The British Marine Federation has said that new Business minister Sajid Javid will be one of its “key targets” in the new Parliament
Industry body, the British Marine Federation (BMF) has said that it will be targeting key business ministers in the new Parliament, including the recently promoted Sajid Javid.
Mr Javid was appointed Minister for Business, Innovation & Skills by David Cameron following the Conservative party’s overall victory in the recent General Election.
And the BMF argues that engaging with this department is key to ensuring that the boating industry’s concerns are listened to.
Howard Pridding, chief executive of the BMF, said: “Sajid Javid and his ministerial colleagues, Anna Soubry, Nick Boles and Francis Maude, will be key targets for the BMF in the coming months.
“We will seek to engage them on important policies concerning export and manufacturing support, as identified in the BMF Manifesto.”
He added that the BMF will be seeking the opinions of the industry ahead of the upcoming Brexit referendum on whether Britain should leave the EU.
Despite remaining neutral, Mr Pridding (pictured above) points out that the Confederation of British Industry supports the UK staying in Europe.
Manifesto promises
The BMF laid out its agenda before the General Election with the publication of the BMF Manifesto, which is split into five sections.
The industry body calls for support in domestic and overseas markets, reshoring of the UK marine supply chain and a commitment to developing skills.
Other key aspects of the manifesto include a push to improve the profile of boating tourism as well as a recognition of the need to future-proof the environmental sustainability of the industry.
To this end, the BMF will also aim to engage with shipping minister Robert Goodwill, tourism minister Tracey Crouch, and John Whittingdale at the Department for Culture.
“The BMF believes that marine should be directly referred to in the Government’s national tourism strategy and will be pushing hard to see this happen,” Mr Pridding adds.
