Is Whitehall Listening to Business?

A couple of years ago there were mutterings that BIS might be abolished altogether should the Conservatives come to power.  Certainly pre-Mandelson it was widely viewed as not up to much.  Mandelson's political power and proximity to the PM changed that.  With its destiny so closely linked to its Secretary of State, what is Cable's anti-business stance doing for the department's role within Whitehall?

How can the department champion business while its Secretary of State criticises capitalism en masse?  How can it retain credibility with either side - business or government?  I understand that Vince Cable 'doesn't believe in sectors' when it comes to the department's work.  That is mind-boggling, and leaves civil service teams supporting particular sectors nowhere.

In this situation, the 'back-up' that BIS represents to big business' relationships with government is no longer what it once was (though many were already sceptical of its ability to influence colleagues in Whitehall).  This can present specific problems for some, where the departments they engage with are unreceptive and need encouragement to consider business issues as part of their agenda.  A more creative use of wider communications tools will be needed to open up some of those attitudes; the same messages from the same people should not be expected to change matters.

For smaller business, the BIS situation is a much bigger problem as they find access elsewhere in Whitehall much more difficult.  For them, trade bodies will be the key to such access and they should invest their time in making such collaborative efforts work.  Success may also require smaller businesses to put pressure on their trade bodies to up their game in communications and public affairs and, indeed, their general leadership.