Government and Business

Abstract

A large firm will have extensive contacts with government every day at a variety of levels and in relation to a variety of tasks. Members of the main board may be engaged in confidential discussions with a minister and his advisers about whether a new plant could be located in Britain rather than overseas. Elsewhere in the same government building, members of the firm’s technical staff may be part of a trade association delegation discussing a draft EC directive on a particular product with civil servants. Members of the firm’s financial staff may be holding a meeting to discuss the implications of proposed changes in tax law. Commercial staff may be discussing the categorisation of machinery imported from a closed foreign plant with Customs and Excise. At one of the plants, the safety arrangements for a new piece of machinery may be under discussion with the Factories Inspectorate. The personnel manager at the plant may be discussing the possibility of vacancies with the local Job Centre. A planning application for a plant extension may require a site visit from the local authority.