News from the FSB

Many will have seen much in the Welsh press in recent weeks about the Assembly’s new powers gifted to the institution via the new Government of Wales Act 2006 which provide for the ability to propose Wales-only legislation.

The various routes for passing the different types of legislation are complicated but once proposed by the Assembly, there is a reliance on Westminster to pass the legislation on the Assembly’s behalf. It’s fair to say that there is limited understanding of the process and even the Assembly Government itself has already found itself at odds with officials in Whitehall about various proposals.

But putting aside the political bickering which will inevitably be part and parcel of this new system (and indeed all legislative process) it is still not clear how this new process of law creation will affect smal businesses.

The proposals which have been made public so far might well give those of us within the business community cause for concern. These include possible new cuts to carbon emissions in addition to those already in force and possible requirements for the private sector in -Wales to compulsorily incorporate the use of the Welsh language in their businesses.

Both of these proposals have laudable purposes, one to further protect the environment and the other to sustain and grow the Welsh language. However, in the case of the former, we in the FSB have significant concern that placing an additional carbon emissions pressure on Welsh businesses runs the danger of making our businesses uncompetitive compared to our neighbours the other side of Offa’s Dyke, let alone those in other European states. Far better in our view, would be to devise a system of incentives for the ‘greening’ of businesses and to create a positive culture of better environmental performance.

In the case of the latter proposal, again we feel that extending the regulation which already exists in respect of the public sector to the private sector may well backfire. To legally compel businesses to use the Welsh language is likely depict the issue rather simplistically as one of regulation and would for many businesses create an intolerable burden. Why sweep away all the good work of the Welsh Language Board, the positive attitude of many businesses in Wales in incorporating the language and the organic growth of the language with such a blunt tool as regulation?

Although these are somewhat simplistic representations of the issues, they raise a fundamental question about the new powers and a question which will be at the heart of any further devolution of responsibility to the National Assembly and the Welsh Assembly

Originally posted 2008-01-31 15:44:39.