2012 AUTUMN STATEMENT INTRODUCTION »

NON-TAX MEASURES FOR SMEs

A number of measures have been announced which may benefit SMEs.

Access to finance and exports

As announced in September, the Government will create a Business Bank to improve the way that Government delivers support to SMEs. It will deploy £1 billion of additional capital to address structural gaps in the supply of finance to SMEs.

A scheme will be established to provide up to £1.5 billion in loans to finance small firms’ exports. The scheme will be operated by UK Export Finance and will act as a backstop to finance UK export transactions when there is no other suitable finance available.

Additional funding to UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) will be provided. This will enable UKTI to deliver more services to small and medium size exporters.

Empowering Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)

Following on from a report presented by Lord Heseltine in October, ‘No Stone Unturned’, the Autumn Statement sets out the first stage of the Government’s response.

The Government agrees with the report that local leaders and businesses are best placed to set the strategic direction for an area and LEPs (which bring together local leaders and businesses) will be asked to lead the development of new strategic plans for local growth.

Some LEPs do not have the capacity to fulfil this role and will therefore be eligible for additional funding.

Commercial property

The Government will extend the temporary doubling of the Small Business Rate Relief scheme for a further 12 months from 1 April 2013.

All newly built commercial property completed between 1 October 2013 and 30 September 2016 will be exempt from empty property rates for the first 18 months. This will be subject to State aid limits and consultation.

Urban Broadband Fund

In the March Budget, a commitment was made to support a second wave of cities in the Urban Broadband Fund. The winning cities are Brighton and Hove, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Oxford, Portsmouth, Salford, and York in England; Aberdeen and Perth in Scotland; Newport in Wales; and Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland.

2012 AUTUMN STATEMENT INTRODUCTION »