Downing Street visit

Dave Blakeman, managing director of RPS, was recently present at a reception at 10 Downing Street with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and First Secretary of State Peter Mandelson.

He was invited as part of the government's ‘Building Britain's Future’ initiative. RPS was invited as an acknowledgement of its innovation and export activities in the current difficult economic climate. RPS (the developers of RoofWright) has developed an American Joint Venture (Planright Software) over the last 12 months, and is recognised as a small business with significant growth potential.

Peter Mandelson gave a short speech acknowledging the contribution of British entrepreneurs. This was followed by a speech by Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, who said: "I believe that the countries that will succeed in the future, the countries that will do best in this new global economy are those who can unleash the talents, the creativity and enterprise of its citizens."

After these speeches, ministers mingled with the invitees asking them for feedback and suggestions. "I suggested a couple of things, and brought up the issue of VAT on energy-efficient products," said David Blakeman. "We were also asked for ideas on how to improve the visibility of UKTI, the UK's excellent but little known department dedicated to helping exporters. I was delighted to be invited and regard this as a great honour for everyone at RPS."