Nick Fletcher MP Meets With Doncaster Businesses To Discuss Government Policy, The Housing Market, Skills, Net Zero and More

Businesses in Nick Fletcher’s Don Valley constituency were able to meet with their MP earlier this week, and subsequently hashed out the pressing issues of the day, at a roundtable event that was organised by the local Chamber of Commerce.

A completely open-forum, this was an opportunity for those delegates in attendance to engage directly with their political representative, to ask him their burning questions about Government policy, and to raise any concerns that they thought should be on his radar.

As such, a lot of ground was covered in the hour-and-a-half-long session, with a wide range of different topics being broached. Among other things, there was in-depth exploration of: what else national Government could be doing to support the construction industry right now; the current state of the housing market; the implications that working from home has had on businesses; the Net-Zero agenda; and the assorted hurdles that organisations have encountered lately when it comes to the planning system. Meanwhile, there was also the ever-timely debate about skills here in South Yorkshire and how we can ensure that the region’s businesses have access to the best possible talent.

The MP roundtable with Nick Fletcher took place on Monday the 8^th of April and was kindly hosted by the Warmsworth Holiday Inn.

Reflecting back on it, Dan Fell, Chief Exec of Doncaster Chamber, said: “This was an incredibly productive session that raised a lot of important issues that are in urgent need of tackling and even generated some potential ideas for strengthening the local economy.

“I hope that Nick found it to be equally useful and that he emerged from our roundtable with a much firmer understanding of the things that really matter to businesses in his constituency. Indeed —  equipped with the insights from Monday’s meeting —  he can now more authentically speak on their behalf and articulate what they’d like to see from Government, as we inch ever closer towards the next general election. When it comes to casting their votes, they will obviously be looking to see which party truly ascertains their needs and has their back.

“With that said, I’d like to thank all of those who came along to this roundtable session and offered their unvarnished views, thought-provoking questions and knowledgeable insights. I’d also like to thank Nick himself for his always-appreciated candour and for so enthusiastically engaging with our members.”

Offering his perspective, Nick Fletcher, MP for Don Valley, added: “I really appreciate Doncaster Chamber being proactive in championing the interests of local businesses. The fact they hold these MP meetings is clear evidence of that. I am a huge supporter of the Chamber which is so ably headed by Dan Fell. Onwards and upwards!”

On that note, Doncaster Chamber regularly convenes roundtable events like this, with two per year set aside for each of the city’s three MPs (those being Nick Fletcher, Ed Miliband and Dame Rosie Winterton). As was the case at this week’s meeting, the idea behind these sessions is to give businesses — across the various Doncaster constituencies — a real platform and to help ensure that their voice is being heard by their respective political representative.

This is also the ambition for the upcoming MPs Question Time event on Friday the 10^th of May, at which all three Doncaster MPs (alongside Deputy Mayor, Glyn Jones) will be coming together under one roof to field questions from a crowd of Chamber members. More information about this can be found here.

Finally, in just under two weeks, the Chamber will be hosting a Mayoral Hustings in partnership with the other South Yorkshire Chambers, The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Make UK and The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Taking place on Friday the 19^th April, this will be an opportunity for firms to learn more about those who have put themselves forward to be Mayor of South Yorkshire this year, as the role comes up for re-election and is set to take on additional Police and Crime Commissioner responsibilities.

Labour Candidatem and current Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard has already confirmed his attendance, alongside the Conservative Party Candidate, Nick Allen, and the Liberal Democrats candidate, Hannah Kitching. More information can be found by clicking the link below.