The British Cleaning Council held their 30^th Anniversary Reception at the Houses of Parliament today, with over 45 stakeholders past and present in attendance. The event was led by Mark Woodhead, Chairman of the British Cleaning Council, who used his speech to draw attention to the BCC’s achievements since 1982, while looking at some of the recent changes aimed at strengthening the membership criteria, lobbying and the grants process.

Mark Woodhead was followed by Norman Lamb MP, newly installed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs. Mr. Lamb used the platform to defend the coalition government’s growth strategy, and emphasise government support for the cleaning and support services sectors, outlining policies that will improve business conditions and help businesses manage their workforce numbers better.

Finally, William Keegan CBE, Chief Economics Commentator for the Observer, gave a short address on the state of the economy and offered insights from his fifty year career in journalism. He criticised the coalition’s programme of severe austerity, and emphasised the need to utilize to the tools currently available to stimulate the sluggish UK economy.

Mark Woodhead, Chairman of the British Cleaning Council, commented: “For the British Cleaning Council to be celebrating its 30 year anniversary is a remarkable achievement, and I am delighted that so many of the people who have made a contribution over the years were able to attend. It was a measure of our esteem within business that we have been able to secure such distinguished speakers as they contributed to what was a very memorable day.”