Plymouth Small Businesses .org.uk

Week 31 of 2010        Friday 6 August 2010 

Reform maternity and paternity leave
In a new report 'Flexible working: small business solutions', the FSB is calling for a reform of statutory maternity and paternity pay to give small firms clarity over employee's family leave. The FSB also proposes major reforms to childcare and flexible working. Read the press release and the report and coverage in the Daily Telegraph. 

Banks report profits increase
The FSB was in the news this week commenting on the reported increase in the profits of the banks and how they should be more flexible in how they lend to small businesses. Read the coverage in The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Independent, BBC Online and Channel 4 online. 

Tall Ships event
National Chairman John Walker will be attending the Tall Ships Race in Hartlepool which runs from the 7-10 August. The FSB is one of the major sponsors of the event and will celebrate the success of small businesses showcasing their talents in the FSB Small Business Marquee.  John will meet the crews from the Black Diamond, a Tall Ship crew sponsored by the FSB and the Pelican, a Tall Ship owned by an FSB member.  

Introducing the Ombudsman – information for small businesses
The Financial Ombudsman Service is running a series of seminars especially for smaller businesses covered by the service. They will provide an overview of the service, how its processes work and the decisions it makes, and will highlight the various sources of help and guidance available to businesses to support their own complaint handling.  Further details can be found on the FOS website. 

Case study for BBC Panorama
Nine Lives Media has been commissioned by BBC Panorama to make a programme: ‘Are you Paying the Right Tax?’ following a report by the National Audit Office which found that many people aren’t. As well as typical cases of people affected by the tax code errors, they also want to hear about more unusual or extreme cases of lives being affected by HMRC errors. If you’re interested email or phone Claire on 0161 832 2007 

Problems with energy companies
Have you been affected by your energy company miscalculating your bill and then demanding back payment. If so, email your story to the FSB.  

 Mumpreneurs wanted!
First Voice is looking for potential candidates for a feature about 'mum or dad-preneurs'. If you are a parent who has set up a successful business while on maternity or paternity leave, or as an alternative to working full time to provide the necessary flexibility to balance work and family life, email First Voice. 

Help required for thesis
You may recognise the name, Mattheos Alambritis, nephew of our very own Stephen Alambritis. Mattheos is at university in London and is completing his thesis and is looking to gather the thoughts and views on environmental information and SME perception of such information and how it can affect business practices. The survey is completely anonymous and confidential and should not take more than 10 minutes to complete. 

Follow the FSB on Facebook
You can follow the activities of the FSB by joining our official fanpage on Facebook. Become a fan to view regularly updated events, photo galleries, lobbying information and have the opportunity to add your own photos and discuss current small business issues.  

Like what you read?
Bookmark this page using social media sites such as Delicious, Digg, reddit, StumbleUpon, and keep in the loop about the FSB’s activities by subscribing to our RSS feed and following us on Twitter.

Week 30 of 2010        Friday 30 July 2010 

BIS open consultation to give businesses better access to finance
The FSB welcomed the Government’s consultation that highlights its commitment to getting the bank’s lending to small businesses again and its proposal to look at alternative sources of finance such as a National Loan Guarantee scheme and regional stock exchanges. Read BISs report and if you have access, the FSB was quoted in The Sunday Times.  

Boom in small businesses, but with a legal sting in the tail
Concerns surrounding the tax implications for self-employed people that go to work for other companies was the subject of a radio day with Abbey Legal and FSB this week, with over 20 interviews taking place across the UK.  Read the press release and coverage in the Daily Mail and BBC Online.  

Broadband for Business breakfast
Policy Chairman, Mike Cherry chaired a Broadband for Business Breakfast meeting at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Ed Vaizey the Minister for Broadband was there to discuss broadband plans with the FSB. View the photos.  

Government urged to increase road salt levels
An independent panel has put forward FSB recommendations to Government in its winter resilience review. It has said that a simple code of practice be set up which would provide local authorities, households and businesses with clear advice and also that the Government should increase salt levels before the winter months, to better manage the bad weather. Find out more.  

LEPs roundtable event
The FSB took part in a roundtable event with BIS this week to discuss the development of Local Enterprise Partnerships. The meeting was very constructive and highlighted the issues that small businesses face and that the partnerships should have the needs of small and micro businesses at the forefront of their consideration.  

Victory on Furnished Holiday Lettings
The FSB has won a major victory in persuading the Treasury to adopt FSB proposals which will prevent eight in 10 small businesses in the holiday sector from going bust. Under current rules, businesses in the holiday sector must be available to rent for at least 20 weeks of the year and must be rented for 10 weeks. Now the Treasury is proposing to increase this to 15 weeks. Read our consultation response and the Treasury's proposals.  

Immigration evidence says no to cap
David Ramsden, a member of the FSB’s Employment Committee, gave evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs regarding the inquiry into the immigration cap. On the same subject, John Walker, FSB National Chairman, recently attended the annual dinner of the Federation of Bangladeshi Caterers where the issue of economic migrants was also a very hot topic.  

High Speed Rail
The Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond MP announced this week that exceptional hardship loans will be introduced to provide assistance for those most severely affected by HS2 Ltd's proposed line. Applications can be made from 20 August.  

Case study requests
With the launch of the Government consultation on banks, there is much interest from the national media in talking to businesses who have had difficulty in accessing finance, have seen rates increase substantially on existing loans, or that are about to embark on applying for a loan and wouldn’t mind being followed through the process. Email if you are interested in taking part.  

Work with the MoD?
The FSB is currently writing a report on how SMEs engage with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), what works well and what does not work so well.  This report will be delivered to Peter Luff MP, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology.  If you have experience of working with the MoD or in the wider defence and security market, the FSB would like to hear from you.   

What do you love about work?
The BBC is making a four part social history series about how our attitudes to work and the workplace have changed since 1945 and is looking for people who started work in the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s to talk about their working experiences in manufacturing, services, retail and offices, as well as those who have set up their own business. Email for more information.  

Interested in being in First Voice?
First Voice magazine is interested to know whether any FSB members exhibited at the recent Farnborough Air Show or attended the Show as trade visitors. Get in touch if you are interested in talking about it. 

 Follow the FSB on Facebook
You can follow the activities of the FSB by joining our official fanpage on Facebook. Become a fan to view regularly updated events, photo galleries, lobbying information and have the opportunity to add your own photos and discuss current small business issues.  

Like what you read?
Bookmark this page using social media sites such as Delicious, Digg, reddit, StumbleUpon, and keep in the loop about the FSB’s activities by subscribing to our RSS feed and following us on Twitter.