The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland has described the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government as a step in the right direction, in terms of its commitment to resetting its relationship with the business community.
Responding to the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government announcement, FSB Scotland policy chair, Andrew McRae, said: “It was good to hear John Swinney recognise the importance of Scotland’s small and medium-sized businesses as the backbone of the country’s economy. As the First Minister acknowledged, it is the success of our 335,000 small and medium-sized firms which creates and supports jobs in local communities and delivers economic growth nationally.
“It is clear the Scottish Government has listened to some of the concerns we have been raising about the support small businesses need in order to continue providing that support and to deliver to their full potential. Small business owners will take encouragement from some of the steps which have been outlined today, but it is only with detailed plans that they will have confidence what is being promised will be delivered.
“In recent months, we have seen the New Deal for Business start to bear fruit with the publication of a fuller assessment of how new regulations will impact on the operation of small businesses. However, the cumulative impact of regulatory demands remains one of the major barriers to small business growth, so today’s promise to examine the wider, real-world impact of regulatory demands is welcome. We look forward to continuing to work with Ministers and officials to help ensure the concerns of small business owners are addressed.
“We are also encouraged by the commitment to bring forward a Community Wealth Building Bill. This offers a golden opportunity to create a level playing field for small and micro businesses bidding for government contracts, thus helping ensure more of the money generated in towns and cities stays in those communities.
“While some progress has been made on procurement reform in the last decade, figures show that we have gone backwards in terms of the success of micro businesses in securing public sector contracts in recent years. Since 2016/17, the proportion of Scottish public sector spending on goods and services secured by micro operators has fallen from 7% to 4.7%. We have long highlighted the challenges faced by small businesses when bidding for public contracts, therefore we are pleased there will now be legislative action which can tackle these once and for all.
“Specifically, it is time to legislate for statutory targets to get more money spent locally and multiplying its economic and social benefit. The previous Community Wealth Building pilots have shown that setting targets to increase spend with local businesses has worked, therefore it’s surely a no-brainer for government to commit to expanding this approach nationally as part of this Bill.
A commitment to provide more certainty through the Heat in Buildings Bill will also be welcomed by small businesses keen to benefit from opportunities within the supply chain in the transition to net zero. Providing further detail on the direction of travel here is something we’ve long called for, in order to boost confidence among firms to make investment decisions that could aid their growth. However, there’s still quite a lot of work to do in engaging the wider small business community in both the implications and opportunities of net zero, and it’s crucial this legislation recognises this”.
ENDS
For further information contact:
Euan McGrory [email protected] 07734 509 227
Notes to editors
- The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a non-profit, non-party-political organisation that offers its members a wide range of vital business services, including advice, financial expertise, support and a powerful voice heard in governments. Founded in 1974, FSB celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024. More information is available at www.fsb.org.uk.
- Micro and small businesses comprise almost all enterprises in Scotland (98%), employ 900,000 people and turn over £82bn.