Action for Business Q Christian Spence Head of Research & Policy Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Action for Business Chamber Assembly met on 10 July to discuss: – Summer Budget, with focus on new National Living Wage – Proposed EU In/Out Referendum – Skills within GM Devolution

Action for Business National Living Wage – Will effectively be a new National Minimum Wage (NMW) band for those aged 25+ – Will start in April 2016 at £7.20 per hour – Target to rise to 60% of median wage by April 2020 (expected to be c. £9.30 per hour) – “It’s not a living wage as we know it, Jim” – Living wage (currently £7.85 per hour, £9.15 in London

Action for Business National Living Wage – Over 25s now on NMW will see pay increase from £11,830 to £16,926 by April 2020 – Osborne seeks to mitigate cost to business through: Increase in Employment Allowance to £3,000 per year Reduction in Corporation Tax from 20% to 19% in April 2017 and 18% in April 2020 – Increase annual pay bill by c. £4 billion

Action for Business National Living Wage – Sectors most likely to be affected are retail, hospitality, security, health and social care – GM Chamber undertaking impact study on members in different sectors – Need to consider rises in other input costs such as business rates and auto-enrolment – Want to be involved? Any questions?

Action for Business EU Referendum – Bill in parliament to force in/out referendum by end of 2017 – Cameron wants to negotiate an alternative deal with EU first, and place new option on table for referendum – Seeks reform on seven key areas

Action for Business EU Referendum – Powers flowing away from Brussels, not always to it – National parliaments able to work together to block unwanted European legislation – Businesses liberated from red tape and benefiting from the strength of the EU’s own market … to open up greater free trade with North America and Asia – Our police forces and justice systems able to protect British citizens, unencumbered by unnecessary interference from the European institutions, including the ECHR – Free movement to take up work, not free benefits – Support for the continued enlargement of the EU to new members but with new mechanisms in place to prevent vast migrations across the Continent – “Dealing properly” with the concept of “ever closer union”, enshrined in the treaty, to which every EU country now has to sign up

Action for Business EU Referendum – Powers flowing away from Brussels, not always to it – National parliaments able to work together to block unwanted European legislation – Businesses liberated from red tape and benefiting from the strength of the EU’s own market … to open up greater free trade with North America and Asia – Our police forces and justice systems able to protect British citizens, unencumbered by unnecessary interference from the European institutions, including the ECHR – Free movement to take up work, not free benefits – Support for the continued enlargement of the EU to new members but with new mechanisms in place to prevent vast migrations across the Continent – “Dealing properly” with the concept of “ever closer union”, enshrined in the treaty, to which every EU country now has to sign up

Action for Business Skills within GM devolution – “Devo-Manc” gave GM: “power to re-shape and re-structure the FE provision” “control of the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers” – Re-shape and re-structure focused around ability to alter fees to support incentivising change of provision – AGE powers are already being used, but how wisely?

Action for Business Skills within GM devolution – AGE gives employers taking on an apprentice for the first time £1,500 grant – Rochdale and Tameside have increased this to £3,000 – Is this a good use of public funding? Does this act as an incentive or mitigate financial costs? – Could this be better spent in other ways to support businesses to recruit young people and invest in skills?

Q & A