3 minute read
FSB
SMALL BUSINESS PLEDGE CALL
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on all local authorities (and those candidates standing for election in other parts of the country this month) to sign up to its Local Leadership Partnership pledge.
Small businesses and the self-employed make up a huge percentage of the business population in Cornwall. FSB is encouraging Local Authorities to pledge to create a small business champion post within the council, as well as a council officer role dedicated to ensuring small firms are well represented in decision-making within local authorities.
It also calls on candidates to work with FSB to develop supportive policy for small businesses in their authority area, as set out in the business group’s new Local Leadership document.
The document outlines the ways local and combined authorities across England can work with and empower small businesses and the self-employed to deliver growth, prosperity and jobs.
The new report covers everything from how councils should best engage with their small business community, to skills and digital connectivity, and planning and business rates.
Lee Nathan, FSB Regional Chair for the south west said: “We’re asking councils to get on board with our pledge to put small businesses and self-employed at the heart of decisions made at a local authority level. These recommendations act as a check list that councils across England can use to ensure small firms are given the right support and encouragement to be able to compete, grow and form part of their local community.”
FSB Cornwall is, later this month, hosting an afternoon of tangible take-aways on planning ahead and crisis-proofing your business.
The How to Survive Inflation Workshops, at Pentillie Castle on May 26, is designed to give business owners some new tools to keep ahead of inflation.
The event will open at 11.30am for registration and then starting with a short networking lunch to get everyone comfortable for an afternoon of workshops from some truly inspiring speakers (who we are also grateful to for being sponsors of this event).
FSB Insurance will cover business continuity protection and will give us the benefit of their vast experience of what this involves and why everyone should “fix the roof before it rains”. Access to Finance will speak about managing your money and The Growth & Skills Hub will talk about how you can get the right people and skills and how to keep them. Finally, ATI will talk to us about innovation and how doing things differently can really pay off.
Cost: £10 for FSB Members; £15 for nonMembers, to include tea/coffee and buffet lunch.
This event is open to all - both FSB members and non-members are welcome to attend - so please feel free to share with your networks but places are limited to 30. Contact Vanessa.Gale@fsb.org.uk for more details.
N.B. There will be a follow up event in September in Falmouth – so look out for that one too!
COST OF LIVING CRISIS
FSB national chair, Martin McTague, has called on the Government to support small firms faced with spiralling energy costs.
“It’s been decades since we’ve seen input costs surging at this kind of unmanageable rate,” he said. “A lot of small businesses are left with no choice but to up prices as their overheads spiral: the cost of living crisis starts with a cost of doing business crisis. We are really seeing now, how runaway business outgoings are now weighing on economic growth. “Surging input price inflation for firms comes on top of rapidly rising energy costs, emergency debt repayments kicking in, tax increases and the end to Covid support measures, not least targeted VAT relief. “There’s only so much the Government can do about international supply chain disruption and its impact on raw material and fuel costs. It can, however, do more to support small firms at the local level with energy costs. “Micro business owners operate like consumers in the energy market but are not receiving comparable support via the business rates system to that received by households through the council tax system. That mismatch should be addressed.”
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