Today (Friday), Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, will set out a
plan to establish a new Business Development Agency (BDA) to act as
a one stop shop for business support.
This commitment comes as Labour launches 20 pledges to help small
businesses and rejuvenate Britain's high streets.
Labour will establish a new BDA to act as a one stop shop and
champion small businesses across government departments, helping
them access business advice, finance and large scale government
contracts.
The Federation of Small Businesses has said that “the business
support landscape is complex, with a patchwork of public and
private sector initiatives at both local and national
levels”.
The BDA will address this gap with a network of business advisers
operating out of larger Post Bank branches, providing advice and
guidance for local businesses on how to access support and
finance.
These advisers will efficiently refer SMEs to financing streams
provided by the Post Bank ensuring every business has easy access
to face-to-face banking in order to better manage their finances
and access start-up and business development loans.
As well as face-to-face support, a central, online portal,
similar to both the Australian Small Business and Family
Enterprise Ombudsman and the US’s Small Business Administration
will be established. This will ensure that all SMEs across
England and Wales can be directed to a single, accessible
location as a first port of call for support.
Like the US equivalent, the BDA will also support small
businesses to access government contracts so that they can better
compete with larger businesses.
Additional pledges in the 20-point plan include:
· A £250 billion UK National Investment Bank and
network of Regional and National Development Banks to give small
businesses and the industries of the future the funding they
need.
· Stamping out late payments that hit smaller
businesses.
· Providing free full fibre broadband to every business
premises.
· Giving SMEs access to funding for training raised through
the Apprenticeship Levy.
·Scraping quarterly reporting for businesses with a
turnover of under £85,000.
· Using government procurement to support SMEs and economic
growth.
· Fundamentally reforming the outdated business rates
system, including switching to annual valuations.
, Labour’s Shadow
Business Secretary, said:
“Small businesses, the lifeblood of our economy and our
communities, are being stretched to breaking point by global
corporations which evade their taxes and fail to pay their
suppliers on time. This inequality scars our country.
“Small businesses are vital to a thriving economy. Labour wants
business support and finance to be available for entrepreneurs
from the moment the seed of an idea is planted.
“Labour’s Business Development Agency, will create thriving
businesses within our communities, bringing life back to local
economies. The Agency is part of 20 pledges we are making because
Labour is on the side of small business. It’s time for real
change.”
