A blank sheet of paper

By Nick Joy

How can this be? I sit here with a blank sheet of paper the day following one of the most critical Budgets in the last two decades without a thought in my head. I suppose that the sheer awfulness of the proposals is giving me a block but it also may be that so much of it had already been leaked that it seems hard to write a story about it.

Yet I must say something about an event which burdens business even more. We do not need any more bureaucrats living off us, let alone ones which are paid so much more than our hard-working staff. We don’t need any more regulations and rules stifling enterprise and investment which creates the jobs and the money with which we pay our staff.

We are a fragile industry which exists in some of the most difficult places in the world to do business. Small populations and high service costs mean that businesses have to carry higher overheads just to exist. The fact that we produce a healthy protein and feed so many people will not protect us against the overweening government monolith.

I am sure that there will be those who praise the new employment rights and increased minimum wage etc that the government proposes. As one who always wanted to create jobs with good remuneration, I can understand that. The problem is, of course that the government is spending someone else’s money. In fact, the whole strategy depends on the enthusiasm and risk-taking of business.

Government does not have to grow the fish, process it, transport it or sell it at a profit. It is expected that someone will do that in order that these extra wages can be paid. It is so easy to give away what is not yours in the first place. Especially as it has been confirmed that government is also going to take more money from business in National Insurance.

If that were the only problem then our industry would find it bearable but each government promises us to make our life easy while making it harder. The amount of analysis of farming performance in both agriculture and aquaculture grows year on year. Too often it is to prove that we are not doing the damage that critics say we are.

I see a tough few years ahead. The Scottish government is still reviewing what it thinks of salmon farming, and I think that the business environment here is going to get worse before it gets better. I sincerely hope that I am wrong but the evidence is pretty damning.

The future for small business is worse, which does not affect salmon farming so much but remember all the other species and the size of their businesses. Like agriculture we suffer from the lack of interest in our industry in the education system. All of these effects are compounding so the smaller enterprises suffer disproportionately.

It would be fair to say that I am a little disheartened at the moment, though there are a few glimmers of light out there. I am told that farming courses are seeing an uptick in applications which is hopeful. I am not sure if this is the same for aquaculture courses, but I hope so. The price of food is rising and whilst I am sorry that this is the case, we have to go back to a place where food is expensive so that people waste less. For me, expensive food means that the people who work in the rural environment will be valued and get higher wages. So I hope this trend continues.

Meanwhile I will have another glass of whisky and brace myself for what’s to come when the Budget announcements take effect.