Weekly Brief 3 of 2009              Friday 23 January 2009

In this week's issue: Recession announcement; FSB Conference; Rate Relief; Family Affairs; Diplomas; Books
 
Recession

The Office for National Statistics has confirmed what most people already knew this week, officially announcing that the UK is in a recession after the UK's output fell by 1.5 per cent. The FSB reminded the Telegraph, the BBC and CNBC of its Five Point Plan to help save and create jobs during the downturn.

Rate relief

While new US President Barack Obama worries about paying the bills in his new White House home, the FSB has been working with Conservative MP Peter Luff on a Private Members' Bill to help small businesses save money on their own properties. As picked up by the Telegraph and the Financial Times, Mr Luff, Chairman of the Business and Enterprise Committee will put forward the FSB's Small Business Rate Relief (Automatic Payment) Bill which calls for the tax relief to be applied automatically for small firms.

National Conference

The FSB has been finalising preparations this week for its Annual Conference 2009 to be held at the Celtic Manor in South Wales between the 19t and 21 March. Confirmed guests so far include Small Business Minister Baroness Vadera and Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke. Read the press release.

Family Affairs

Dragon's Den winner and Reggae Reggae Sauce entrepreneur, Levi Roots, has teamed up with Barclays Local Business to hunt for the UK's leading family businesses. Mr Roots will lead a panel of experts in deciding who will win the £17,500 prize and be named the nation's most dynamic and enterprising group of relatives. To enter visit www.barclays.co.uk/familyaffair.  The closing date for entries is 31 March 2009.

Diploma consultations

New 14-19 education Diplomas in Science, Languages and Humanities are now being developed with employers. To have your say on what young people should learn to prepare them for working in careers in these areas, visit http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_19767.aspx. Details of all seventeen Diplomas and what they mean for employers are available at www.dcsf.gov.uk/14-19/employers.

Books for schools

Businesses are being encouraged to get involved in the Times and the Sunday Times' Books for Schools campaign by ‘adopting' a local school and collecting tokens on their behalf. These can then be exchanged for new reading material to be placed in the school library. Visit www.freebooksforschools.co.uk for more information.

Scams

We are looking for businesses that have been victims of scams. Have you fallen foul of a business directory or charity scam? Have you been plagued by fake invoices or fax back con artists? Email the FSB to tell us your experiences.

Have a good weekend,

Marc Shoffman