Rowena Howie
London Policy Representative
Federation of Small Businesses
At this time of mounting uncertainty across the domestic and international stage it is heartening to see London’s small businesses showing an increase in sentiment and confidence levels.
A healthy London is pivotal to the UK economy and with small firms making up 99 per cent of London’s businesses we need to harness their ambitions. The one notable concern from this the report is the intended decline in investment intentions – and this will be associated with the high cost of doing business as firms look to scale back operations with increased input costs within the business fuelled by high inflation.
The opening of the Elizabeth Line is something to be proud of as a city and we would celebrate the efforts of businesses that have contributed around £7.5bn to the total cost. A smooth opening, and a successful ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign will hopefully light the touch paper for a strong inbound tourism recovery this summer where we need to see a bounce back on our high streets and across the Central London Economy Zone.
At this time of uncertainty, we must continue to support small businesses with targeted support for them to increase headcount in their business – so a Mayoral-led Apprenticeship Grant for micro businesses would be well received.
We must also support our businesses by paying London businesses on time, every time. Late Payments remains a scourge of our great city and small business owners are the ones who take the mental strain of this scandalous practice – it simply must be eradicated.
Finally, we have had elections take place across all London Boroughs and we urge the new executive teams to hear our calls for a Local Leadership Partnership pledge:
- Work with FSB to develop supportive policy for small business in authority areas – particularly around procurement and payment terms
- Establish a culture of parity of focus between residents and small businesses
- Create (or continue in the next term) the post of a small business Champion (elected member) and Single Point of Contact (officer) within the Council.