Executive Director’s Report

                                    March 2010

An action plan was agreed with the police to combat crime against business. Help for the clothing textiles sector was announced with the publication of a new action plan. Business Voice WM backed two major competitions that can boost the tourism sector. Plans to roll out next generation broadband access stepped up a gear. Business leaders met with senior Conservative Party figures to debate the future economic needs of the Midlands.

Crime

Crime is costing West Midlands businesses a fortune, more than £1.5 billion in the last seven years, a new report has revealed.

Now efforts to combat the problem are to be stepped up with the issue of a blueprint for future action.

The Action Plan has been prepared by Business Voice WM’s Regional Business Crime Forum at the instigation of Minister for the West Midlands, Ian Austin MP.

The document follows a report drawn up by experts Forensic Pathways, with the co-operation of West Midlands, West Mercia, Warwickshire and Staffordshire police forces, and covering all crimes recorded on business premises between January 2002 and September 2009.

Of the 995,112 crimes identified, the West Midlands police force area accounted for 48.2 per cent followed by Staffordshire at 27.83 per cent, West Mercia, 16.43, and Warwickshire, 7.55 per cent.

The cost works out at £887 million. However, when the consequential impact of the crimes was considered, the total amounted to at least £1.55 billion, or £26,330 per hour – up from £14,000 per hour in 2005.

And, notes the report, the position is probably significantly worse as it is estimated that half of all crimes are not reported.

The research work was undertaken thanks to the support of Advantage West Midlands and the West Midlands Police Authority.

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Crime Forum and Federation of Small Businesses National Policy Vice Chairman said:

“Crime blights business. Whether it is shoplifting, white collar fraud or violence against staff, crimes against business causes pain and hurt to customers and employees – and impacts on our communities at large.

“But the impact of crime against business also hits jobs. Businesses, large and small, have to factor in the cost of crime from their bottom line. And, given the increase in costs to business – almost doubling in under five years and equating to over £230 million per annum – then the impact is significant, not only to businesses and the communities they are in, but to our regional economy as a whole.

“Anything that hits the bottom line – such as crime – will inevitably hit jobs as well.

“But we are making progress. In every police force area significant strides have, and continue to be taken to combat crime against business.

“Neighbourhood policing is, more and more, engaging with local businesses and in virtually every town and city centre in the region there are good links between shop owners and the police to combat thieves.

“But the problem is not one that will go away. Immediate action must be taken now to face down the criminals. Genuine co-operative working practices can effectively tackle crime against our businesses.”

The action plan highlights how, with the West Midlands being at the heart of the UK’s transport network, it is easy for criminals to move in and out of the region. And this can be a factor in the likes of truck crime and Post Office robberies.

Six main crimes have been identified – commercial burglaries, shoplifting, theft, criminal damage to buildings, making off without payment, credit card and cheque card fraud. These accounted for 78.05 per cent of all crimes affecting business. Other issues are robbery, fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour, vandalism and e-crime.

The action plan is looking to ensure more businesses work with neighbourhood police officers to combat crime; calls for increased numbers of special constables in town centres to fight shop crime; greater business engagement with Crimestoppers; greater efforts to alert business to e-mail scams and virus problems; warning businesses about scams and fraudsters operating in the area; building intelligence in relation to commercial robberies; widening business engagement in Operation Fly-catcher to apprehend fly-tipping offenders; a push to increase numbers of businesses and hauliers registered with Midlands Truck Watch; and the development of business-friendly reporting mechanisms.

The action plan continues: “This is a first step but more must be done. What more can we do about metal thefts? How do we break the link between drugs, alcohol and crime against business? What do we do to address repeat offenders? How can businesses be encouraged to report all crimes and anti-social incidents?”

And it calls for shoplifting to be reclassified as pure theft.

Textiles

An action plan to help the West Midlands’ textiles industry face up to the economic challenges post-recession has been launched.

Developed by partners, including Business Link West Midlands, Advantage West Midlands, Business Voice WM, Manufacturing Advisory Service and Further and Higher Education representatives, the plan details the measures required to keep the sector competitive.

The action plan sets out a framework of support for businesses within the West Midlands textiles sector to ensure the industry can take advantage of the opportunities presented as the region moves from recession to economic recovery.

The plan includes the following key areas for action:

• Improving Access to Business Support
Businesses within the sector will be encouraged to access appropriate support in order to consolidate, grow and identify new opportunities.
• Improving Access to Finance
Work will be undertaken to allow businesses within the sector to access finance, understand lenders' requirements and strengthen financial resilience.
• Skills & People Development
Promote appropriate training and skills support and lobby to increase the availability of specialist and technical training within the region.
• Business Processes
Encourage businesses to identify areas where they can reduce costs, increase efficiency and add value to their operations.
• Raising the Profile of the Sector
Work with businesses and partners to raise awareness of the sector, the region's capability and future opportunities.

The Textiles Action Plan was created as a result of activities of the West Midlands Task Force, chaired by Ian Austin MP, Minister for the West Midlands.

Debra Blisson, Director of Enterprise at Advantage West Midlands, said:
“The textiles industry in the West Midlands is facing similar challenges to those faced by all businesses in the region. As a sector it has weathered the recession relatively well compared with the rest of regional manufacturing.

“We have held two events linking designers, manufacturers, business representatives and support organisations to identify areas that we can work on together to support the industry in making the most of future market opportunities. These events generated a range of ideas which we have incorporated into the action plan."

James Watkins, Executive Director of Business Voice WM said:

“We’ve had some really useful discussions which have helped us learn more about the issues that businesses within the sector are facing and partners have committed to working together to address these.

“The overriding message is that we should not underestimate the wealth of talent we have in the region – from world-class designers to innovative garment technologists – and, with the right support, businesses within the sector can make the most of opportunities as the economy recovers.”

Lorraine Holmes, Chief Executive at Business Link West Midlands, said:

"Business Link is keen to continue working with the textiles industry and we are planning to hold a couple of "tailor made" events to address those issues that businesses have told us are of most importance to them.

"We'll ensure there is a flexible, bespoke response to the needs of textiles companies so that they can continue to compete and can look to take advantage of the opportunities future growth will hopefully bring."

Simon Griffiths, Chief Executive of Manufacturing Advisory Service, said:

“We’ll work closely with colleagues to ensure the textiles industry can benefit from our extensive manufacturing expertise and help local textiles manufacturers meet the challenges of trading in a global market place.

“Building up the strength of the region’s manufacturing sector is key for the region’s prosperity. While textiles is not historically associated with the West Midlands, it is still a significant industry employing over 16,000 people which is roughly 4% of regional employment.”

Broadband

The hunt is on to identify needy areas of the West Midlands willing to trial super fast broadband.

The aim is to take 100Mbps (megabits per second) pilot projects to communities at the centre of the region’s regeneration push.
Broadband campaigner Glyn Pitchford hopes three could be established – perhaps one each in Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull – albeit finances might not stretch that far.

Mr Pitchford, the elected Business Voice WM business representative on the Birmingham and Black Country City Region board, has been given the go-ahead to earmark possible sites and report back with supporting costings and cost-benefit analyses.

The City Region Board will receive a full update on progress at its meeting on June 2.

The Government has already pledged to guarantee nearly every household access to at least 2Mbps by 2012.

And while welcoming the initiative, particularly since many individuals and small firms operate from home, Mr Pitchford believes mainstream business has to have far faster speeds far sooner.

He said: “It will be critical to attracting desperately needed inward investment into the West Midlands.

“This will boost the competitiveness of the region and make it more attractive to major international companies.

“Our region’s economy is lagging behind much of the rest of the UK and it is only by being at the forefront of new developments will we be able to do something about it.”

The City Region is already working hard on putting together the necessary framework covering common specifications, planning guidance, best practice and skills training.
Common specifications centres on what ducting, capable of taking the required fibre optic cabling, already exists and where the gaps are. Mr Pitchford said BT had promised it would share ducting if other telecom operators followed suit while Virgin Media was still considering its position.

Discussions with West Midlands council have been taking place to establish common planning guidance on laying down a network, while best practice is all about gleaning as much information as possible on global advances, particularly from Government departments.

In a bid to have enough skilled people available to take advantage of super fast broadband discussions are ongoing with universities and colleges to lay on appropriate courses.

It is hoped to appoint a project manager to pull all the strands together.

“The person’s task would be to take it all forward,” said Mr Pitchford, chairman of the Next Generation Access Broadband Task and Finish Group. “Obviously finance is an issue in all this and we have been working on that. I would like to start with three pilots but it may be we can only afford one. We shall have to see.

“But I am confident that through public/private partnerships this can be achieved. It is vitally important we get the job done. This will be an economic driver for the West Midlands.”

And as part of getting the importance of super fast broadband and its potential across, particularly to SMEs, the City Region plans to part sponsor a two-day national Next Generation 10 conference earmarked for November.

Recent research has suggested the majority of UK broadband users currently get between 3Mbps and 4.5Mbps.

The Government is pressing for a 50p monthly landline duty aimed at unlocking private investment and with the hope of enabling 90 per cent of the country to access the next generation of super fast broadband by 2017.

Super fast broadband is generally regarded as speeds of 50Mbps or above.

Transport

Glyn Pitchford, BVWM business sector representative for the Birmingham and Black Country City Region, says the poor state of Birmingham International rail station is putting off passengers.

Now he has written to Tony Collins, chief executive of Virgin Trains, which manages the station, to ask what plans there may be for doing something about it.

Mr Pitchford states: “Birmingham International is not just the station for Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition Centre – important though that is – but is effectively the international gateway to the West Midlands region.

“With business customers travelling from Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Warwickshire to use it, the regional, national and international significance of the station cannot be underestimated.

“The current state of Birmingham International does not meet expectations. Its shabby appearance and poor lighting on platforms is off-putting for passengers and harms the positive branding of the West Midlands for tourists, business travellers and inward investors.

“The improvement of the station would not only aid businesses in the West Midlands but would also help with the flow of new passengers.”

What was need, he added, was “a bright and enhanced” complex.

Tourism

a) Museum Competition

Business Voice WM is urging the public to vote for free in a national competition that could boost the tourism sector in the Midlands.

The Art Fund is currently undertaking a competition to decide which national museum has achieved so much that it should win a £100,000 prize.

And there are two in the region which have made the 11-strong long list.

Blists Hill Victorian Town, part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, interprets life in a typical town of the East Shropshire Coalfield around 1900.

The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, is described as a long-established regional venue which has been transformed through a major £20 million redevelopment, is reaching new audiences and has become a fresh focus for local pride.

BVWM executive director James Watkins said: “Whichever museum wins this amount of money can invest in its future and so further develop our tourism sector – and help safeguard the many businesses linked to it.

“We would urge everyone in the West Midlands region to consider backing one of the two in our area.”

They are in contention with the Leach Pottery, St Ives; the National Army Museum, London; the Natural History Museum, London; the Royal Institution of Great Britain; the Towner, Eastbourne; the Ulster Museum, Belfast; Great North Museum, Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne; Hampton Court Palace, Surrey; and the Ashmolean, Oxford

b)         UK Capital of Culture Competition

Business Voice WM has announced its backing for Birmingham’s bid to be the UK’s City of Culture for 2013.

It says the West Midlands has been so hard hit in the recession that it badly needs such a boost.

BVWM chairman Barrie Williams said: “On the merits alone, there is no doubt that Birmingham is best placed to be the UK Capital of Culture.

“The city hosts the world’s largest Pre-Raphaelite art collection and is a global leader in holding historical artefacts that relate to the start of the Industrial Revolution. In addition, Birmingham has a renowned Shakespeare collection.

“But it is not just Birmingham’s cultural heritage that merits the city winning the bid. The Birmingham Royal Ballet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra are admired beyond our shores. The city is home to talent in other cultural areas. For instance, the majority of Punjabi music is produced in Birmingham, Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is admired across Europe and, of course, the city is known as the home of Black Sabbath.

“From an economic perspective, winning this bid is critical for business and for jobs.

“Regrettably, the West Midlands has been the worst hit region of any part of the UK from this economic downturn. So winning the bid would not just help the cultural life of the city – it would boost the economic lifeblood of the region.

“Event management, professional services, hospitality, security and many other sectors would be enhanced, with the creation of jobs in Birmingham and the wider area.”

The outcome of the competition, which initially attracted interest from 29 cities and local areas, is due to be announced this spring.

Housing

Homes and jobs must go hand in hand if our cities are to thrive, MPs were told in Worcester.

Debbie Walsh, a Business Voice WM board member and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors regional head of policy and communications, told the House of Commons West Midlands Select Committee the region needs to learn from past mistakes.

“Where unemployment and a lack of hope take hold you end up with fractured communities – the grim inner city estates and soulless tower blocks we know so well.

“If you can give people work and put money in their pockets then they will take pride in the environment around them,” said Ms Walsh.

The Committee questioned a small number of witnesses as they continue their inquiry into housing policy.

BVWM has been campaigning hard on the issue, believing it is crucial if the West Midlands is to improve its prospects.

Ms Walsh cautioned: “The lessons of the past – when land for housing seemed to take very little cognisance of the need for land for local jobs – meant these new housing areas became economically unsustainable in the medium to long term.

“This led to negative life chances for people living on these estates and – economically speaking – was a drag on the whole regional economy, holding back greater prosperity for all families in the West Midlands region.

“We must not allow these mistakes to be repeated in the future.”

Power Cuts

E.on, the company responsible for electricity distribution across the West Midlands region, held talks with Business Voice WM further to survey information that revealed that a large number of businesses were regularly suffering from power cuts. The talks held at E.On’s Central Networks HQ at Castle Donnington near East Midlands Airport led to an agreement for further talks to see how this problem can be effectively addressed.

Prompt Payment

Senior officials from the Department for Business travelled from London to meet business leaders in the West Midlands region to discuss what more can happen to ensure small and medium sized businesses were paid on time by their customers. With a number of small firms saying that late payment could tip them over the edge in this economic downturn this was a useful meeting for all concerned.

Skills

Officials from the West Midlands Leaders Board – which represents all local authority leaders across the West Midlands region – met with Business Voice WM to discuss what were the skills issues facing Midlands businesses. Workplace training and addressing skills gaps were particularly emphasised during this meeting. This is part of the ongoing work by Business Voice WM to ensure training provision for businesses is fit for purpose.

Conservative Party

Business leaders met with senior Conservative figures to discuss the Conservative Party’s plans for regional economic development if they won this spring’s General Election. Meetings were held with the Shadow Local Government Secretary, Caroline Spelman MP, the Chair of the all party House of Commons’ Business Select Committee, Peter Luff MP and the leader of Birmingham City Council, Cllr Mike Whitby, who also serves on the Board of the Regional Development Agency, the Joint Strategy and Investment Board – which makes key regional economic development decisions - and who also chairs the City Region – which brings the councils of Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull, amongst others, together.