Last Sunday, I was the keynote speaker at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)’s Chairman’s Conference in Llandudno and called upon the FSB to re-examine their role in the light of the new Government of Wales Bill.
With over 9,500 members, the FSB has become a major lobbying organisation within Wales. However, this was not always the case and, to a large extent, we have devolution to thank for their increased presence within Wales.
Prior to the establishment of the Assembly, the FSB branch in Wales mainly followed the lead of the London office and was largely ineffectual in influencing Welsh Office policy. However, with the creation of a new democratic body in Wales, it saw the opportunity, as an organisation representing thousands of Welsh businesses, to make its mark in terms of persuading the new devolved government in supporting indigenous Welsh firms.
Certainly, it would have been hard to imagine, prior to the creation of the National Assembly, that the FSB would be invited to have a seat at the table of economic development committees in Wales. More importantly, who would have thought that it would have been instrumental, at least at the beginning of the Assembly, in influencing policies that have made a real difference to the Welsh economy, such as lobbying hard for a new development fund which has subsequently metamorphosised into Finance Wales.
However, there have also been disappointments, such as the failure of the WDA and the Welsh Assembly Government to create a specific small business division within its economic development function, despite promises to the contrary. Indeed, I would argue that during the last three years of this current Assembly Government, the centralising nature of our politicians and civil servants has meant that business organisations such as the FSB are not as influential as before and tend to take a very distant second place to advice from special advisors, many of whom have neither worked in the business sector nor have been involved in running their own business.
Ironically, the policy arm of the FSB is stronger than it has ever been, and is developing responses that reflect the real needs of businesses in Wales today. It is just a shame that our politicians are not listening, as many of the evidence-based suggestions emanating from the FSB should be taken more seriously by civil servants and their masters in Cardiff Bay.
In the light of the new Government of Wales Bill, I believe there is now a real opportunity for the FSB to re-examine their role in lobbying the Welsh Assembly Government. As the largest business representative body in Wales, the FSB should take the lead in examining every area of new legislation introduced by the Assembly that could affect small businesses in Wales and lobby for change where needed.
I would also expect that the FSB and other business organisations such as the CBI and the IOD could, and should, have a greater influence on the spending of Convergence Funds - the European Structural funds replacing Objective 1 - to ensure that this 'twice in a lifetime' opportunity directly supports the small firm sector in Wales.
In particular, the FSB should consider whether specific legislation could be introduced in Wales which would give its members, and the rest of the small firm sector, a distinct advantage over businesses in other parts of the UK. From my point of view, the Assembly should only be having additional powers if they can make a real difference to the Welsh economy and society.
Certainly, before developing any new legislation, there is now the opportunity for Welsh politicians to listen to the views of businesses and, more importantly, for the FSB to lobby hard to ensure those views are heard.
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