8 February 2012

Government launches business growth package for SMEs

A series of new measures to help Britain’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) grow and create jobs, export to new markets, secure finance and cut red tape was launched by the Prime Minister last month. The measures include a £95 million investment from the Regional Growth Fund to benefit hundreds of small businesses. The funding will support SMEs considering investing in new capital assets and is expected to create at least 4,000 jobs and unlock around £500 million of new investment.  The Government is also teaming up with founding Dragons’ Den panellist Doug Richard and Yell to get 3,500 businesses into workshops all over the country to ensure they are able to exploit the global opportunities offered by the internet. There is also a series of commitments from banks and business advisers to fuel business growth, including: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) partnering with Barclays to provide free finance advice for SMEs; Lloyds launching a network of export mentors and Santander organising trade missions to Brazil.

Employers to receive £2,275 worth of wage subsidies for each NEET they recruit

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced a £1 billion investment from the Government into creating 400,000 training places for the UK’s one million young employed. Under the 'Youth Contract', at least 410,000 work places will be found from April 2012 for 18 to 24-year-olds by 2015. This will include £2,275 worth of wage subsidies provided to employers that recruit 160,000 18 to 24-year-olds. Each of these wage incentives is worth half of the youth national minimum wage. They will be available to those between 16 and 24 not in employment, education or training after three months and all of those who have been on Jobseeker's Allowance for nine months.
 
Another 250,000 will have the opportunity to undertake work experience placements lasting up to eight weeks. These will be available to every unemployed 18- to 24-year-old who wants one and has been seeking work for three months or more. The money will go to private sector employers and trainers on a payment-by-results basis, with payments for those young people sustainably engaged in further learning or an apprenticeship.
 
Other measures include at least 20,000 additional incentive payments for firms in England to create apprenticeships for 16- to 24-year-olds, and more support for young people at job centres, such as extra time with advisers and a careers interview.

Inspiring the Future
To support enterprise in schools Government is enhancing online resources for teachers at the Enterprise Village and promoting recruitment of 2,500 local enterprise champions through its new Inspiring the Future website www.inspiringthefuture.org. This website seeks to recruits people from all sectors and professions to volunteer in schools and colleges, providing activities from mentoring to work experience.
 
New intellectual property court process introduced for small firms
A new small claims service is to be introduced at the Patent County Court (PCC), helping small and medium sized businesses protect their copyright, patents, trademarks and designs. Currently small firms are often put off enforcing their Intellectual Property (IP) rights by high costs. The new process will limit fixed costs and allow damages of up to £5000 per case. New figures produced last month by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) estimate that around 150 firms will benefit from the service every year, providing an annual boost to UK business of £350,000.  The recommendation for a small claims service was made following the recent Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth (www.ipo.gov.uk), published in May this year. Evidence presented to the Hargreaves Review indicated that around 1 in 6 (17 per cent) of small and medium sized businesses had given up attempting to enforce their rights due to high court costs.