FSB Lobbying Successes

FSB Lobbying Successes

Some of the FSB's recent lobbying successes are:

• Publicans - FSB lobbying prompts a Trade and Industry Select Committee inquiry into the relationship between pubcos and publicans, in a bid to get pub tenants a better deal;
  
• Stamp Duty - exemption for around 50 per cent of small firms from changes in the way duty is calculated;
  
• Insurance - DWP proposed in December 2003 to exempt over 300,000 incorporated family companies from Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance;
  
• Cheque clearance - as part of his pre budget report, the Chancellor announced the OFT is to be given new powers to scrutinise the banks on their payment systems;
  
• Audit Exemption - in December 2003 the Trade and Industry Secretary announced that audit exemption threshold is to increase from £1million annual turnover to £5.6million, which should save companies around £94million a year;
  
• Traffic Management Bill - following FSB calls, a bill was announced to set up a new central agency coordinating road works;
  
• Account switching - in a measure designed to give small businesses a fairer deal, banks now have to carry out all the administration involved in switching bank accounts within five days where there is no overdraft, and within 10 days if the small business customer has an overdraft facility;
  
• Single Equality Body - a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights will combine the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disabilities Rights Commission. As the FSB has long argued, this move should result in a streamlined single point of contact for business owners looking for information;
  
• A fairer slice of public sector contracts - following FSB lobbying of the government, the Better Regulation Taskforce and Brussels, the FSB scored a significant success with the publication of a National Procurement Strategy for Local Government. This requires councils to develop "diverse and competitive sources of supply" including procurement from small businesses;
  
• Local Government Act 2003 - act included a provision for a small business rate relief scheme that will benefit businesses whose premises have a rateable value of less than £8,000;
  
• Insurers to reward firms with good H&S records - ABI initiative to ensure insurers take health and safety records of small firms into account follows FSB lobbying;
  
• Crown preference abolished - after years of hard work by the FSB, agents of the crown, now have to take their place in the queue along with unsecured creditors like small firms when a company goes into administration;
  
• Insurance renewal notice periods - FSB criticism brought about an insurance industry code of conduct. Insurers now have to give policy holders at least three weeks' warning that their policies are due to expire;
  
• No tribunals without with out workplace discussions - employees must raise the grievance with their boss first and then go through a three-stage discussion process.