Today I held a business breakfast with special guest Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Minister of State for Employment.
The breakfast was well attended, with around 65 people from businesses in the area attending to network with each other and ask me and the Minister questions.
This event followed my survey of businesses across Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Morden and Motspur Park to find out what works and what does not work locally for businesses.
An encouraging result from the business was that 71% reported they increased their staff numbers over the last year, and 92% expected their staff numbers to increase over the next year. However, some businesses had not taken advantage of Government schemes such as the Employment Allowance and Business Rates Relief. I will be writing to these businesses so they can benefit from these.
At the breakfast, the Minister praised Wimbledon’s businesses for their contribution to Wimbledon’s very low unemployment rate and for having an enterprise growth rate double that of the national average.
One issue that was frequently raised in my survey was how businesses feel like their voice is not being heard by the local Council. When asked about this Ms Patel urged businesses to kick back and work together to ensure their needs and concerns cannot be ignored.
Crossrail 2’s impact was also raised. I said that it should be a great opportunity to regenerate Wimbledon with extra office space and shops, but that the current proposals will damage retail in the area for 7 years.
I was delighted that so many local small businesses attended my business breakfast. We have a fantastic range of small businesses locally which contribute to the vibrancy of our High Streets and keep our unemployment rate low. Thank you to all who took my survey. Hearing directly from businesses helps me continue to remain well informed and work on your behalf both locally and in the House of Commons. It also means I can fight to ensure Wimbledon remains a fantastic place to do business.