IT MAY be a week since the Chancellor returned to his seat in the House of Commons having delivered a Budget he claims put fuel in the tank of our economy.
Quite how far his top-up takes us remains to be seen.
The detail of his fiscal measures was barely covered in what he said as he stood at the Despatch Box.Š
It is the wealth of information issued simultaneously by the Treasury and other departments that reveals the real potency of the Chancellor’s fuel for the economy.
And it’s in that context that the role of the UK’s small businesses continues to be so critical to our economic performance.
Entrepreneurs remain the backbone of our domestic economy.Š And it’s entrepreneurs starting, developing, nurturing and sustaining small businesses that are going to play such a major part in rebalancing the economic outputs so transformed by deficit reduction measures.
Representatives of the country’s small businesses gathered in Liverpool just before the Budget for their annual conference.
There, delegates sought to remind the Government that small businesses remain key to sustaining economic recovery.
Federation of Small Businesses national chairman John Walker said that small businesses were key to sustaining economic recovery across the country. It’s not just fiscal measures that play a part in creating conditions that are good for business.
He also highlighted the FSB’s commitment to reduce regulation, including the exemption of micro-businesses from time to train legislation; the extension of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee and the re-introduction of the Enterprise Allowance Fund, as well as a commitment from central government to make the procurement process simpler.
Few of those policies may grab as much air time as the Chancellor leaving the second most famous address in Downing Street with his red box, but perhaps they should because they are measures critical to the success of small businesses, and critical to creating the environment in which they can prosper.
The UK’s 4.8m small businesses are best placed to help the recovery, but it needs a helping hand.
Hopefully, last week’s Budget measures will provide the necessary helping hand to stimulate further growth in enterprise in Britain.
