Holocaust Memorial Day
FSB’s national chair, Martin McTague, and external affairs manager, Matthew Jaffa, were honoured to represent members at the Holocaust Memorial Day UK Commemorative Ceremony Candle Procession, 27 January. The ceremony was also attended by The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet, faith and civic leaders, and celebrities. On 27 January 1945, Soviet soldiers liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and death camp. Approximately 1.1 million men, women and children were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and over 90 per cent of them were Jewish. This year is the 80th anniversary of the liberation.
Reeves’s growth speech welcome but needs to be more than just words
Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave a speech this week in Oxford setting out the Government’s plans to prioritise economic growth, with a focus on infrastructure projects such as a third runway for Heathrow Airport, new reservoirs and railway upgrades, and more development of the Oxford-Cambridge corridor to build “Europe’s Silicon Valley”. FSB Policy Chair Tina McKenzie said that the speech “sends a strong, confident message that from now on growth comes first,” and that it was important to turn the words into actions as quickly as possible. Her reaction was covered by numerous media outlets, including the Mirror, Sky News, and the Express. However, she added that further pro-growth choices should be made, with FSB calling for measures to support small businesses by improving the Employment Rights Bill for small employers and extending the pro-growth push aimed at regulators to include HMRC. Earlier in the week, FSB’s executive director, Craig Beaumont, and FSB members met the Chancellor to discuss new policy ideas that would support small firms.
Small firms’ big export ambitions
Better access to bespoke Government support on exports would encourage more start-ups and small firms to grow their business overseas. FSB research shows that more than a third of SMEs that don’t currently export would consider doing so in the future if tailored support was there to help them. FSB is calling for better export support for all SMEs to help them kick-start wealth creation, including developing new tailored services for start-ups. FSB Executive Director Craig Beaumont told BBC Radio 4 Today that increasing the number of small exporters could help supercharge the Government’s new plan for growth.
Time isn’t right for new visitor levy, Senedd told
The time isn’t right to introduce a visitor levy in Wales given the tourism sector’s prolonged period of difficulty, FSB said in evidence to the Senedd’s Finance Committee on the Welsh Government’s Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Bill. The Bill would give Welsh local authorities the power to introduce a levy on anyone staying overnight in visitor accommodation. FSB told the committee that should a levy be introduced, the revenue it raises should be used to support the Welsh tourism sector.
Celebrating women in STEM and construction
Nominations are now open for the Inspirational Business Woman in STEM & Construction Awards 2025 which identify inspirational female business owners in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and construction who can act as role models to future generations. The awards will recognise women who are challenging the status quo in typically male-dominated sectors. Women still make up a minority of the STEM workforce, occupying just 29.4% of roles, and it is widely accepted that the lack of visible female role models in the industry contributes to this, something the awards aim to remedy. The awards ceremony will be hosted by Baroness Sandy Verma, in conjunction with Jomas Associates, in the House of Lords on 7 March. Nominations can be submitted through the awards website.
SME innovation grant scheme is shelved
The suspension of Innovate UK’s smart grants scheme for small firms is disappointing, particularly at a time when the Government says it is trying to drive small business growth. The agency, however, said a new package of support for small businesses will be piloted in the spring. Small firms are invited to share their ideas in this survey on how to improve Innovate UK offers.
Last chance for SMEs to shape the future of regulation
There’s still time for small businesses across the UK to take part in FSB’s Regulation Survey before it closes on 2 February. Whether it’s about data protection, product safety and standards, or workplace health and safety, FSB would like to hear views about small businesses’ experiences.
New FCA portal to launch
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is aiming to make access to its systems quicker and easier for authorised and regulated firms through a new portal, My FCA, launching in the spring. Businesses will be able to access all FCA services through a single point of sign-in, using existing user details. Once users have signed in, they will be able to see all regulatory reporting tasks in one place.
Scotland’s Big Small Business Survey
Small businesses based in Scotland are invited to take part in FSB Scotland’s Big Small Business Survey, to capture the concerns and challenges facing small businesses across Scotland, such as current trading conditions, future plans, the impact of regulation, and business support. The findings of the 2023 survey helped secure important changes to policy on the cumulative impact of regulation and Scotland’s visitor levy legislation.
Changes to EU entry declarations for rail and road carriers
Rail and road carriers with goods sent to or through the EU face extra paperwork from 1 April. They will be required to submit an Entry Summary Declaration in order to comply with the trade bloc's new Import Control System 2 (ICS2) customs pre-arrival safety and security rules. Carriers that will not achieve compliance by 1 April must contact the National Service Desk of the EU Member State where they have registered to obtain their Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number and request a deployment window, by 1 March at the latest. More information about the changes is available on the European Commission’s website. Meanwhile, the Commission’s information hub is running a webinar on the changes.
B2B freight from Great Britain to Northern Ireland
New regulations come into effect from 31 March for businesses that move parcels and freight between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These will only apply to business-to-business freight movements. HMRC has published factsheets for businesses about the impact of the new regulations, including where these would apply, and the importance of businesses applying for UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) authorisation for the movement of goods.
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