The British Hair Consortium, The Salon Employers Association (SEA) and Hair & Barber Council have been invited to participate in the Government’s Small Business Strategy Inquiry.
The SEA, along with the Hair & Barber Council have been invited to join The Business & Trade Committee who will conduct an inquiry to develop recommendations for its strategy and set criteria against which to judge the Government’s success.
Read more about the British Hair Consortium journey and the March on Parliament here...
This is the first time ever that the hairdressing industry has been asked to participate in this way. This will aim to set out the Government’s vision for support for small businesses, which as a result, and will be published in 2025.
Co-founder of the SEA, Toby Dicker, will be representing the Salon Employers Association. “This is truly a seat at the top table and the biggest opportunity we have ever had to put our case forward and represent the concerns of our members,” he says.
The inquiry started on June 16, and the first oral interviews will take place in front of a panel of 11 MP’s (from across the political spectrum) on Tuesday 1 July in Parliament at 3:10pm.
Chaired by Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Department for Business and Trade, the Inquiry aims to assess how small business success can contribute to the Government’s overall objectives of raising the rates of economic growth, increasing disposable income and closing regional inequalities.
Hair & Beauty are amongst the first sectors to speak directly to the inquiry, which is testament to the BHC’s ongoing campaigning. The SEA aims to focus on tax reform, and how current taxation creates an uneven playing field which prohibits growth for hairdressing and beauty businesses.
Gareth Penn, Registrar / Chief Executive, Hair & Barber Council said: “We are only one of two sectors giving evidence to The Business & Trade Committee which is a real mark of the changing perception Ministers and MPs have of the importance of hairdressing and barbering to the UK economy.”
However, the progress doesn’t stop there. “This is further reinforced by the recent changes to VAT and Hairdressing reference documents within the House of Commons Library (the ‘Bible’ for politicians researching) both of which have been updated to reflect the challenges hairdressing and barbering is facing, and the positive impact Government support could have.
“There is a great deal of work to do but these are really positive first steps to Government finally understanding that a mandatory register and tax reform is a necessity to save UK hairdressing and barbering, he says”
To watch the inquiry, go to: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Guide
