The FSB Trade and Industry Policy Unit represents small businesses in postal issues, telecommunications and broadband, consumer rights, the pub industry and other issues. Clive Davenport, Trade and Industry Chairman
Publicans and Pub-Companies (Pubcos)
The FSB has been closely following the issue of unfair practice in the tied pub market since 2004 when the then House of Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee undertook its initial investigation into the sector. Top line figures from a February 2010 survey by the FSB of publican members shows that tenanted pubs are still not being given a fair deal from the Pubcos that own them: 89 per cent don't think their Pubco works in their best interest and nearly 70 per cent (67%) think their Pubco is unhelpful.
Greg Mulholland MP has tabled an Early Day Motion, which the FSB supports. To lobby your MP to support this EDM download this template letter.
In a policy paper published in August 2009 the FSB recommended a reform of the tie, the creation of an Ombudsman for tied publicans and fully transparent rent reviews through a statutory code.
We welcomed the then Government's announcement in March 2010 that it had accepted our proposals that publicans should be given the option of going free of tie if it was not working for them - although we continue to stress that there should be an exemption for family brewers. Whilst the three main parties made commitments to reforming the tie in the run up to the general election, we were disappointed that no such commitment was made in the Coalition Agreement. However, the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee has agreed to publish a further report with final recommendations by June 2011.
Independent Pub Confederation
The FSB was a key player in the formation of the Independent Pub Confederation (IPC) in October 2009, a campaigning group which acts as a strong and unified voice in the fight against the unfair practices of pubcos.
Members of the IPC are the Federation of Small Businesses, the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, the Guild of Master Victuallers, the Fair Pint Campaign, Justice for Licensees, CAMRA, Unite the Union and the Society of Independent Brewers – supported and endorsed by the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations (FLVA).
Defence
Small defence businesses are suffering an unfair advantage when it comes to defence and procurement.
Read our report The Glocal Defence and Security Industry: Why small businesses matter
Royal Mail
Small firms are a loyal customer base that frequently visit the Post Office. In a survey of more than 1,200 members of the FSB-ICM ‘Voice of Small Business' panel, the FSB found that 94 per cent of respondents want a UK-wide postal service and six in 10 (59%) want to continue to receive mail deliveries six days a week.
Adversely, the FSB is still concerned that the problems diagnosed two years ago are affecting the service received by small firms.
The FSB believes that the following need urgent action:
- Part-privatisation needs to be announced quickly: other FSB research shows that a quarter (27%) of small businesses would consider part-privatisation as a way forward to saving the Royal Mail and if it meant that no more Post Offices would be closed.
- Set out plans to deal with the pension deficit: the FSB firmly believes that until the pension deficit is dealt with, Royal Mail will not be able to function to its fullest potential.
- A new regulatory regime should be put in place.
- No more lost days: previous strike action cost businesses between £500 and £5,000 and in this vital recovery period, small firms cannot face the risk of losing trade again.
Read the survey results here
Post Offices
The future of the Post Office network is a key issue for the FSB. A recent survey indicated that 33 per cent of small businesses used the postal system to receive supplies for their business and 46 per cent to send goods to customers who have bought their products. This means a regular trip to a Post Office branch or sorting office to pick up and send off parcels. Furthermore 90 per cent of small businesses make the trip to a Post Office branch to buy their stamps and to send their letters.
Small businesses are currently not getting the services that they need from the Post Office. The future Post Office should look and function very differently from the current model. It should be made into a flexible business hub, able to stand on its own two feet and service the small business community, which constitutes the backbone of the British economy.
Post Bank Coalition
The FSB is part of the Post Bank Coalition which includes the Communication Workers Union, Unite, the New Economics Foundation (NEF), the Pensioners Convention and the Public Interest Research Centre. The Coalition campaigns for a publically owned bank within the Post Office.
The Post Bank Coalition welcomed the news that the Coalition Government would seriously consider a Post Bank and calls on the Government to honour this commitment by immediately setting up a working party to look into this. The FSB also notes that commitment to establish a Post Bank was in the Liberal Democrat's general election manifesto.
A YouGov poll shows that just under four out of five people want a publically run bank and just over three out of five say they would use such a bank at the Post Office.
Broadband
More than half of small businesses rely on the internet for up to 50 per cent of their annual turnover, so the online world is crucial to small business development. The Government must show its support for firms, particularly in rural Britain where businesses have been waiting for years for promised Government action to deal with the ‘notspots' - where there is no broadband access
The FSB welcomes the appointment of Ed Vaizey as the newly created Broadband Minister, and in a new report 'Broadband: Steps for an Incoming Government' we now urge the newly appointed Minister to make basic broadband speeds a universal service obligation to help small firms grow and strengthen recovery.
Broadband: Steps for an incoming Government
Read our one page summary
File sharing
The FSB is also concerned on the issue of copyright as passed in the Digital Economy Act. As it stands, many small businesses providing wi-fi networks will be liable for the infringing activites of their customers. This would mean that a cafe whose customer(s) downloaded copyright material illicitly may be liable for civil copyright infringement proceedings and fines, or disconnection and a period of loss of its wi-fi service.
- Listen to a podcast with the FSB's Chief Spokesman Stephen Alambritis talking about the problems small businesses have with their broadband service and also about the Terminate the Rate campaign.
Terminate the Rate
The FSB won a great victory when Ofcom issued their consultation on Terminate the Rates and has outlined a recommendation to reduced mobile termination rates to their actual cost - 0.5p. Ofcom has proposed a four year phasing in scheme which will see the rates falling year on year until they reach 0.5p in April 2014. However, we believe this reduction should be put in place immediately. Find out more.