Highlights of the Northern Ireland Policy Year 2009
Want to know more about what the NI Policy Unit actually does? we've been working hard lobbying the Assembly for improvements to the small business environment. See our policy round-up here.
Small Business Rates Relief Starts in 2010
The FSB has sucessfully lobbied for an automatic rate relief for small businesses in Northern Ireland. The Finance Minister announced in March that all small business with a rateable valuation of £5000 or less will automatically receive a discount from 2010. The new relief comes into effect next April - you don't have to do anything - there is no form to fill in, nothing has to be sent in - there is NO RED TAPE. If you are eligible, Land and Property Services will discount your rates bill automatically.
Land and Property Services have produced a very useful one-page FACT SHEET which gives all the details.
posted 17 December 2009
Public Procurement: Selling to the Public Sector
Have you ever tendered for a public contract? Did you win it? The FSB in NI is lobbying to get the public procurement system changed to make it easier for small and micro businesses to apply for – and win – contracts offered by central and local government, and public agencies too.
We commissioned the expertise of Lestas Consulting to conduct a member survey focusing on the experiences of small to medium sized businesses in Northern Ireland when tendering to the Northern Ireland public sector, with a view to identifying good practice as well as barriers. The survey findings are set out in our Report "Evaluating SME Experiences of Government Procurement in Northern Ireland."
While the survey has now closed, if you have any comments on the public procurement system as it currently operates in Northern Ireland, plese email Carolyn Brown, NI Policy Manager, and we will incorporate your views as far as possible.
updated December 2009
Rising energy costs bad for business says FSB
THE Federation of Small Businesses has hit out at the recent rise in electricity bills which come at a time when businesses are struggling with the downturn in trade and uncertainty over the future.
Wilfred Mitchell, FSB NI Policy Chair, said the ever increasing cost of energy is putting untold pressure on Northern Ireland's small business community.
"Many businesses have been shocked at the levels of increase in the bills arriving on their doorstep. This hits across a number of sectors and could not have come at a worse as time when you consider the seemingly ever increasing range of costs and difficulties they face to stay in business.
There is the very real prospect that this rise could be the tipping edge which forces some businesses to close, the consequences of which have a far reaching effect, both economically and socially.
"The FSB want to make clear to the government these massive hikes in the cost of energy supplies and the financial burdens they bring with them are having a highly detrimental impact on our local enterprises."
9 November 2009