Johnny Andrews is a Chartered Accountant and Director of Clatteringford, a mail order business based in Comber. Clatteringford sells Irish linen and designer knitwear on line. He is Treasurer and Economy Spokesman for NI Conservatives. This opinion piece was published by the Belfast Telegraph on 22nd July 2014.
Being involved in local business I have been increasingly drawn to politics as I see how important it is that we have a supportive business environment where the private sector can flourish. An estimated 75% of jobs UK wide originate from SMEs and those here desperately need more support from the Executive. Our business at Clatteringford, a typical SME ,is dependent on exports however local retail trade and tourism is also important to us and on all these fronts the Executive is failing us.
Recent PWC reports and figures from the Ulster Bank confirm that Northern Ireland’s economy is lagging behind the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland .Competitiveness figures show Northern Ireland ranking 42nd out of 145 OECD countries well below the Republic of Ireland at 27th and the UK at 8th. Retailers report reduced trade due to our unstable local environment and tourism has also suffered. The Executive is deterring investment and tourism with its failure to deal with shared future issues which has led to negative press worldwide.
The Executive continues to ignore the need to deal with our decreasing competitiveness particularly with regards employment law; businesses are effectively operating with one hand tied behind their backs .It has shown itself to be incapable of taking tough decisions on, for example, welfare reform, shared future and infrastructure spending.
Increasingly I am meeting businesspeople who support NI Conservatives policies and who say that slow planning decisions, lack of employment flexibility and lack of finance are hindering investment and competitiveness. In addition air passenger duty is stifling tourism, small business and the airline industry
To assist small business the Executive must prioritize the following
- need to harmonise Northern Ireland’s employment legislation with the rest of the UK
- agree a pipeline of ‘ready to go’ infrastructure projects
- introduce more enterprise zones with speedy planning decisions
- devolution and reduction of air passenger duty.
- progress on shared future issues.
While the Secretary of State is pushing the Executive on competitiveness the Minister at the Department of Employment and Learning admitted with regards employment law reform there is no consensus for change and he can only tinker at the edges.
Business urgently needs policies aimed at improving competitiveness, rebalancing and growing the economy to create that virtuous circle of a prosperous private sector, increased tourism and exports.