£450m package for Scotland's small businesses

The SNP today confirmed a re-elected SNP Government will continue to support Scotland's small businesses with the £450 million Small Business Bonus through the next Parliament as we work to protect the role of small businesses in our economy.

The Small Business Bonus has delivered £450 million of support to Scotland's small and medium enterprises over the last 4 years, reducing or removing business rates for 80,000 business and supporting small business in taking on 40,000 new employees- matching employment amongst larger firms.

Today (Monday), SNP Deputy Leader and Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the SNP would maintain the £450 million of support for over 80,000 small businesses throughout the next Parliament to support jobs and our economy as she challenged other parties to do the same.

Launching the SNP's commitment at Delicious Too, a cake shop in her Glasgow Govan constituency which has seen its rates wiped out by the Small Business Bonus, Ms Sturgeon said:

"Scotland's small businesses are the cornerstone of our economy and the heart of our communities.

"Over the last four years of the small business bonus has helped around

80, 000 small businesses cutting rates by an average of £1400.  That money has helped businesses stay afloat through the recession and has seen small business take on 40,000 employees in the last four years.

"A re-elected SNP Government will protect the Small Business Bonus to protect our small businesses. We will invest £450 million over the next four years in giving our small businesses the break they need and the competitive edge that will help them grow.

"80,000 businesses have taken up the Small Business Bonus and I would encourage any eligible business to do so. And the support of small business for employment, creating 40,000 jobs over the last four years and working with the SNP Government through a new £10m fund to generate 5000 jobs shows how important small businesses are to scotland's success.

"Labour have never supported the Small Business Bonus.  It is crystal clear that the only way to maintain this support for small business is with a re-elected SNP Government investing in Scotland's economy."

Andy Willox OBE, the Federation of Small Businesses' Scottish Policy Convenor said:

"The introduction of the Small Business Bonus was a first step toward a fairer Scottish business rates system. The FSB has no doubt that since its introduction in 2007, the SBBS has made the difference between success and failure for hundreds of small businesses and new starts squeezed between the banks and big business.

"The FSB is now arguing that the Small Business Bonus should be retained and expanded so that more Scottish small businesses reap the benefits. It will be the Scotland's smallest businesses that will create the jobs and opportunities the country needs - it is more important than ever that this vital lifeline is retained."

Owner of Delicious Too Cake Shop in Pollokshields, Saad Butt said the small business bonus had been a lifeline for his shop;

"The small business bonus scheme has been a lifeline for small businesses like my own. The SNP led Scottish Government has shown its commitment to small businesses, who are the backbone of a healthy economy.

"I am pleased that the SNP is pledging to keep the scheme as without it small businesses will undoubtedly suffer."

His comments were supported by another small business owner Eric Rae, of E Rae & Son  Electrical Contractor in Turriff who spoke out previously in the FSB manifesto.  Mr Rae said:

"The small businesses bonus scheme has been very good for my business as it is for all small businesses.

"The reduction the small business bonus scheme gives is helping in these difficult trading times to keep firms trading and makes you feel appreciated and valued for the contribution we make to the local community"

Notes:

Key Small Business facts:

1. The Small Business Bonus is helping over 80,000 small businesses in Scotland. An eligible business saved on average £1,440 in 2010/11 with a maximum saving of £4,100.

2. The FSB manifesto states: "It should be acknowledged that the SBB has made a real difference to thousands of Scottish businesses. Indeed, according to 2009 research, around one in four of our members now don't pay rates due to this scheme, while many more receive a significant discount. Our members attest that the SBB eased cash-flow worries when bank lending was constrained, late payment was rife and bad debts increasingly common. We have no doubt it made the difference between survival and failure for many.

3. Small businesses are an important driver of job creation in the Scottish economy. Between March 2007 and March 2010 small businesses (0-9 employees) created over 40,000 private sector jobs in Scotland, a similar amount to the number of jobs (43,000) created by large companies (250+ employees).

4. Labour do not support the SBB. On each of the occasion when there has been a vote on the SBB, Labour has voted against.

5. An SNP Government will continue to support the 80,000+ small business that the SBB for the next parliament at a total cost of £450 million. The SBB is vital to the continued stability and growth of the small business sector and to the important role that the small business sector plays in creating and supporting jobs.

6. Small businesses are the backbone of the Scottish economy, and the 2011-12 Budget includes provision for a £10 million package to support employment creation and the growth of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in 2011-12.  This programme will be focused on encouraging small firms to take on new employees by assisting with their recruitment costs, and also helping to support exporting opportunities.