SMEs call for more government support

Most entrepreneurs feel the government should do more to support small businesses, research by Aldermore shows.

A survey of 1,799 people revealed that 79% of SME owners think the government is not providing enough support for small businesses.

The research highlighted demand for finance-related support in particular, with more than half (54%) of the businesses surveyed holding less than £1,000 in cashflow.

Despite the apparent need for greater support, many businesses haven't made use of services that are already available.

The majority of small businesses (71%) are not accessing government support, and 36% don't know it exists at all.

Accessibility and publicity around available support was a problem for many business owners, as only 24% of those using support services had found it easy to access information about them.

Ewan Edwards, head of savings at Aldermore, said:

"Governments rightly recognise the key role that small businesses play as an engine of the economy - they represent five million enterprises employing over 15 million people in the UK.

"But our findings reveal that the current system of support suffers from needless complexity, low awareness and low take-up across the board.

"We believe the government needs to take a fresh approach with better targeted support and better publicity to increase awareness of what is available."

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