20 November 2009
Work co-ordinated by Jersey to protect small businesses will be shared throughout Britain after being endorsed at the British Irish Council (BIC) summit held in the Island on 13 November 2009. This was the 13th BIC summit, and its theme was indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages.
Each of the 8 member administrations of the BIC takes the lead in a particular subject area or ‘workstream’. Jersey has been leading work on the BIC’s Knowledge Economy, which primarily aims to help businesses prepare for serious threats, like the aftermath of terrorist attacks, pandemics or natural disasters. The work focused on small to medium sized enterprises, which are believed to be most at risk.
First Ministers, Chief Ministers and ministers at the summit have approved a paper entitled 'Business Continuity Management for Small Businesses' for publication on the BIC website and in paper form. They also recommended that all 8 member administrations now use the best practice guidelines, which were drawn up in consultation with the Business Continuity Institute. The guidelines advise on business continuity planning and explain how firms can ensure they carry on operating through, or recover from, a major disruption.
Jersey’s Chief Minister, Senator Terry Le Sueur, said “Business continuity has never been so important and this paper has successfully brought together the very latest ideas and best practice from across Britain. As well as providing an extremely valuable resource for the business community and its employees, this work stream has shown that Jersey has an important contribution to make to the British Irish Council.”
The ministers also discussed the effects on their economies of the global recession. Senator Le Sueur told the summit “We have found that independent, expert economic advice is important for improving political decisions on tax and spending. We all need to demonstrate credibly how we will deal with the fiscal hangover once the recovery is underway, and independent, public advice will be important in gaining that credibility.
"In tackling the significant challenges we all face today, it is also vital to demonstrate that public expenditure is under control. Our Treasury Minister has, after considering reports from our Fiscal Policy Panel, started work on a Fiscal Strategy Review and a Comprehensive Spending Review.
"Hopefully our experience is informative for small and large economies alike, as we all respond to the global recession and aim for fiscal consolidation.”
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