FSB MSPs Panel survey

A survey of Members of the Scottish Parliament on behalf of the Federation of Small Businesses.

Date Published: 05 Jun 2010

Categories: Economy | Policy Makers | UK

Description

MSPs say Small Firms set to be Key Job Creators

Four out of five MSPs believe that small businesses will create most of the new jobs that the Scottish economy needs to recover from recession and return us to growth, a study commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland has found.

The FSB, Scotland’s largest direct-member business organisation, says this underlines the need for enterprise policy to focus on helping small businesses employ more staff where the opportunities exist.

Warning policymakers that cutting back on business support and economic development services would make this more difficult and prove to be a false economy, FSB Scottish Policy Convenor, Andy Willox OBE, said:

“Our MSPs obviously appreciate that it is Scotland’s army of small firms which can deliver the new employment that the country desperately needs.  They have seen big business downsizing already and know that the public sector is getting ready to do so.  Small business, however, has a proven track record of job creation and we stand ready to build on this and lead Scotland back to growth.

“It is therefore vital that we have the tools to get on with this job and I would urge our elected representatives to bear this in mind when decisions on enterprise spending come before them.  Like everyone who has been in business over the past few years, I know only too well that tough choices will need to be made.  But squeezing business support funding in favour of more emotive causes could cost local economies more than it will save.”

In survey work, conducted by ComRes on behalf of the FSB in May and June of this year, 40 MSPs out of 50 asked agreed with the statement: “Small businesses will create most of the extra jobs that the Scottish economy needs to recover fully from the recession.” 

Over the last decade, while big business shed 33,900 Scottish jobs, small firms created 67,400.  Thus, for every job big business lost, small business created two.