by Paul Scully | Jul 1, 2006 | News |
Article written for Chartered Management Institute “Professional Manager” magazine.The Company Law Reform Bill that was introduced in the House of Lords has since morphed into the Companies Bill as it progressed through the House of Commons committee stage. This reflected the interest and debate on the level of regulation imposed on business within the UK. What started as a reforming Bill ended up as the longest Bill ever to pass through Parliament with more than 1400 amendments. Ironic, really, for a measure designed to slash bureaucracy.
There has been a continuous battle between those who want everything corporate to be tightly regulated leash by Whitehall and laissez-faire free marketeers. But, as usual, the majority seek to find equilibrium in the middle. Business regulations have undoubtedly increased in the last nine years and business taxes are on the march as the Chancellor steers clear of overturning Middle England’s applecart.
I agree with the general thrust of the Bill in reducing red tape but have some concerns with three areas in particular. One clause lays down in some detail the duties expected of a company director. A definitive list of duties runs the real risk of being too proscriptive and inappropriate. How does the role of a director differ from a corner shop owner to that of a multinational executive? Though I do not in any way begrudge accountants and lawyers their living, I would prefer them to be able to earn this in wealth creation for their clients rather than protection from the creeping clutches of the State.
I support Shareholders’ Rights Alliance’s campaign to ensure that shareholders within a nominee account have the same rights as those with a physical share certificate. As well as righting a blatant inequality, this will help deal with my third concern: corporate social responsibility.
More and more individuals are investing in, and doing business with, companies that have a stated social and environmental policy. Ethical trusts, green fuel and Fairtrade products are becoming mainstream choices, not just expensive options attractive only to wealthier “early adopters”. This move benefits both our surroundings and neighbours, encouraging other organisations to look beyond traditional business models and appreciating that a social conscience is not mutually exclusive to profit.
Gordon Brown removed the requirement of companies to produce an operating and financial review on the grounds of cost savings. It is vital that provision is made in the bill for customers and shareholders to have access to substantive, accurate information on a company’s activities. David Cameron has set up an expert working group on corporate social responsibility to examine the ways in which this balance can be achieved. One area of interest is the introduction of lighter regulation for companies with formal responsible business practices. Over-regulation will force larger companies to relocate, leaving smaller businesses, less-able to cope with regulatory burdens. The problem will just move on, with the issue still remaining to be dealt with. Relocation of such companies can also decimate communities leaving a void behind, which can take years to fill. The near-destruction of the British motor industry has given rise to a series of smaller hi-tech companies to absorb much of the workforce but this did not happen overnight and it did not happen everywhere. Foreign companies will be unaffected by this legislation, so it will never transform the area of corporate social responsibility. Government must not be a regulator but a catalyst. It is the responsibility of legislators to protect the environment and our communities but, equally it is our responsibility to know when to stop tinkering.
by Paul Scully | Jun 30, 2006 | News |
We are always keen to hear from our neighbours. In order to make it as easy as possible, there are five ways to contact us.
1. Write to us at Members’ Room, London Borough of Sutton, Civic Offices, St. Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1EA
2. Call Paul on 020 8770 5416
3. Email p.scully at cwcanet.com
4. Log onto www.paulscully.blogspot.com to see what we’re up to and let them know what you think they ought to be up to.
5.Visit us at our surgery held at the Ecology Centre, Festival Walk, Carshalton (north west of the ponds, next to Honeywood Lodge (see picture)) on the 2nd Saturday of the month between 10am and 12pm.
by Paul Scully | Jun 30, 2006 | Carshalton Central, News |
Paul Scully and the Conservatives voted to approve the planning application to convert Paul’s Cash & Carry into residential use at Wednesday’s Development Control meeting bringing an end to the perennial problem of large lorries parking in Carshalton Grove.
Eric Howell said “In the lead up to the election, several residents in Carshalton Grove complained about the lorries and wondered why a previous application had been refused. I am pleased that the road can return to a peaceful state.”
Paul said “I first became aware of the problem whilst speaking to residents back in 2002. Having heard the submissions and examined the plan it was apparent that this helped both the owner of the business and the residents. I asked for assurances that there would be no site fires during construction and checked that a condition would be imposed restricting the hours that the builders could work as it would be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire with food lorries being replaced by night time building trucks.”
Let us know what you think.
by Paul Scully | Jun 30, 2006 | News |
I was up at 4am yesterday to help my friend Bob Neill in Bromley. In the couple of days that I spent there late in the campaign, I could see that it would not be a walkover. Any campaigner will tell you that a message only resonates with the public once you have got bored of repeating it. The two comments that I heard most frequently were “I have never seen so much paperwork and interest in an election here” and “I’m not happy to have an MP that does not live locally.”
Bob has pledged to move into the constituency but has represented Bromley for six years now as a London Assembly Member. Local connections are important but these will count for nothing if an MP is not effective. I was appalled by the negative campaigning of the LibDems, who always take a holier-than-thou attitude whilst laying the boot in. The defeated candidate doesn’t live in the constituency either, published a photo of him cleaning graffiti only for someone else to notice that the same graffiti was there the day after and claimed to have worked in an orphanage that he, in fact visited for a couple of hours.
None of this would matter if it was part of a wider campaign showing positive messages as to how the lives of Bromley residents would improve by putting their cross next to that candidate’s name. Whereas Bob campaigned on crime and back garden development, there wasn’t a sniff of a policy in the LibDem literature. It just means that in Carshalton & Wallington we will have to take note and redouble our efforts to explain what differences we can make for all of us.
Finally looking at the wider picture, much of the LibDem gain from a much-reduced turnout was from a squeezed Labour vote which plummeted by over 15% to put Labour in fourth place behind UKIP.
(Photo: Guido Fawkes)
by Paul Scully | Jun 22, 2006 | News |
Last night, my 8 year old daughter and I attended the opening of the “Anne Frank & You” exhibition in Sutton Library. The exhibition was a major coup for the Borough and a testament to the retiring Head of Library Services Trevor Knight OBE, as it is in great demand and so only makes it to a few UK cities each year.
It is aimed at teenagers, though Josie punched the air when her older brother was too ill to accompany me as she had studied Anne Frank at school. Anne’s story is familiar to many of us and has been an inspiration to generations following the Holocaust. The exhibition breathes new life into the memories of a teenager balancing a normal teenage life with friends and boyfriends with the horrors of the age, hiding for two years in an annexe in the house in Amsterdam. Photos taken by her father and stepsister provide a remarkable archive, something taken for granted today but a rare view of those years.
Eva Schloss, Anne’s stepsister opened the exhibition adding a further insight into the desperation and anguish suffered by so many Jews, though the exhibition itself moves further in drawing parallels with modern-day conflicts such as Ireland and Darfur.
The exhibition is free and in Sutton for a month. If you have the opportunity, take it, enjoy it. You cannot fail to be moved.
![Imagine having to go to Blackpool for Council Meetings]()
by Paul Scully | Jun 12, 2006 | News |
Indulge me for a few minutes; you certainly have been indulging the French for sometime now. Strasbourg has hosted a few EU meetings for decades now, but in 1992 member states decided to introduce a system whereby all MEPs decamp to Strasbourg from Brussels for one week a month, 12 times a year. This farcical trip entails hundreds of boxes of MEPs’ papers being loaded up and taken the 260 miles from Brussels to Strasbourg. All 732 MEPs have offices in both buildings. Coincidentally (!) this was agreed at the same time that the French were objecting to John Major’s attempts to negotiate an opt-out of the social chapter.
Whatever the politics then, this costs us £120m each and every year. The MEPs hate it, the staff hate it. Nobody seems to remember who actually likes it. Several MEPs from all political persuasions have got together in an attempt to compile a 1,000,000 petition across Europe pushing for one single seat of Parliament. They are over halfway to this goal. Help them acheive it by registering your support here.
Article written for Chartered Management Institute “Professional Manager” magazine.
