YP Comment: Small firms left counting cost of flood inertia

In Leeds, small business owner David Long says he has been left with no option but to set aside money in a flood recovery pot as it is less costly than the insurance premiums.

Meanwhile, nearby companies which did take out insurance are left facing the prospect of having to move out because they are unlikely to be able to obtain suitable cover in the future.

And, in Hebden Bridge, Ed Chadwick tells how had to rely on a crowdfunding site which raised more than £5,000 in two weeks in order to get his business back on its feet.

Such enterprises are the lifeblood of the economy at local, regional and national level. It is why David Cameron has made such great play of painting the Conservative Party as the champion of such firms and the entrepreneurial spirit that drives them.

Indeed, two-and-a-half years ago he unveiled a dozen Tory MPs who he said would act as “small business ambassadors”, representing the interests of these firms in government.

However, for all the good intentions, the litmus test is provided by incidents like the recent floods – and here the long-term support and investment has been found to be wanting.

Business leaders in Leeds yesterday told George Osborne that the city will struggle to attract investment without pledges on flood defences. It stands to reason that Yorkshire as a whole has little chance of playing a full and proper role in the Northern Powerhouse if it remains so susceptible to the effects of rising river levels.

Nor is it good enough for Environment Minister Elizabeth Truss to say budgets are set in stone and it will be six years before the required defences are even considered.

In the short-term, however, the Government should start providing practical help. It could begin by exploring the feasibility of a similar scheme for businesses to the Flood Re initiative that enables homeowners to obtain affordable insurance cover.

This would at least mean that the small firms in Yorkshire it claims to champion can continue to do their bit to rebuild the UK economy during the interminable wait for adequate protection from the worst Mother Nature can throw at them.

Time to hit bully boy retailers in the pocket

AT the heart of the often one-sided relationship between major retailers and small suppliers lies one simple conundrum. How can producers cry foul without destroying the commercial ties on which they depend?

The Groceries Code Adjudicator found that Tesco repeatedly and deliberately delayed payments to producers in a widespread practice designed to improve its financial position.

And manufacturers insist this is just the tip of the iceberg, with larger firms seemingly free to abuse their relationship with smaller companies at will.

Tesco is not alone in acting in this manner, whilst dairy farmers in Yorkshire, for instance, are seeking assurances from major milk purchasers that they will abide by the code on contracts to prevent more of them being driven out of business by plunging prices.

Yet just as that code is voluntary, so the Groceries Code Adjudicator has no power to penalise those who bully suppliers.

Tesco has since apologised and improved its terms. Other firms should now do the decent thing and follow suit.

Independent producers are the driving force of the groceries sector and as such are deserving – at the very least – of a fair deal in return for their goods.

If retailers are not prepared to give them that, then they should be hit where it hurts the most – in the pocket.