SME Minister joins small business group

Minister for Small Businesses, Nigel Griffiths, has become the 500th member of the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group.

Any MP can join an All Party Group and there is a wide range of subjects and countries which reflect individual interests of MPs and Peers. The Small Business Group is the largest all-party group in Parliament.

Chairman of the Group, Labour MP Kerry Pollard, presented Mr Griffiths with a certificate to mark his membership. Kerry Pollard said: “We were already the largest all-party group in Parliament, and now that 500 Parliamentarians are members of the Group, it shows how important small business has become across political party lines, and in both Houses. Ministers do not usually join all-party groups, but the Small Business Minister recognises the value of the work we are doing in the field of small to medium sized enterprises, and has made an exception in our case. I am very grateful to Nigel Griffiths for his continuing support for the Group, and look forward to a long and productive working relationship.”

EDMs - Parliamentary petitions

Although there are now more than 500 members of the Group, which signals that MPs and Peers have an interest in issues relating to small business – less than half have signed the two Early Day Motions relating to the proposed Budget tax, IR591, which is set to introduce further restrictive measures on small owner-managed companies.

An EDM is a form of Parliamentary petition which raises interest or concern in a particular subject area.

Two have been introduced relating to IR591. The first one by Conservative MP and Shadow Paymaster General, Mark Prisk, currently has 133 signatures. Owner Managed Businesses (EDM 501) reads:

“That this House notes the Government's plans to reverse its tax treatment of owner managed businesses; is deeply concerned that this could result in severe financial hardship for thousands of family businesses and thus damage enterprise; asks the Chancellor to explain why his tax incentives went wrong; and urges him to meet with and consult small business representatives prior to the Budget.”