Nuneaton’s MP Marcus Jones has supporting the role of small businesses during a recent debate in Parliament, when the Small Business Bill was being discussed by MPs in the Commons.

In a wide ranging speech, Marcus, who serves as a Small Business Ambassador for the Midlands region, a position he was appointed to by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, acknowledged that for many people who run small businesses, they had felt ‘out of the tent’ when the Government made decisions and introduced legislation that affects business, and said that many small business owners felt that they were the ‘Cinderella of the business world when it comes to Government engagement.’

The Town’s MP welcomed the fact that small business now has a strong vice when it comes to having its collective say on legislation via active organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses. Many of the organisations recommendations appear in the new Small Business Bill, showing that the Government is listening to their concerns.

Marcus spoke specifically about problems faced by businesses caused by late payments, which is addressed in the new legislation, and urged the Government to go further, by including in the Bill measures to address late payment from Government and local Councils. He also addressed other measures in the Bill, including aspects that affect the pub industry and businesses that have suffered as a result of ‘rogue directors’.

Commenting on the Small Business Bill, Marcus said: “The Small Business Bill comes off the back of a number of other measures that the Government has taken to help small business. They have, for instance, extended small business rate relief, introduced the employment allowance, frozen fuel duty, cut beer duty, and reduced corporation tax to the lowest rate in the G20.

“We should listen to organisations like the Federation of Small Business, and I am pleased that we are, because small businesses are extremely important. They have created 2 million private sector jobs in the last four years, 2,000 of them in my constituency, and they have driven down the unemployment rate.

“Unemployment has fallen by 26% in my constituency in the last 12 months, and youth unemployment has fallen by 38% during the same period. We need to engage with small businesses and listen to what they say in order to find out what they want us to do to enable them to create the jobs that we need.

“This Bill is a huge step in the right direction.”