Oh dear. That’s usually my reaction when I see something like this in my inbox: “Building a country that works for everyone: Independent Panel publishes report on putting values at the heart of our businesses.”

The main aim of these panels seems to be to allow the worthies that make up their membership to pat themselves on the back when they’ve done their work and to allow the Government to pat itself on the back at the same time. Look, see, we’re doing something!

For some reason the one that issued the above communique was put together under the auspices of the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, as opposed to, say, the Business Department, or (even better) the Treasury.

Were it have recommended anything requiring real action on the part of Government, and especially real money, as opposed to vague talk of partnerships and persuading people to be nice, it would have found its way into Chancellor Philip Hammond’s recycling bin.

But it doesn’t. So that’s alright.

“On a Mission in the UK Economy. Current state of play, vision and recommendations from the advisory panel to the Mission-led Business Review 2016” contains ten core proposals that are all about being nice. It is true that among them is a request for businesses to to put up some money. But no one’s going to force them to if they don’t want to.

Look, I’ve no doubt that the members of the panel are sincere. The chairman is Nigel Wilson, the boss of life insurer Legal & General. I was once invited to pay homage to the great man, and came away with the impression that here was someone that actually bought into some of the stuff about inclusion, ethical behaviour and businesses being a part of society that I’m always banging on about.

The idea of a mission business - a profit driven enterprise that aims to have a social impact - sounds good in principle, if you can get past the terrible name. Mr Wilson and his friends even have some ideas about helping them get bigger.

But here’s the thing. Does a fractured society that has fallen right out of love with big business really need “mission businesses”. Or does it just need ordinary businesses to take a hard look at themselves and consider the context in which they operate.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled – leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: “Europe’s largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

I’m thinking the latter. I spent five minutes mulling over the issue and came up with a few recommendations of my own that I think would go some way towards creating a society that works for all. It wasn’t all that hard. My list is shorter even than the aforementioned report’s executive summary.

Here it is: Treat your employees fairly.

Start hiring from a wider pool of candidates (and sack your recruitment consultants if they won’t help) so that your workforce better reflects the diverse society we live in.

Stop paying executives absurd amounts of money that they don’t deserve and that damage social cohesion.

Do right by your customers. Listen to them, I mean really listen to them, rather than simply relying on survey companies to do the job.

Stop mucking up the planet.

Put a few quid back into the community.

Tell your business lobby groups not to complain so loudly when businesses are asked to pay their fair share in tax. Tell your business lobby groups not to complain so loudly when someone suggests that it might be an idea to give workers a fair shake.