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Ministers pledge support to small businesses

Government ministers have committed to backing small firms, after a series of recommendations from Lord Young’s report, ‘Growing your business’, were accepted.

Prime Minister, David Cameron, pledged to follow through on recommendations made in the recent report, in which Lord Young suggested lifting the age restriction on the Start Up Loan scheme to over 30.

This support for small companies came alongside the announcement of the 5000th loan distributed to a young entrepreneur, Caroline Bennett, who received £7,000 to start up an online dating business concept.

Ms Bennett said: “The loan has given my business the boost it needed to get off the ground, although there is more risk attached to entrepreneurship, I haven’t regretted it for a moment; I actually wake up in the morning looking forward to starting work.

“Everyone I’ve dealt with has been really helpful and I’m really looking forward to meeting with my mentor to get advice on how to take my business to the next level.”

Business Secretary, Vince Cable, said: “Half of all jobs in this country come from small and medium sized business. So if we’re to get our economy going again, we must do all we can to support them.

“Many of the measures we’ve focused on so far such as better access to finance, mentoring and scrapping red tape have already helped.

“There is a record number 4.8 million small businesses in the UK, and the figures have suggested record numbers of start-ups. 5,000 of them are now being backed by our Start Up Loans scheme, which is rolling out rapidly.

“We now plan to do more and do it better, by making our schemes and the way we provide advice much simpler.”

Recommendations made in Lord Young’s report will also inform decisions made by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), who are leading work in the small business community to rejuvenate the 2011 ‘Bigger, Better Business’ strategy.

BIS will produce a publication around the strategy, which is expected this autumn, and will examine the way government communicates with small firms, as well as improving access to advice and support.

Business and Enterprise Minister Michael Fallon commented: “We all want faster growth. As Britain recovers, small firms are leading the generation of ideas, creating new jobs and driving enterprise.

“Whether by encouraging more firms to export or opening up procurement opportunities, government is backing ambitious businesses by giving them the support they need to grow.

“It’s important we listen to what small firms want so we make Britain the best place to start, grow and finance a business. This government is on the side of small business and will always back hard-working people who want to get on in life.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .