The muted scrapping of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the first 100 days of a Gordon Brown administration has been dismissed as “fanciful” in a stinging attack by a key business figure.
David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said removing the DTI would leave new and small businesses “without a voice” and called for a major rethink.
While accepting the DTI needs reforming, Frost claims its removal would leave business shouldering a hefty tax burden and unable to defend itself in Europe. In a piece published in today’s Financial Times, he said:
“I am concerned about the potential implications for British business, particularly for small and medium sized companies. These businesses, which form the backbone of communities across the country, are facing the intense heat of global competition.
“It is imperative that their voice is heard within Whitehall and that the pressures… are fully understood.”
Frost also revealed that in a recent vote of BCC members, almost 90% resoundingly felt there was a need to retain the DTI.
Without it, Frost warned that business would be awash with impractical workers’ rights legislation and expected to finance the government’s social policies.
“Who would be speaking up for business around the cabinet table?” he said. “Too often business is an afterthought; merely those whose tax receipts…allows ministers to raise spending on public services.”
Frost also outlined the important role the DTI places in safeguarding British business interests in Europe. Highlighting the UK’s continued opt-out from the Working Time directives, Frost said:
“If the DTI did not exist, who would have negotiated? It’s hard to see any other department having that focus.”
Frost added that notions of breaking up the DTI and passing responsibilities to other government departments while expecting business to flourish were at best “fanciful”.
“A restraining voice is needed on those who have no experience of the competitive business world we live in,” he concluded.
In a further attack, Frost demanded improvements to UK Trade and Investment, the body that helps British companies work abroad, and criticised the government cuts to export support budgets.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
