Business manifestos: six pre-election proposals praised by British industry | Business
Business interest groups are fighting to influence the priorities of political parties ahead of the July 4 election. Here are some of the big ideas being touted by the UK’s biggest industry bodies in their manifestos.
Savings schemes at the workplace
The Association of Housing Associations is calling for a workplace savings scheme to help build the financial resilience of British households. Currently, 14 million people have less than £100 in savings – and 9 million have no savings at all, according to the Money and Pensions Service.
Under the program, companies with more than 250 employees would deduct a certain amount of savings directly from payroll, similar to how pensions work today. BSA does not seek tax-free treatment or matching contributions from employers, hoping to make the program as simple and quick as possible.
Increase sick pay
The Association of British Insurers is calling for more generous legislation that would increase sick pay, make it available from the first day of leave and extend the scheme to people on lower incomes. The ABI also wants the next government to provide sick pay for people returning to work part-time, and to ensure self-employed people also get support.
Currently, only workers classed as employees – not freelancers or contractors – are eligible and must earn an average of at least £123 a week. Those who qualify receive up to £116.75 a week for up to 28 weeks, minus the first three days.
The ABI says SMEs should also be reimbursed statutory sick leave costs if they provide effective health services and back-to-work support. Together, these policies could not only boost productivity in the UK economy, but also reduce health and care payouts by specialist insurers and encourage the take-up of health and wellness services provided by insurers.
Make big tech and social media pay for scams
City lobby group UK Finance is calling on the next government to bring in fraud legislation that forces big tech and social media companies to contribute up to £40m a year to reimburse users and fight fraud on their platforms.
This would include new fraud and fraud legislation to consolidate the current voluntary program where tech companies agree to reduce fraud through their platforms and services.
UK Finance also wants online platforms, internet service providers and technology companies to be covered by the economic crime tax, forcing them to pay the costs of fighting economic crime and compensating victims of fraud. At the moment, the largest part of the costs of compensating victims of fraud falls on the banks.
Government Appointed AI Champion for SMEs
The UK Chamber of Commerce says that while artificial intelligence can help level the playing field for smaller businesses, most do not understand how to get the most out of the technology and feel vulnerable to new threats including cyber attacks.
It is now calling for the next government to create a “trust framework”, including through a new AI program and the appointment of an AI champion to support digital skills and development in SMEs.
“The new government must provide the right support for businesses to make the most of these radical advances and no small business should feel left out. The artificial intelligence champion, to be introduced by the new government, will ensure that this is not the case,” said the BCC
Ban smart highways
The AA is calling on politicians to abandon what it says is the “failed experiment of ‘smart’ motorways”, which were originally intended as a way to ease congestion without spending money on road widening, using what was previously a hard bank – or stop lane – for regular traffic.
The AA believes the edge lane should be reinstated, saying a third of drivers currently avoid using the inside lane for fear of broken-down vehicles ahead, and emergency vehicles now struggle to get to crashes due to heavy congestion.
Make the annual budget a fixed date in the political calendar
In order to revitalize the economy, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) proposes three pillars of fiscal policy reform. First, use the net worth of the public sector as a public policy target, which would provide a better measure of public debt sustainability.
Second, discount the amount of investment in public infrastructure against the way the government measures the deficit, ensuring that it is separated from day-to-day spending. Third, set the budget and other fiscal events to fixed dates on the calendar. This would ensure that budgets are not influenced by short-term party politics or goals such as winning elections.
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