Business Secretary Sajid Javid drew on his childhood in Bristol to make his first major speech in the role – returning to the city to launch the Government’s new Enterprise Bill.
Speaking to local business leaders and entrepreneurs, he used his experience helping out in his parents’ women’s clothing shop on Stapleton Road, Easton, to underpin his message that the Government was right behind small business.
“If you are behind a shop counter, behind the wheel of a van or behind a new invention, then we are behind you,” he said.
“If you are like my parents you have my utmost respect and my total support.” 
Speaking in Bristol’s Engine Shed innovation hub, Mr Javid, pictured, pledged to make Britain the best place in Europe to start and grow a business, and help create two 2m more jobs over the next five years.
The new bill will be included in the Government’s first Queen’s Speech aimed at slashing red tape by at least £10bn over the lifetime of this Parliament.
Mr Javid told the invited audience of business leaders and entrepreneurs: “Small businesses are Britain’s engine room and the success of our whole economy is built on the hard work and determination of the people who run and work for them.
“As Business Secretary I will always back them and, in my determination to get the job done, one of my first steps will be to bring forward an Enterprise Bill that helps them to succeed and create jobs.”
He said he had been inspired by his parents’ story – they arrived in the UK in 1964 and his father had worked in a cotton mill, then as a bus driver before running a market stall at the weekends.
They moved to Bristol, where they opened the shop, with his parents, Sajid and his four brothers living in the flat above it.
One of his earliest memories was the sound of his mother’s Singer sewing machine as she made clothes. “Aged nine or 10 I helped my dad in the shop, wearing the money belt,” he said. 
“Our fortunes and happiness fluctuated with the business. But it gave me an unwavering belief in the rewards of hard work.”
The new Enterprise Bill was part of the Government’s long-term economic plan, he said. “We will sweep away burdensome red tape, get heavy handed regulators off firms’ backs and create a Small Business Conciliation Service to help resolve disputes.”
This service would help settle disputes between small and large businesses, especially over late payment practices, he said. Small firms were owed more than £32bn in late payments and the new service would build on measures introduced by the Coalition government to tackle poor payment practices.
The Government had led by example in this, he said, and now paid all its suppliers within 30 days.
The Bill would also support businesses by extending and simplifying Primary Authority, which allows a business to get advice on regulation from a single local council which must then be respected by all other councils.
“It reduces the time and cost of a business having to obey multiple masters,” he said.
“For example, a cheese maker wouldn’t be forced to display their cheese on wooden boards in one place and on metal platters in another.”
British industry already faced fewer regulations than any other major economy, he said – but he wanted to go further, listing red tape that prevented the sale of Christmas crackers to young people, penalised firms that hung ‘no smoking’ signs in the wrong place or forced hundreds of small music venues and community groups to apply for licences.
Mr Javid, who moved from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to Business, Innovation and Science in the post-election Cabinet reshuffle, faced questions on support for tech entrepreneurs, exports and productivity, the role of universities and – from Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson – on support for a Great Western Powerhouse stretching from Swindon to Swansea to rival the Government’s flagship Northern Powerhouse project.
West of England Local Enterprise Partnership chair Colin Skellett, pictured above, right, with Mr Javid, centre, and Nick Sturge of Engine Shed, had reminded Mr Javid of the strength of the regional economy when introducing him – pointing out that the city-region boasted an economy worth £25bn and was the only city to be a net contributor to the Government’s coffers – paying £10bn a year to the Treasury. He hoped some of this could be retained by the region under the Government’s mooted devolution plans.
UWE produces more entrepreneurs than any other university in the country and Bristol has the highest number of business start-ups of all the core cities, he added.
Mr Javid was introduced to five innovative businesses when he toured Engine Shed – Pelipod, which has developed a smart box for home-delivered parcels; BluWireless, which is developing wireless technology with a faster transmission rate; My Action Replay, which allows sports participants to film and replay action; Fusion Processing, which is pioneering cycle safety technology; and Ultrahaptics, which is developing products that use ultrasound to create the feeling of touch in mid-air,
Karl Wills from Pelipod, a company that has been part of the Bristol SET Squared centre since February, said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity that SETsquared presented in being able to speak with the Secretary of State and to give Pelipod a higher profile.
“The minister liked the product and the concept and could see it being of real use for delivery to businesses as well as consumers. It was interesting to hear the proposal for the inclusion in the Queen’s Speech and it will be very exciting to see that delivered.”
Engine Shed, a refurbished section of Brunel’s original Temple Meads station, has added £8m to the local economy since opening 18 months ago.
Home to the Bristol SETsquared university business incubator and Invest Bristol and Bath, the West of England’s inward investment service, it is a partnership between Bristol City Council and the University of Bristol.
Mr Javid made his first major speech as Culture Secretary in Bristol last year.
