This morning Greg Smith MP met with a number of local businesses at a meeting organised by Buckinghamshire Business First to discuss the general business landscape in Buckinghamshire right now, as well as looking ahead to the Spring Budget and skills.
Greg very much values the work Buckinghamshire Business First does to support our local businesses - big and small - especially in giving advice on grants that are available from Government to support businesses grow.
Greg said, "Really important meeting with local businesses this morning. It is invaluable to hear directly from businesspeople what's working, what needs changing and where the challenges are so I can best represent everyone down in Westminster. With the Spring Budget coming up there are number of points I will be raising with the Chancellor, including the VAT threshold. Skills are also a huge issue at the moment and whilst there are over 6,000 apprenticeship starts locally since 2010, more needs to be done to ensure young people are getting the training they need and opportunities that are right for them and right for local businesses needs as they leave school and start their careers."
The meeting was held at Ercol in Princes Risborough, where Greg was also delighted to see the factory floor of this iconic local furniture maker who have been in Buckinghamshire for over 100 years - and meet with Henry Tadros, great grandson of Ercol founder Lucian R Ercoloni, and fourth generation running this iconic Bucks furniture maker.
