Pottery bosses want bank help
Representatives urged politicians to provide greater help in evidence to the West Midlands Regional Committee yesterday.
The committee is holding an inquiry into how the recession is affecting businesses in the area.
And pottery bosses called for better access to finance and trade credit insurance, as well as Government subsidies for companies forced to implement short-time working.
The session, held at Staffordshire University's Leek Road campus in Stoke, was the third meeting for the committee, which is made up of five West Midlands MPs including Stoke-on-Trent North's Joan Walley and Stafford's David Kidney.
Mike Shirley, pictured, managing director of Etruria bone ash supplier Jesse Shirley & Son, said : "When Jesse Shirley went into administration in January I tried to buy it back. I approached three banks and couldn't get anywhere.
"We did come out of administration, but the sad thing is that a 200-year-old company had to do it with private funding from overseas."
Laura Cohen, chief executive of the British Ceramics Confederation, added: "The West Midlands has been affected worse in some ways than other parts of the UK because of its very heavy dependence on manufacturing.
"What has stifled the industry here is the lack of access to funding from the banks. On our shopping list, first of all, is access to finance and trade credit insurance, and also ensuring the industry can continue to employ skilled people.
"In Europe companies are offered Government compensation if they have to go to short-time working and we need a level playing field."
Dr Cohen was backed by Gerard Coyne, regional secretary for union Unite, who told the meeting the Enterprise Financial Guarantee Scheme, designed to be the catalyst for up to £1.3 billion of new lending by banks, should be extended.
He said: "We thought it would be oversubscribed but it's not because the Government only guarantees 75 per cent of the loan, which still factors in a 25 per cent risk for the bank and the company involved."
Mr Coyne said the Government guarantee should be extended to 90 per cent.
He added: "One area where we haven't yet been successful in convincing the Government is short-time working subsidies.
"We've had various difficult conversations with companies who are clearly weighing up the benefits of having a factory here in the UK or having one on the continent, where they get a lot of support from the Government."
The committee also heard evidence from Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Staffordshire County Council and Newcastle Borough Council, as well as the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership, on what the organisations are doing to support businesses in the area.
Chairman Richard Burden, MP for Birmingham Northfield, said: "We will produce a report to which the Government is obliged to respond."
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