Meetings Industry Association chief
executive Kerrin MacPhie responds to Labour’s landslide UK general election
win.
The leading
trade association representing the business meetings and events sector will be
pressing the new government on the challenges being faced by the sector.
From
its latest quarterly MIA Insights, just
4 per cent of professionals felt that the sector is supported by the UK government.
Those disgruntled went on to pinpoint recruitment challenges, public transport
infrastructure and international attractiveness among many other topics that
they would welcome support on.
Martyn’s
Law
As the terrorism
threat level continues to evolve and remain significant, the MIA welcomes
Labour’s commitment to bringing in Martyn’s Law to strengthen the security of
public events and venues. We will continue to champion Figen Murray’s quest to
bring in the new legislation while providing clear best practice guidance to
ensure the sector doesn’t wait and instead is adopting a good security culture
with processes clearly communicated to all staff.
Business
Tax
We welcome
Labour’s commitment to provide better support for small and medium-sized
enterprises as many small firms, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed form part
of the vibrant business meetings and events sector. Labour’s roadmap to aid
investment planning could support further investment in the sector, which will
be positively appreciated from our latest MIA Insights.
Overhaul
to the apprenticeship levy
With less than
half (47 per cent) of the sector currently employing apprentices according to our MIA
Insights, we support Labour’s intention to create a new ‘growth and skills
levy’. This fresh approach will allow operators greater flexibility to use up
to 50 per cent of their levy contributions to fund training through alternative routes
to support the exact training that is required to help the sector thrive.
Transport
infrastructure
Modernising and
investing in the UK’s transport infrastructure, including an overhaul of
Britain’s railways, is essential to ensure that the UK continues to be a
desirable location to attract world-class business meetings and events.
We need a
reliable transport network to ensure accessibility remains throughout the
regions, as our sector offers a fantastic marketplace for Britain’s key
economic sectors. Our rich and diverse range of quality venues provide an international
platform to showcase Britain’s creativity and innovation and play a vital role
in the UK’s tourism industry.
Part of the narrative
It has been
extremely disappointing that previous governments have continually failed to
recognise that the UK hospitality industry is vast – encompassing so much more
than just pubs and restaurants. As a result, business meetings and events get
lost despite facilitating in excess of £165 billion in trade. We will be
continuing our work pushing to ensure that business meetings and events become
part of the narrative as they offer the government significant opportunities to
further expand the UK’s trade, exports and knowledge economy and attract inward
investment.
We’ve continued
to nurture strong and effective relationships with key government departments
in recent years, notably the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
who we hosted alongside VisitBritain at IMEX. These relationships have proved
essential as we inform government of the key challenges and opportunities that
are facing the sector, and more importantly discuss ways to overcome and
leverage these respectively.
With changes now
in store, we will be writing to officials with an invitation to meet with us
over the coming months as we work to drive the sector up the government agenda.
