SMEs must be government's priority, says Izza

SUPPORTING SMEs must be the government’s priority, ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza has said.

Izza (pictured) told the Manchester Evening News that red tape from Europe was restricting the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to grow. Ministers should focus on giving these businesses the tools to start employing more people and exporting goods and services overseas.

There are 6,000 large businesses in the UK and 4.8million SMEs, of which 3.8million don’t employ anybody, he said. If half a million of these businesses employ one more person, that is an extra 500,000 people in work, he said.

“But the crucial point here is that for many of these businesses, actually employing their member of staff or going from two to three employees is just a phenomenal challenge for them, so they need help because all of a sudden they have so many other things to consider.”