SMEs

Mark Hoban, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, says the government has done what it can to help lending to small business and now the banks must take the lead.

The government has "grossly underestimated" the costs to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of auto-enrolling employees into a workplace pension scheme, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says.

The government has announced a series of measures designed to help small businesses grow and access finance.

SMEs are increasingly turning to alternative sources of funding, although bank overdrafts remain a popular form of finance.

Lord Young has replaced Lord Sugar as the government's enterprise tsar, tasked with cutting red tape for small businesses and encouraging new start-ups.

It is not all bad news you know. Try our weekly round-up of more uplifting stories from this week's IFAonline.

Newly elected Labour leader Ed Miliband used his first address to the party conference this afternoon to criticize the Coalition's deficit reduction strategy, and set out what changes Labour proposes for the economy.

Small businesses are being urged to share their experiences of dealing with banks with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

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