The Cornwall chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has challenged the Government to provide extra help for the business sector.
During the pre Cabinet South West meeting on Friday, Lorrie Eathorne-Gibbons asked questions on behalf of the small business community, pointing out that small businesses are the bedrock of the Duchy and the foundation for recovery.
She also called upon the Government to put pressure on the banks who are not passing on the money they have been awarded for loans. “Our members,” she said, “repeatedly tell us they go to the banks and are turned down.”
The FSB Chairman’s questions were answered by Pat McFadden, Deputy to Peter Mandelson and Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State in the Department of Work and Pensions. McFadden said that small businesses were essential to recovery and they must be encouraged to grow.
Talking to several Ministers around the room, Eathorne-Gibbons also emphasised the need to reduce red tape and bureaucracy for business and other sectors.
She said: “We need policeman policing, teachers teaching, nurses nursing and businesses concentrating on growth and service, not filling in forms.”
