The Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) is urging the UK government to refocus their attention in order to boost productivity and continue the positive development of the country’s SME industry. The business organisation has highlighted a number of areas that need addressing in order to reduce deficit, stimulate growth and offer a stronger support network for growing micro-enterprises.
Confidence levels are high in the world of small business for the UK with record revenues, strong investment interest and a substantial decrease in unemployment. While the productivity of the UK as a whole grew by only 0.3% in the final quarter of 2014, SME productivity increased by 1.4%.
The FSB is urging the government to support its country’s 5.2 million small and medium-sized enterprises by seriously addressing the skills gap, considering a reformation and simplification of the tax system, offering more support to those businesses wanting to export and investing into the UK infrastructure. It believes focus on increasing skills and removing barriers to enterprise is the way to go about securing this positive momentum.
FSB national chairman John Allan, said: “The UK’s small businesses are reporting record high levels of confidence. Unemployment is continuing to drop, UK wage growth is at a four-year high and there are encouraging indications that productivity is finally on the rise.
“The Budget is an early opportunity to provide a boost to the increasing positive sentiment, and for the Chancellor to demonstrate his pro-enterprise credentials by again backing small business to deliver the growth and jobs the economy needs. That effort must however begin with a continued focus on reducing the deficit that remains too high for comfort.”
Allan added:
“In doing so it’s important that no areas are left behind in this recovery; rebalancing economic activity and raising the performance of those parts of the UK beyond London and the South East must be a priority for this government.
“By delivering the recommendations set out in our budget submission, the government can create the right environment for small business and enterprises to flourish, making the UK economy one of the most buoyant in the world.”
The FSB is making its own contributions to the improvement of the UK small business industry by collaborating with leading education charity, Young Enterprise. The FSB will be funding and offering expertise to help the charity deliver its new Company Programme scheme that aims to boost business-based learning in a number of disadvantaged areas across the country. You can read more about that here.
