Government urged to be ‘bolder’ by FSB

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged the government to do more to kick-start growth in the UK’s economy, as the Conservative party’s conference agenda continued into Tuesday.

With the latest figures showing over 2.5 million people out of work, the FSB felt that the government needed to do more to incentivise small businesses and help boost employment.

Although the government has adopted policies that will benefit smaller firms, very few will go far enough to tackle the real problems they face and are likely to fail to boost employment figures and high street spending, the FSB continued.

These comments followed new research by the federation, which revealed that insufficient work and uncertainty over contracts was cited by 37% of businesses surveyed as one factor preventing more employment, with 33% blaming the state of the economy and 31% limited cash flow.

John Walker, National Chairman of the FSB, said, “Small firms lack confidence about their future prospects but they also hold the key to recovery. Kick-starting demand and further incentivising job creation would give small firms a fighting chance to return to growth. But as it stands, Government policies are merely scratching the surface.