APPG for Entrepreneurship: June 2020 Digest

Since our last newsletter, we’ve seen two major policy announcements. 

First, Chancellor Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP extended the Job Retention Scheme to October. However, the scheme will be less generous in the coming months, with employers asked to pay national insurance and employer pension contributions from August. Taxpayer contributions are dropping from 80% to 70% in September, from 70% to 60% in October with employees expected to make up the difference.

Second, in response to calls from a 113-strong cross-party group of MPs, those eligible under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will be able to claim a second and final grant in August, worth 70% of average monthly trading profits for three months. The letter was a good example of the value of MPs working across parties to support entrepreneurship. Through the APPG we hope to support more cross-party work.

As the debate in Parliament shifts from mitigating the impact of lockdown to re-opening the economy, we have been doing our part to engage with the issues by hosting webinars with parliamentarians discussing issues such as disability, innovation, international trade, and how to secure an economic recovery. Speakers have included Andrew Griffith MP (Con), John Penrose MP (Con), Katherine Fletcher MP (Con), Baroness Kramer (LD), and Dr Lisa Cameron MP (SNP). 

If you weren’t able to catch our first three webinars, you can read pithy summaries and rewatch them on YouTube:

–  Disability and Entrepreneurship in the Time of Coronavirus, with Dr Lisa Cameron MP, Liz Johnson and Kush Kanodia.
–  Economy, Technology and Bouncing Back, with John Penrose MP, Gary Richards (Mishcon de Reya) and The Rt Hon Baroness Kramer.
–  Innovation, International Trade and Economic Recovery, with Katherine Fletcher MP, Chris Hulatt (Co-founder Octopus) and Andrew Griffith MP.

These wouldn’t have been possible without the support and expertise of our sponsors Octopus and Mishcon De Reya.

We’ve had great interest in the webinars and are planning to run more, with one more already announced (see the upcoming events section below). If you want to get involved as a parliamentarian or a potential sponsor, please get in touch with Philip Salter.

London Tech Week

London Tech Week is usually a great opportunity for Parliamentarians to meet and learn from some of the UK’s leading tech entrepreneurs. While social distancing measures may have put a dampener on the occasion, it is worth noting that during the week, the Secretary of State for International Trade Rt Hon Liz Truss MP announced a series of measures to promote tech exports. This Policy Update from The Entrepreneurs Network (Secretariat for the APPG) summarises and explains how the key measures will affect entrepreneurs.

In Parliament

In the discussion on the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme Baroness Lane-Fox said that as companies are required to have raised £250 000 to be eligible for the future fund scheme, diverse funders will be put at a disadvantage, she asked what the Minister will do to “ensure that the future fund will neither deepen existing inequalities or perpetrate new ones” and then went on to note that all 13 of the advisers to the fund are men. Lord Calahan responded that the comprehensive package was designed for any business facing difficulties during this period and that “start-ups may be able to access CBILS or the bounce-back loan scheme if they fulfil the eligibility criteria”.

During the fifth sitting of the finance bill Andrew Jones MP talked about the new proposed digital services tax and why he believed it to be the “right thing to do”. He acknowledged that “we must do all that we can to encourage the shift into a digital economy” but criticised the pressure which online retail puts on high street businesses, a trend which has been “compounded … by the current crisis”. He said that “high streets have a role beyond their traditional economic role, they have a social role and bring people together” and talked about how the digital services tax will ensure a level playing field between “bricks and clicks”.

He went on to say that he had concerns about the impact that the tax could have on start-ups but that concern had been dealt with by the threshold at which the tax becomes payable, meaning it only captures larger businesses.

In the motion on Covid 19: Businesses and the Private Sector Baroness Noakes called for an end to what she dubbed the “draconian Covid 19 restrictions” as soon as possible. She said there should be “a holiday for SMEs from all non-essential regulations” and that “we need to move from risk aversion to sensible risk taking”.

In the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill debate Jonathan Gullis MP said he was confident that the new system will “attract the brightest minds” which he said is of particular interest to his constituency Stoke-on-Trent North. He said he was a vocal advocate for “silicon Stoke” and they are working with stakeholders, including tech start-ups, to push forward advancements in 5G and advanced ceramics.