Policy for Growth

Debate between Sam Gyimah and Julian Smith

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Julian Smith]

I am sorry, but I will not.

Statistics do not take into account the effect on small businesses of the sheer worry of all those burdens, nor the reality of a world where Britain will be under increasing pressure to attract internationally mobile jobs.

[Mr Gyimah]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Julian Smith]

I am sorry but I will not, because then I would be biased.

As a headhunter working with some of the biggest companies in the world, I saw just how easy it was to put a senior employee in an international location rather than the UK. I have long list of examples of when London came last in the choice between London, New York and Asia. That will happen without fanfare or fuss, which is why our employment policies must be ruthlessly competitive, as must our tax and immigration policies.

Over the next few years, we desperately need people to take the risk and set up businesses, invest in existing ones and create jobs here in Britain. Labour accelerated its depressing legacy of employment law in its dying days. We have been left with the agency workers directive, the Equality Act 2010 and additional paternity leave. Each will have a major effect on British business, and the Brussels juggernaut has been relentless too. The pregnant workers directive will add £2 billion of cost to British business if it gets through. The coalition is trying to address these issues through a set of attractive policies to create the best conditions for growth—scrapping the job tax, the national insurance holiday for businesses outside the south-east and cutting corporation tax.

I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk) who is doing a phenomenal job for British business. We need to let business focus on growth, and the coalition is pushing forward with additional legislation, including removal of the default retirement age, the shared maternity and paternity rights, and the right to request training. Those are key measures that will be introduced next year.

Last week, I had an Adjournment debate, in which I urged the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), to have a holiday on employment law for 2011, the year when we need more jobs than ever to be created in this country. I also urged the Minister to show British business a light at the end of the tunnel and do a full and thorough review of employment law, staying true to the coalition agreement of “one in, one out” and applying that to employment law as to every other regulation. If we are able to achieve both an employment law holiday and a full review, the coalition will have grasped the employment law nettle and begun yet another good initiative for growth in this country.