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12/12/2011
Labour Launches Small Business Support Plan
Labour is to launch a policy review calling for intervention to channel private investment funds and public contracts towards small businesses.
Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, said on Monday that the plan is based on recommendations from a small business taskforce contained in a report entitled: ‘Fulfilling the promise of British enterprise’.
Speaking in Birmingham at the start of an open question and answer session with around 100 entrepreneurs, Mr Umunna will say that building an economy that "works for the 99 per cent" means learning lessons from the banking crisis.
“The Government’s isolation abroad is matched only by the extent to which it is out of touch with the needs of the real economy at home. The Prime Minister postures in Europe about protecting the City but delivers nothing; and he does nothing to help investment-starved small businesses.
“[The] Report sets out steps we should be looking at that could take us towards long term change in the relationship between the world of finance and the real economy."
The plan mostly proposes adopting measures introduced in the United States, including a Government-guaranteed lending programme for small businesses, a new lending organisation modelled on the American Small Business Investment Company and a champion agency for SMEs in Whitehall, also modelled on the Small Business Administration in the US.
Mr Umunna said the body should be headed by an entrepreneur – not a civil servant – for their take an entrepreneur’s understanding of regulation, small business taxation, procurement and finance to the heart of government.
(DW)
Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, said on Monday that the plan is based on recommendations from a small business taskforce contained in a report entitled: ‘Fulfilling the promise of British enterprise’.
Speaking in Birmingham at the start of an open question and answer session with around 100 entrepreneurs, Mr Umunna will say that building an economy that "works for the 99 per cent" means learning lessons from the banking crisis.
“The Government’s isolation abroad is matched only by the extent to which it is out of touch with the needs of the real economy at home. The Prime Minister postures in Europe about protecting the City but delivers nothing; and he does nothing to help investment-starved small businesses.
“[The] Report sets out steps we should be looking at that could take us towards long term change in the relationship between the world of finance and the real economy."
The plan mostly proposes adopting measures introduced in the United States, including a Government-guaranteed lending programme for small businesses, a new lending organisation modelled on the American Small Business Investment Company and a champion agency for SMEs in Whitehall, also modelled on the Small Business Administration in the US.
Mr Umunna said the body should be headed by an entrepreneur – not a civil servant – for their take an entrepreneur’s understanding of regulation, small business taxation, procurement and finance to the heart of government.
(DW)
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20 October 2011
Bank Support For Small Firms 'Not Enough'
Research shows bank initiatives to boost small business lending have not gone far enough, says the Forum of Private Business Just over a year after the launch of the British Bankers' Association's Business Finance Taskforce, new research suggests that it has not yet achieved its aim of repairing the relationship between banks and small businesses.
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23 June 2010
SMEs Back Budget Pledges
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Coalition 'Will Aid UK's Private Businesses'
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12 May 2010
Small Businesses Back Cameron
The Forum of Private Business has given a cautious welcome to the appointment of the new Prime Minister, David Cameron. The small business support group hopes the announcement of an agreement for No 10 will mark the start of a stable and functional administration, which is committed to ensuring economic recovery.
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:It will be cloudy again throughout the day. Mainly dry in the morning, but patchy drizzle in places, becoming more widespread and persistent in the afternoon. Freshening southwesterly winds. Maximum temperature 12 °C.Tonight:Cloudy with a spell of heavy rain pushing south through late evening and the early hours, followed by some clear spells. Minimum temperature 6 °C.
