Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce is the voice of business and we connect our members with key decision-makers. It’s why we took a group of our patrons and members to the Houses of Parliament last week, hosted by Jack Brereton, MP for Stoke South and one of seven Staffordshire MP we met during our visit.
We also met with Lee Rowley MP, Minister of State for Housing, and James Sunderland MP – Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary.
During the course of the day, our members opened up on the key issues affecting their businesses. This included a call for more Government investment in areas such as manufacturing and energy. On the topic of energy, one of our members spoke of how his business is generating energy from solar panels on the premises but is unable to offload surplus energy back into the grid, due to infrastructure limitations of the grid.
On the topic of education, there was a lengthy discussion on the operational aspects of delivering T-Level qualifications and a call for a more simplied system of operation. There was also a request for a much simpler means of regulating the delivery of apprenticeships.
During our meeting with Mr Rowley MP, (Minister of State for Housing), we raised our concerns about delays in getting planning applications turned around, with some local authority planning teams struggling with staff recruitment and retention. Mr Rowley acknowledged our concerns and agreed that there is a need to do more to ensure that delays become a thing of the past.
Meeting with Government ministers gave us the opportunity to discuss some of the many ways in which we have supported the Staffordshire business community. Our Positive Pathways programme has encouraged and inspired a number of budding entrepeneurs from the refugee community to start up their own enterprises and make a valued contribution to the economy.
During the day, we met with a number of our Staffordshire Members of Parliament, including:
- Aaron Bell (MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme)
- Karen Bradley (MP for Staffordshire Moorlands)
- Jack Brereton (MP for Stoke-on-Trent South)
- Theo Clarke (MP for Stafford)
- Michael Fabricant (MP for Lichfield)
- Jo Gideon (MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central)
- Gavin Williamson (MP for South Staffordshire)
We rounded off our day with a guided tour of Westminster Hall, the oldest building on the Parliamentary estate and one which has played a central role in 900 years of British history. Some of our members took up the option of a visit to the Public Gallery and a chance to observe a debate taking place in the House of Commons.
We know that a General Election will have to take place by the end of January 2025, which makes 2024 to be an interesting year in politics, as all political parties make preparations for when the starting gun is fired on campaign work. We will be developing our Manifesto to outline our key business ‘asks’ on behalf of the business community and our policy forums will be helping us to develop this work. If you would like to get involved with any of our 11 policy forums, please contact:
