Policy Pulse: Vanessa Higham, government affairs manager at VodafoneThree

As part of a new series of interviews, we speak to some of the UK's key small business advocates and policymakers.

This week, it's the turn of Vanessa Higham, government affairs manager at VodafoneThree.

Who is Vanessa?

As government affairs manager at VodafoneThree, Vanessa works at the intersection of policy and business. There, she champions the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Westminster's corridors of power.

Vanessa splits her time between VodafoneThree's Southwark office and virtual meetings with ministers, civil servants and MPs.

Her role specifically focuses on SME policy within the telecoms giant's government affairs team.

"SME policy is the only area of business that I cover," explains Vanessa, whose work spans consumer policy and online safety alongside her small business brief. "We have other colleagues in the team that cover broader business."

Connectivity for small businesses

The timing couldn't be more critical.

Following the merger of Vodafone and Three in June – which created the UK's largest mobile operator – the new company has committed to investing £11 billion in 5G and wider networks over the next decade.

This investment promises to deliver coverage to 99.9% of the UK population by 2034 – a game-changer for small businesses in rural areas that struggle with connectivity.

Originally from North Wales, Vanessa brings a perspective shaped by understanding connectivity challenges across devolved regions. Her previous work covered engagement across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

VodafoneThree's research found that 5G stand-alone technology could deliver £8.6 billion in annual productivity gains for SMEs across the country.

Yet significant barriers remain to unlocking this potential, particularly in the regulatory environment that Vanessa navigates.

"We still face barriers when it comes to things like planning," Vanessa says. Lengthy approval processes and different approaches across local authorities create bottlenecks that ultimately hinder connectivity for small businesses.

Policy priorities

Vanessa's policy priorities reflect these multifaceted challenges.

Top of her agenda is lobbying for a "technology and transformation relief" – tax incentives modelled on research and development (R&D) credits to help small businesses adopt 5G and build digital capabilities.

VodafoneThree says this initiative would provide targeted financial support to reduce the burden of digital transformation while encouraging long-term investment in enabling technologies.

Equally pressing is Vanessa's push for the Electronic Communications Code, a new law passed three years ago but still waiting for the government to enact it.

Digital inclusion

The broader digital inclusion agenda occupies much of Vanessa's time, as she works to make sure businesses aren't neglected as part of the digital transformation.

Through programmes like business.connected with Enterprise Nation and VodafoneThree's V-Hub support platform, the company provides skills training and resources.

This work feeds directly into Vanessa's engagement with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's digital inclusion action plan.

She says:

"We want to make sure that businesses aren't left behind and they can access the skills they need to compete."

Cyber security forms another critical strand of her work. VodafoneThree's research – its third refresh in five years – revealed cyber attacks cost SMEs over £3.4 billion in lost revenue each year.

At the same time, there are clear gaps in knowledge around government initiatives like Cyber Essentials. VodafoneThree has responded by offering free trials of its CybSafe platform.

Vanessa explains:

"We want SME cyber resilience to be prioritised in any policy thinking. We're calling for awareness campaigns, training incentives and integration of cyber security into national digital skills programmes.

"Connectivity, skills and security form interconnected pillars of digital transformation."

The government affairs team

Working within a seven-strong government affairs team that engages "from the Prime Minister downwards", Vanessa's team works with Cabinet ministers, backbench MPs, civil servants, devolved governments and local authorities.

Her engagement strategy combines formal consultation responses with direct bilateral meetings with officials, Select Committee submissions and MP briefings.

Recent examples include feeding into a Select Committee inquiry on the Small Business Plan and ongoing discussions around planning reform for telecommunications infrastructure.

VodafoneThree's collaborative approach is central to Vanessa's own way of working. "We're always offering to work with government to create something that's workable."

This partnership approach reflects lessons learned from previous government initiatives like Help to Grow: Digital, which struggled to deliver the results it intended.

The government's recent Plan for Change pledged greater partnership with the private sector and offers new opportunities for the collaborative approach VodafoneThree advocates, Vanessa says.

"With limited public finances, working with industry expertise becomes increasingly vital for effective policy development."

A day in Westminster's digital corridors

Vanessa's working week follows the rhythm of parliamentary business. Operating a hybrid model, she spends two to three days at VodafoneThree's Southwark office and works the rest of the time from her base in Essex.

Her days predominantly involve crafting policy papers and briefing documents, responding to government consultations and preparing submissions to parliamentary Select Committees.

Virtual meetings have become the norm since the pandemic – engaging with officials from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade, and MPs with relevant interests.

Vanessa says:

"My day-to-day is focused more on writing policy papers and doing virtual engagement versus being in Westminster, but that goes through peaks and troughs depending on when Westminster's sitting or not."

When Parliament is active, the pace intensifies, with face-to-face meetings, roundtables and events that require the personal touch that digital democracy hasn't yet replaced.

The hybrid approach has opened up new possibilities for engagement beyond London. Where previously covering Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland meant extensive travel, virtual meetings now allow for more frequent contact with devolved governments and regional stakeholders.

Read more Policy Pulse

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• Chantelle de Villiers, director of public affairs at Sage

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