Knutsford businesses back FPB’s campaign to persuade politicians to ‘Think Smallest First’

Businesses in Knutsford have rallied together to support the Forum of Private Business’s (FPB’s) campaign to persuade politicians in the UK and Europe to ‘Think Smallest First’.
 
The FPB is calling on the Government to prioritise the concerns of the UK’s smallest firms as part of its commitment to supporting businesses throughout their entire lifecycle.
 
The FPB’s Chief Executive, Phil Orford, who lives in Plumley, spoke at a conference on the Small Business Act for Europe in Brussels on Monday (23 June). The FPB has also launched a petition on the 10 Downing Street website as part of the campaign.
 
FPB member Richard Dickinson of Rangemore Nursing Home, Bucklow Hill, which has 40 full-time staff, believes it has become much more difficult to run a business in Knutsford than when he started out in 1969.
 
“It was easier then; I had a bank to support me �" and still have. We had support from the outset,” he said. “Besides soaring utilities bills, food prices are rocketing, which directly affects my business. Legislation is the other big problem: everything seems to be against the employer.”
 
According to Business Link, 20% of new businesses fail within their first year, and 50% within their first three years. According to the latest Business Failures Report from data provider Equifax, the total number of businesses which failed in the UK went up by 9.1% in the first quarter of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007. The worst affected region was the North West, with a rise of 21.4%.
 
At the conference, which was organised by the French employers’ organisation, the General Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (CGPME), and the European Economic and Social Committee, Mr Orford, spoke out on behalf of the 25,000 smaller businesses the FPB represents. He stressed the importance of removing the barriers that cause businesses to fail in their first year.
 
“We �" as organisations representing small businesses across the European Union �" have an opportunity to use the Small Business Act for Europe to hold the [European] Commission and Member States’ governments to their commitments,” he told delegates at the conference. “Our members cannot do this by themselves. We have an obligation to support our members by driving a Better Regulation and Simplification Agenda, utilising a number of mechanisms.”
 
In March 2008, the European Commission (EC) consulted the FPB on the Small Business Act for Europe. The FPB called on the Commission to:
 
mandate  the ‘Think Smallest First’ principle
reduce  the regulatory burden on smaller businesses across Europe
protect  smaller firms from unfair payment terms
make  the procurement of public contracts more accessible to small  businesses
open  the Single Market to smaller firms.
 
On average, the FPB’s members each employ just 10 people. The FPB wants politicians to consider the smallest businesses first when introducing tax policies and new legislation, which inevitably leads to additional red tape that can strangle small businesses at birth. The FPB believes that the dual burdens of disproportionate taxation and over-regulation must be addressed as a priority.
 
Other barriers to the survival and growth of small businesses, such as the perennial problem of the late payment of suppliers by larger companies, must also be removed.
 
Tracy Hoather of Sameday Plc, King Street, Knutsford, has been a member of the FPB for almost 20 years. Her courier firm currently employs 50 staff. Mrs Hoather believes that many small firms are frightened of protesting against bigger companies which fail to pay on time in case future business will be jeopardised. She called for a late payment register to be introduced to address the problem.
 
“Small businesses could then access [the register] to decide whether to take on new business from these large organisations,” said Mrs Hoather.
 
Mrs Hoather added that bidding for public-sector contracts is too expensive, and called for investment in education and skills.
 
The Small Business Act for Europe is an attempt by the EC to bring together a number of initiatives on behalf of small businesses. It should cover better regulation for small businesses, procurement for government contracts, and a number of other key areas of legislation. The FPB will be asking the EC to make a commitment to ‘Think Smallest First’ as part of that package.
 
Mr Orford urged the EC and the governments of EU Member States to adopt the principle behind ‘Think Smallest First’, and protect small firms at the stage of their growth when they are most vulnerable, particularly during the current global economic slowdown.
 
Other delegates at the conference included the French Minister for European Affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouvet, and Françoise Le Bail, SME Envoy at the European Commission.

The FPB now has an online discussion forum, on which people can share information, join the latest debates affecting small businesses in the UK and vote in online polls. Visit the forum at www.fpb.org/forum <http://www.fpb.org/forum>