Abstract
The forthcoming Small Business Strategy represents an opportunity to reset the framework through which small businesses are supported, with the aim of promoting sustainable, productivity-led and geographically balanced growth. At the heart of this strategy must be a recognition of the persistent structural disadvantages that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to face. These include limited access to capital, infrastructure, skills, and regulatory certainty. Such constraints have been compounded by ongoing macroeconomic volatility, including the aftermath of the pandemic, inflationary pressures, and tightening credit conditions. Importantly, the UK’s small business landscape is not uniform. It is marked by deep regional disparities, with SMEs in economically weaker areas facing greater difficulties in accessing finance, networks, and public support. These spatial imbalances are not merely a feature of the current moment but are indicative of longstanding gaps in policy design and delivery. A strategy that fails to respond to this unevenness risks reinforcing the very inequalities it seeks to address.
This submission is grounded in empirical experience, academic engagement, and international comparative analysis. It is motivated by a clear understanding of the economic and social value that SMEs contribute, not only in terms of job creation and innovation, but also as engines of local regeneration and resilience. The aim is not simply to critique the status quo, but to offer a forward-looking, evidence-based contribution to the national policy conversation.
In so doing, this submission puts forward the view that the success of the UK’s small businesses is not a peripheral concern, but a central pillar of national renewal. A coherent and ambitious Small Business Strategy must place SMEs at the heart of efforts to address the UK’s productivity gap, close regional divides, and build an economy that is more inclusive, innovative, and resilient.
This submission is grounded in empirical experience, academic engagement, and international comparative analysis. It is motivated by a clear understanding of the economic and social value that SMEs contribute, not only in terms of job creation and innovation, but also as engines of local regeneration and resilience. The aim is not simply to critique the status quo, but to offer a forward-looking, evidence-based contribution to the national policy conversation.
In so doing, this submission puts forward the view that the success of the UK’s small businesses is not a peripheral concern, but a central pillar of national renewal. A coherent and ambitious Small Business Strategy must place SMEs at the heart of efforts to address the UK’s productivity gap, close regional divides, and build an economy that is more inclusive, innovative, and resilient.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Type | Submission to Parliamentary Enquiry |
| Media of output | Written submission |
| Publisher | University of the West of Scotland |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Place of Publication | Paisley |
| Publication status | Published - 12 Nov 2025 |
