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Low pay commission The Liberal Democrats published a policy document, Working For Change, at their party conference last month. The LibDems want to maximise employment opportunities by promoting full employment, increasing flexibility, community service and ensuring employees can work to their potential. It might sound vague but the document does include specific proposals.
Plans include requiring businesses to disclose training expenditure in their accounts; some plans could increase business costs, notably the introduction of a low pay commission.
In terms of help for small businesses, the only document available was written in May 1993 while Britain was still in recession. Some of the programmes might change to reflect the changing economic climate.
Cheap loans to small businesses Funding of small businesses is important to the LibDems. They are looking at finance for small firms through programmes such as a Manufacturing Loan Support Scheme, under which "Government would subsidise loans made by banks to small and medium sized enterprises" at rates of base plus 1%. Capital grants under existing schemes available to technology-based industries ought to have their funds doubled, say the LibDems, from the "paltry £21m for 1993/4".
Swapping equity for funding To replace some of the old forms of security, the LibDems would seek to encourage banks to take equity as security in return for funding. The owner/borrower would retain the right to buy back that equity at a price which reflected the bank's investment and risk. This programme, say the LibDems, would entail a review of tax, legislative and institutional procedures to remove any barriers.
LibDem policy also includes a Mutual Guarantee Scheme, similar to that outlined by the Labour Party Once again, this policy would need a review of procedures to ensure that nothing gets in the way.
Speeding up debt recovery The LibDem approach to late payment of debts includes a statutory right to interest, reform of the court system to speed up debt recovery, and the provision of debt recovery courses in credit management run by the TECs.