A parliamentary all-party group on printing will be set up in October. Its formation was announced by Gerry Sutcliffe, Labour MP for Bradford South, to an audience of 60 MPs, members of the House of Lords and industry leaders.
The announcement was made during a reception at the House of Lords on 24 May, hosted by Lord Evans of Watford, following a meeting at the BPIF which discussed the tax implications of the 1997 Finance Act.
Under the terms of the act some printing equipment is now deemed a long life asset - a classification which attracts 6% annual depreciation rather than the previously accepted level of 25%. For SMEs this rate is 40% in the first year for capital equipment.
The impact on printers could be disastrous claimed the BPIF's director of corporate affairs Mike Hopkins. "This is an industry that invests somewhere in the region of 1bn a year," he said. "The sums involved are very large."
The all-party group aims to provide a forum for the discussion of these types of issues. It also hopes to promote the competitiveness of the industry and to raise its profile amongst politicians.
"It is important to have a body that extends across the political spectrum to raise these issues," said Sutcliffe, "and the formation of this group fits in with the Government's partnership approach."
His views were echoed by general secretary of the GPMU Tony Dubbins and BPIF president Roy Bailie who drew to the group's attention a number of key issues affecting printers including the potentially damaging impact of the Climate Change Levy.
Story by Anthony Clark