Chamber President elected for second term at AGM

Vice President Neil Smith MBE with Phil Cusack of AECOM who was elected President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce for a second year

Phil Cusack of AECOM has been elected as President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce for a second year.

In his speech at the Annual General Meeting Phil highlighted some of the work that has taken place at the Chamber over the past year.

He said: “We have lobbied hard and effectively for the Northern Hub. We continue to lobby hard for HS2 – an initiative that this Chamber sees as crucial for the long-term effectiveness and competitiveness of business, not only in Greater Manchester but across the North of England.

“The Quarterly Economic Survey just goes from strength to strength – it is now arguably the most accurate and relevant contemporary assessment of the economic position of the City Region that is available.

“We have also worked hard - and thanks to Vice President Neil Smith MBE (pictured left) and Baroness Hughes for all their hard work - to establish a new and effective Chamber structure with the Policy & Campaign Committee beginning to establish itself as a key part of making the Chamber Council and the Chamber itself a highly effective information gatherer and communicator of business policy on local, regional and national stages.”

He also returned to the theme of diversity and inclusion, which he first highlighted in his speech at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner earlier this year.

“The local Chamber Councils and Presidents are in the process of re-establishing their business leadership in the districts of Greater Manchester and that process must be accompanied by extending the Chamber to all businesses, in whatever communities and of whatever natures.”

The AGM was followed by the Chamber Council meeting, during which Baroness Beverley Hughes, the Chamber’s Strategic Policy Adviser, gave an update on the work of the Policy & Campaign Committee.

She explained that the committee had been examining the Richards Review of Apprenticeships, government deregulation initiatives and zero-hours contracts. She said there needed to be a tighter definition of apprenticeships, independent testing at the end of an apprenticeship to evaluate its success and more higher level apprenticeships. She added that many businesses were unaware that deregulation work by government was even taking place.

Chris Fletcher, Director of Policy & Communications at Greater Manchester Chamber, then invited the audience to discuss a number of key business issues including late payment, digitalisation, energy prices and transport.

There was general agreement that late payment continued to be an issue in the private sector, particularly when large customers unilaterally extended the payment time.

On the subject of digitalisation, many felt there was too much emphasis on providing ultra fast broadband to residential customers at the expense of business customers.

When it came to energy prices it was pointed out that, although the rate paid by domestic users in the UK was competitive with the rest of Europe, businesses were paying more than their European counterparts. Concerns were also raised about how future energy demands would be met.

While HS2 was broadly welcomed, it was pointed out that the stations on the high speed line would need to be integrated with the local transport network for maximum effect.

Chris said: “We’ll be developing these issues into campaigns over the coming weeks as we roll forward into the second year of our new style Action For Business forums. The key to making this work is to get involved and businesses should know that through the Chamber there is a mechanism that no matter what size they are someone is listening to their concerns and that action can be taken.”