not a mere delegate to be mandated by them to vote in a particular way. As Edmund Burke established as long ago as 1774 an MP is there to use his or her own judgement.

And who are the 'they' anyway? Are those who wrote to  me really suggesting that I should rely on guidance solely from the 0.1% of voters who contacted me about Europe? This is a difficult proposition anyway since many of that 0.1% were against a referendum, not for it. In addition, what weight am I to give to the views of the 99.9% who did not feel the urge to write or e mail?

I do not wish to belittle the strongly held views of extreme Eurosceptics. I share many of their frustrations with Europe. But one needs too to retain some perspective. Constituents here are not shy in contacting me; they do so by the many thousands each year. Yet I had over twice as many e mails about the fate of Anne the Circus Elephant and the conditions in which hens and cows are kept than I did on Europe.