The business and enterprise minister begins a week of ‘work experience’ with UK small-business owners today.
Mark Prisk, who founded a consultancy business before going into politics, wants to understand the pressures entrepreneurs work under so that the government can shape the legislative and tax framework to better meet their needs. The Conservative MP for Hertford and Stortford is spending today with DIY Kyoto, a London-based manufacturer of wireless electricity meters that help consumers save energy.
Given the coalition has reduced tax allowances from which manufacturers benefit, Prisk's first assignment could be a difficult one. But if Richard Woods, co-founder and director of DIY Kyoto, has plans to upbraid Prisk, he didn't give any indication: "We are delighted to have Mark Prisk working with us for a day," he said.
“We are about to launch a new investment round in order to fund a number of new products in the UK, so we will be talking to Mark about these opportunities, and other ways the Department for Business can help and serve small businesses such as ours. We have just launched the high capacity wattsonXL for businesses, so we have got plenty of calls for Mark to make as well!"
This initiative enable us to capture ideas where government can remove barriers to enterprise and test policy assumptions with real businesses
Mark Prisk, business and enterprise minister
Employees from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have also been encouraged to spend time with small businesses for the ‘Week in Small Business’ initiative.
In last week's Emergency Budget George Osborne announced a 4p cut in corporation tax over four years and a series of initiatives designed to reduce the administrative burden on businesses such as scrapping the much maligned IR35 legislation. Prisk could therefore get a positive reception from his hosts this week, and is likely to have impressed many in the small-business community when he recently invited them to suggest legislation to be streamlined or scrapped.
However, the capital gains tax rise, although not as punitive as feared, could be a thornier issue.
Says Prisk: “This initiative is very important to me. It is a great opportunity to gain real-life experience and understand the issues small businesses and entrepreneurs face. This will enable us to capture ideas where Government can remove barriers to enterprise and test policy assumptions with real businesses.
“As I used to run my own business I have a strong idea of what really matters to business owners. This experience will give me even stronger insight into what small businesses need from Government, particularly as they prepare for the economic recovery.
“DIY Kyoto is a great place to start my work experience. It is a thriving company producing a revolutionary product. I am really keen to roll up my sleeves and understand exactly how the business works, and what issues they may face in the future.”
DIY Kyoto designs and manufactures wattson, an energy meter which consumers use to monitor their electricity usage by the minute. The company was set up to encourage and assist people in considering the amount of energy they consume on an everyday basis.
