Monthly unemployment statistics indicate that many hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises in my Bristol South constituency are doing a terrific job helping people into work.
Bristol South tends to rank somewhere around the middle of the United Kingdom constituency unemployment rankings. On the face of it you might expect jobless figures to be higher here. After all, it is home to some of the country’s most economically deprived wards and has hardly any large employers.
Credit to Bristol South’s SMEs. They are doing well, but I want them to do better still.
They need the conditions in which they can thrive and grow, because in doing so they will be better placed to help my constituents further develop their skills, their careers and their earning potential.
And while we know SMEs do not sit around waiting for government help, we also know proactive support has the potential to play a major part in their development.
So as a member of the public accounts committee, the Commons body that oversees value for taxpayers, our inquiry into government spending with SMEs has been of particular interest. It is highly relevant to my constituents and to the businesses that employ so many of them.
The picture of the government record is patchy, to say the least:
Some progress has been reported on the government’s target for a quarter of its procurement spending to reach SMEs, but the inquiry found it is unclear whether they are now better able to compete with larger providers, or whether they are actually getting any more government business than before.
The government has introduced a number of initiatives to remove barriers to SMEs doing business with government but the inquiry found momentum has been lost with some initiatives stalling or stopping altogether. So the approach needs to be reinvigorated – and the way to do this is to move away from ‘barrier-lifting’ to a more focused approach with departments identifying particular areas of government business where SMEs can bring the most benefit.
It remains too difficult for SMEs to know what bidding opportunities are available for government contracts
Overall, the inquiry was not convinced that increasing spending with SMEs is being given sufficient priority across government.
But to me one of our key overall findings rings loud: It seems the voice of SMEs is just not being truly heard in government. A supposedly pro-business, pro-entreprenuerial Tory government is not listening.
One major area where this just is especially acute at the moment is over a key priority for Bristol South: training and apprenticeships. These opportunities are especially important here not least because this is the constituency with the lowest university entry rate in UK.
I am taking steps to try to help our businesses provide these skills opportunities, so as well as continuing to meet local businesses I am currently asking their views on the government’s pledge to introduce three million new apprenticeships by 2020.
The pledge is due to be partly funded by an apprenticeship levy on large firms whose payroll amounts to more than £3m per year, but there’s been precious little information to date about how SMEs will be able to take advantage and, therefore, how young people in my constituency will be able to benefit in the years ahead.
From conversations I have with local business people it is clear that whilst many want to take advantage of their position to help improve skills and apprenticeship opportunities, too many obstacles get in the way.
I want to properly understand business people’s views and experiences of local skills and apprenticeship issues, and to find out about their awareness levels of relevant schemes. Crucially I want to know what currently stops some SMEs getting involved in offering apprenticeship opportunities to our young people.
So in the absence of ‘top-down’ communication from ministers to SMEs on the issue, I want to ensure SMEs’ voices are fed directly to ministers and so am using a survey to canvass their views.
Over recent weeks and months I’ve been probing ministers over their approach. And armed with new information I get from local businesses I will continue to do so.
For the sake of businesses and young people in Bristol South it is vital ministers are held to account.
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Karin Smyth is member of parliament for Bristol South. She tweets @karinsmyth
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