Responding to the First Minister’s inaugural Programme for Government statement in the Scottish Parliament today, Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Scotland Policy Chair, Andrew McRae, said:
“We called for an unashamedly pro-growth, pro-small business statement and the First Minister was right to acknowledge that his government can’t deliver on any of its priorities – from net zero, to child poverty and more – unless we have a functioning, growing economy.
“There’s obviously a bit to unpack in here – not least the new £15 million package of measures to back entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-ups. Our Big Small Business Survey found that over half of small businesses don’t believe there’s enough support to start your own business in Scotland, so we look forward to working with government and enterprise agencies to ensure support is meaningfully ‘transformed’ – as he put it – to better fit entrepreneurs’ needs.
“Any efforts to boost start-ups need to see some of the practical barriers to setting up in business removed. This includes childcare, so we welcome the announcement of much needed additional support here. But, to be effective, this needs to reflect the reality of what families lives’ are like – which means flexible wraparound care.
“While the First Minister had already accepted the recommendations of the New Deal for Business Group, we’re pleased to hear him recommit to these this afternoon – not least to a specific Small Business Unit and a commitment to tackling the cumulative impact of regulations, including removing those which are no longer required.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is Scotland’s leading business organisation and aims to help smaller businesses achieve their ambitions. These micro, small and medium businesses comprise almost all enterprises in Scotland (99%), employ 1.2 million people and contribute £110bn to the economy.
Media contact:
Colin Borland [email protected] 07917 628 939
