U.K., Oct. 16 -- UK Parliament issued the following news:
The Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee is today launching an inquiry into what it takes to start and build a business in Britain - from selling on eBay or running a market stall to becoming a self-employed tradesperson or founding a visionary technology company.
Inquiry: Entrepreneurship and business
Call for evidence
With its newly expanded remit now extending to science and innovation, the Committee will examine whether people across the country have the support, market access, finance, skills, confidence and resilience to turn an idea into a living and a living into job and wealth creating firms.
The inquiry will put the outlook for everyday entrepreneurs firmly in the spotlight: small traders, eBay sellers, people building side hustles, market traders, and the nation’s white van men and women, alongside technology and business innovators and ground-breakers. MPs want to understand what helps them get started, what holds them back, and what would make it easier to build a sustainable business, take on a first employee or train an apprentice.
The inquiry builds on the Committee’s recent work on small business and investment which highlighted high business costs and difficulties accessing finance, turning now to the crucial first stages of enterprise.
Entrepreneurial activity in the UK is at its highest level since 1999, with one in five adults either starting or running a new business. Yet opportunities and outcomes vary significantly between regions, sectors and demographic groups. Fear of failure remains a substantial barrier.
The Committee will examine how government can help make Britain the best place in the world for entrepreneurs to start up, scale and stay. It will explore:
What prompts people to start a business, and what stops others from taking the plunge.
The outlook for small traders, online sellers, side hustles, market traders and self-employed tradespeople.
Access to start-up finance, practical advice, skills and support.
The journey from sole trader to employer, including the costs and challenges of hiring a first employee or taking on an apprentice.
How education, science and innovation can support business creation.
Whether government policy meets entrepreneurs’ needs, and what Britain can learn from other countries.
Chair comment
Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said:
“I know from the personal experience of building a fast-growing tech business that building new firms from scratch is hard but an experience like none other.
“For centuries, our entrepreneurs have been making history by inventing the future and today Britain’s enterprise spirit can be found in every research lab, on every high street and in every white van. It’s the eBay trader packing orders after work, the market trader setting up before dawn, the plumber ready to take on an apprentice or the tech visionary who sees bold new ways to remake the world.
“These are people working hard to build a living and take control of their future. We want to hear what stands in their way and what government must do to help. Britain should be the best place to start a business and build it to last.”
The Committee welcomes evidence from entrepreneurs at every stage, including people running side hustles, sole traders, employers and those who have tried to start a business but faced barriers.
The deadline for written evidence is Friday 12 November.
Further information
About Parliament: Select committees
Visiting Parliament: Watch committees
Business Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Image: Adobe stock
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
