The Labour government have today launched their small business plan, visiting Rye Lane businesses to mark the launch.
The government’s Minister for Small Businesses, Gareth Thomas MP, visited Flock and Herd butchers, local store Gather, Sky Shopping City and Jamaican street food outlet Soul Fuel on Rye Lane, discussing the plan with shop owners.
This week Labour-run Southwark council also signed a new partnership pledge with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The pledge commits the council to working with the FSB to develop policies which support local small businesses, establish a “culture of parity of focus” between residents and the small businesses they work for, and create the posts of ‘small business champion’ and single point of contact within the council for small businesses.
Southwark is responsible for 1% of GDP in the UK, and is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. New plans to unleash growth in small businesses will give Southwark’s entrepreneurs a welcome boost.
Small and medium sized firms employ 60% of the country’s workforce and generate £2.8 trillion in turnover. The government said, however, “that for too long, the odds have been stacked against small businesses” – including many of those based on Rye Lane.
Central to the government’s new plan are new rules on late payments, which the government say cause businesses to close every day. The rules, which will be the toughest in the G7, give stronger powers to the Small Business Commissioner to empower to hand out fines, against big companies who choose to pay their smaller suppliers late.
As well as making the payment system fairer for small firms, the plans will free up hours currently spent chasing overdue invoices, meaning business owners can focus on growing their business instead.
Visiting Rye Lane businesses with the Minister, Cllr John Batteson, Southwark Labour’s spokesperson for Jobs, Businesses & the Climate Emergency, said:
“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy and play a vital role in our community. We have over 18,000 businesses in Southwark and 95% of them are small or micro businesses.
Today’s announcement shows that Labour are backing Southwark’s businesses by removing a major barrier to success in the form of late payments. This will boost our local small businesses which are so important for areas like Rye Lane.”