IoD Weekly Policy Report 12 - 16 June 2023
“It’s hot, isn’t it?”, begins every Teams meeting this week. There has been a change in weather, and it calls for some good old British discussion. Aside from the weather, this week’s been all about the markets. Job, financial, buyers, sellers, the street food market that opened round the corner as soon as the sun came out. That’s certainly where you’ll find this little piggy. Ok, let’s compare them…
An imperfect market – The ONS published labour market statistics that showed a rise in payroll employees to 30 million in May and an increase in the employment rate in the three months to April. So, while lower vacancies show the labour market is showing signs of stabilising, skills and labour shortages are still prevalent. Our members are continuing to share their concerns with us.
Up market – Monthly data showed GDP grew by 0.2% in April. ‘Only 0.2%?’, you say. Well, growth is growth, and April’s data shows a recovery, however slight, in consumer-facing services, with growth recorded in multiple areas including wholesale trade, retail and food and beverage services. We can thank the weather for that, since there is a definite correlation between the level of sunshine and the number of people sitting in pub gardens. Here is our full analysis.
Down market – The British Business Bank published data that shows UK small business equity investment declined by 11% in 2022. The culprit is the downturn in market conditions in the second half of the year and ongoing market challenges into 2023.
The stock market – The Financial Conduct Authority has published a consultation paper that sets out plans to overhaul the UK listing regime. The changes give companies more flexibility in using dual-class share structures on the London Stock Exchange. But what is a dual-class share? Our Director of Governance, Roger Barker, sums it up nicely here.
The labour market – Our Principal Policy Advisor for skills, Alex Hall-Chen, published a paper exploring how businesses can innovate to access the talent and skills they need, drawing on case examples obtained through interviews with IoD members. We sent the findings to government and were pleased that the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, The Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP wrote back to us to tell us how important the matter is.
Market research – Our latest Policy Voice survey has gone live. We are keen for member input on how challenging the trading relationship with the EU is at the moment, whether businesses are being impacted by actions by other countries that distort the free market, your own business plans for capital expenditure, and economic confidence. Make sure to feed in!
Next week watch out for…
Tuesday 20 June
- The Chancellor of the Exchequer is taking oral questions in the House of Commons
- The Public Accounts Committee are taking oral evidence on progress with making tax digital in the House of Commons.
Wednesday 21 June
- Prime Minister’s Questions at midday
- The ONS will publish inflation statistics for May 2023
Thursday 22 June
- The Bank of England’s Money Policy Committee will meet to decide whether to raise, lower or maintain interest rates.
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