Business manifestos: six pre-election proposals touted by UK industry

Workplace funds schemes

The Building Societies Association has been calling for the introduction of a workplace funds scheme that would assist construct up the budgetary resilience of UK households. Currently, 14 million people have less than £100 in funds – and 9 million have no funds at all, according to the Money and Pensions Service.

Under the scheme, a set amount of funds would be deducted directly from payrolls by companies with more than 250 staff, similar to the way pensions work today. The BSA is not asking for responsibility-free treatment or matching contribution from employers, in the aspiration of making the programme as straightforward and speedy as feasible.

Boost ill pay

The Association of British Insurers is calling for more charitable laws that would boost ill pay, provide it from the first day of leave and extend the scheme to lower earners. The ABI also wants the next government to provide ill pay for people returning to work with reduced hours, and to ensure self-employed people also receive back.

Currently, only workers classed as employees – rather than freelancers or contractors – are eligible, and they must earn an average of at least £123 a week. Those who qualify receive up to £116.75 a week for up to 28 weeks, minus the first three days.

The ABI says tiny and medium-sized businesses should also be refunded for statutory ill pay costs if they provide effective health services and gain-to-work back. Together, these policies could not only boost productivity across the UK economy but also reduce health and protection payouts by specialist insurers and boost receive-up of insurer-supplied health and wellness services.

Make large tech and social media pay for fraud

The City lobby throng UK Finance is calling on the next government to bring in scams legislation that would force large tech and social media companies to assist reimburse victims, and spend more than £40m per year to combat fraud, including on their platforms.

That would include a recent fraud and scams statement to consolidate a current voluntary scheme where tech firms consent to reduce fraud through their platforms and services.

UK Finance also wants online platforms, internet service providers and tech companies to be covered by the economic crime levy, forcing them to pay more than £40m per year towards the expense of tackling economic crime. The lobby throng also wants firms to assist reimburse victims of fraud. At now, most of the expense of reimbursing fraud victims falls to banks.

Government-appointed AI champion for tiny and medium-sized businesses

The British Chambers of Commerce says that while AI can assist level the playing field for smaller businesses, most do not comprehend how to make the most out of the technology and feel vulnerable to recent threats including cyber-attacks.

It is now pushing for the next government to make a “framework of depend”, including through a recent AI programme and the appointment of an AI champion that would back digital skills and advancement in tiny to medium-sized enterprises.

“A recent government must provide the correct back to businesses to make the most of these radical advancements and no tiny business should feel left behind. An AI champion, introduced by a recent government, will ensure that is not the case,” the BCC said

Ban intelligent motorways

The AA is calling on politicians to scrap what it says is “the failed experiment of ‘intelligent’ motorways”, which were originally intended as a way to ease congestion without spending money on widening roads, by using what was previously a challenging shoulder – or breakdown lane – for regular traffic.

The AA believes the challenging shoulder should be reinstated, saying a third of drivers currently avoid using the inside lane due to terror that broken-down vehicles may be ahead, and emergency vehicles now battle to get to crashes due to severe congestion.

Make the annual budgetary schedule a fixed date in the political calendar

To revitalise the economy, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) is proposing three pillars of budgetary policy reform. First, use stake of the community sector as a target of community policy, which would provide a better assess of the sustainability of community obligation.

Second, discount the amount of community infrastructure property from the way the government measures the deficit, ensuring it is separated out from day-to-day spending. Third, make the budgetary schedule, and other budgetary events, fixed dates in the calendar. This would ensure budgets are not influenced by the short-termism of event politics, or goals such as winning elections.