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6 April 2015
 
 

Small Business The Key To Get Britain Booming

According to industry analysts small businesses are the key to boosting Britain’s productivity. Getting business booming is one of the next major challenges for Britain’s policymakers and rather than focus on large, multi-national corporations the government has redirected focus to the smaller fish in the pond.

SMEs act as backbone of British economy

In a recent government report the vast importance of SMEs was revealed, with figures indicating that 60% of people employed by businesses work for small or medium sized enterprises. Yet despite their economic significance, research into how to boost the productivity of SMEs has remained largely unexplored. Until now! This year a team of MPs has put together a series of recommendations designed to help SMEs augment productivity, address challenges and continue to play an integral role in the UK’s economic recovery. The team has been aptly named the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group and draws on 10 months’ worth of research conducted across a myriad of SMEs. The group was inspired by America’s US Small Business Association which actively works to support SMEs and drive growth.

Brian Binley, Conservative MP and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group inquiry maintains that policymakers need to address the challenges head on, explaining “Small businesses have been responsible for much of our recent economic growth. Addressing the barriers that hold them back and giving them the right support is crucial to closing the productivity gap.”

So what sorts of things has the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group been looking at? There are seven key areas including better incentives, universal access to high speed broadband, specialist skills/training programmes and public procurement policies.

An all-party effort

The general consensus is that helping SMEs thrive is the responsibility of all policymakers, irrespective of their political views.

Mike Cherry, FSB national policy chairman explains, “The next government has an important role to play in addressing this long-standing weakness, regardless of which party or parties form the administration.”

With the government giving ample focus to boosting the productivity of SMEs, the time has never been better for entrepreneurs to take the plunge and set-up their own business. Of course, enterprises in every sector should protect themselves with a comprehensive SME insurance policy that will keep operations running smoothly in the face of unforeseen obstacles.