As this month’s spending review gets closer, so the rumours grow of the government bodies and advisory groups that are under threat of abolition, consolidation or privatisation. Inevitably, some of these organisations impact upon the hospitality and catering sector, and their removal could have consequences for your business…
Austerity and the drive for efficiency and reduced regulation mean that the government is determined to reduce the number of public bodies financed by the tax payer , and rightly so. The danger, however, is that valuable expertise and advice is lost at the same time, or moved into a larger government bureaucracy where it cannot be accessed for months, if ever.
What, for example, will happen if bodies such as Food from Britain, Visit Britain, and Visit England are abolished or absorbed by government departments? These, along with other more specialist sources of advice, expert viewpoints or guidance used by or affecting the hospitality and catering industry, may not easily be replaced.
The Government Hospitality Advisory Committee on the Purchase of wines, on the other hand, may find fewer defenders!
In addition, the sustainability and low carbon agendas may suffer with the Carbon Trust, Energy Savings Trust and Sustainable Development Commission amongst those under threat. As we know, large numbers of advisory groups have grown around these agendas, along with many specialist bodies. A natural target for cost-cutting, many nonetheless deliver useful services.
It’s worth keeping a careful watch, therefore, for the announcements and changes that will affect your business, and ensuring that you’ve worked out how to replace services before you have urgent need.
The Daily Telegraph’s list of quangos under threat can be found here
This article was provided by einsidetrack.com