Picture shows: Chairman of the South West Essex Branch of the FSB, David Miles, Upminster Member of Parliament, Angela Watkinson and Fruit for the Office Director, Daniel Ox.
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Keep Trade Local
The House of Commons All Party Small Shops Group estimates that there will be no independent shops by 2015.
This equates to the closure of over 50,000 small businesses and a massive knock-on effect for other small businesses in the local community.
Over 25 percent of FSB members operate in the retail sector.
We urge you to sign the FSB's Downing Street petition to secure the future of small shops across the UK and safeguard the choice and competition that people expect in the market place.
A12 Inquiry, here's the business view
To those who took part in our survey or to anyone who wants to find out what the business community feels should be taken into account at the inquiry, please download the FSB submission.
Are you eligible for rate relief?
Relief is only available for a solely occupied property up to £15,000 RV. That is just one property - one rates bill. The ratepayer must apply to the billing authority (local council) for the relief - it will not happen automatically.
Contact your local council for a simple to complete form (see our Links page) or check this site out
Free Access to Public Sector Contracts for Small Businesses
A free trial has started to provide small and medium sized businesses with access to thousands of public sector contract opportunities. From 1 May until 31 July 2008, the http://www.supply2.gov.uk/ website will allow new registrants to gain free access to public sector contracts valued under £100,000 for the UK and Northern Ireland.
The free trial is part of the Department for Business' Enterprise Strategy released in March, which outlined new measures to increase the amount of government business that is won by small firms. More information here.
