Battle For Small Businesses
If saving the banks was the plan at the start of last week, rescuing Britain’s small businesses is the theme today.
The Government and the Opposition are fighting to be seen as the saviours of small firms run by “real” people.
David Cameron has set out plans for a VAT holiday and National Insurance reductions, while ministers have said they will look again at plans to expand flexible working, which small businesses say could be damaging.
Mr Cameron proposes that businesses with fewer than five employees would have the rate of employers’ National Insurance that they pay cut by 1p for at least six months.
Shadow business secretary Alan Duncan told Sky News that he wanted to make sure the “lifeline” given to the banks supports businesses and the “real economy”, as well as bankers.
Meanwhile Government says it is “absolutely focused” on helping small businesses to cope with the current economic situation.
A Business Department spokesman said: “Employment changes introduced have benefited employees and employers alike giving flexibility to both, but it is only right that in the changed economic conditions we look afresh at the costs and benefits of new regulations.”
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper told Sky News that the Government was still committed to “family friendly working across the board”.
“I don’t think this is about changing the approach to flexible working for small businesses, quite the opposite,” she said.
Small business representatives have welcomed proposals from both parties.
Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, John Wright, said: “A VAT holiday would provide welcome relief to the UK’s 4.7 million small businesses who are struggling
“Increased regulation can impact the growth potential of small businesses so a postponement of changes to flexible working will provide respite for businesses.”
The Institute of Directors also welcomed the decision to reconsider expanding flexible working.
But the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said postponing flexible working rights would be “spectacularly ill-timed for families struggling to balance work and family responsibilities.
And the Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said a delay would be “very retrograde”.
“The Government is terribly short-sighted if they are going to abandon some genuinely progressive changes … in a recession environment where very often two partners in a household are going to keep working to keep mortgages serviced,” he told Sky News.
He also called for further details on the Tory plans.
“One needs to know how these tax cuts are going to be funded…I suspect that it would simply add to the Government deficit,” he said.
Mr Cameron told Sky News he would be “very sorry” if the Government postponed its plans for more flexible working patterns.
“It’s important to build a more family friendly country and to help women back into the workforce,” he said.
He said instead the Government should be looking at things that could be done in the short term to help small businesses.
Small businesses, the “real economy”, and “hard-working families”, will be the key phrases to watch out for over the coming days.
Original article: Battle For Small Businesses From Sky News
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