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Councils are recognised in awards for small businesses support

On Friday (13 July) local councils were recognised for their support for small firms as part of the annual Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) local authority awards.

At the FSB’s annual ‘Small Business Engagement’ lunch, all councils in Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull were asked to make known any project or campaign that promotes and champions local economic development. There were four awards in total which focused on small business friendliness:

·         Best ‘small business friendly’ campaign

·         Best ‘small business friendly’ procurement policy

·         Best all round ‘small business friendliness’

·         Best ‘small business friendly’ MP

The awards form part of FSB’s lobbying activity to ensure that at every level of Government, entrepreneurs are viewed as potential wealth, growth and job-creators of the future. Across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull 97% of the 50,000 private sector businesses are small businesses, so it’s vital that we do everything we can to make it easier for them to thrive.

Sandra Garlick, FSB Warwickshire and Coventry Area Lead said: “ As in previous years, we were again delighted this year with the range and strength of applications received and the quality of the schemes put forward. The FSB fully believes in partnership working and we are proud to say that over the years in this region we have developed strong relationships with the business community, our local authorities and MPs. We feel that working together we can have a greater impact on making our economy a better place and the awards help to share that best practice”

This year the Best ‘all round small business friendliness’ award went to Warwickshire County Council, with Stratford on Avon District Council picking up the award for Best ‘small business friendly’ campaign and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council for Best ‘small business friendly’ procurement policy. Marcus Jones MP for Nuneaton won the award for Best ‘small business Friendly’ MP.

Sandra added “In Solihull’s application the Council demonstrated its approach to maximising opportunities for small businesses via its procurement policies, engagement with contractors and joint working across the local supply chain to help facilitate small business growth.

We look forward to continuing to work with local authorities and encourage them to develop initiatives and policies that will help small businesses across the region develop and thrive”.

Cllr Ian Courts, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Managed Growth at Solihull Council said “This is a brilliant accolade for Solihull Council and we’re delighted to have been recognised at the awards once again. I would like to express my appreciation to the FSB for being such a key partner.  We have some really skilled companies working in Solihull and will continue to give support wherever we can to ensure that the future is prosperous for our business community”.