Southern pubs could be included in NI holiday

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for the Government to extend the National Insurance holiday across London and the south-east after a new survey revealed it is the region most likely to be under-staffed.

The FSB survey of 1,200 small firms revealed that business is still fragile as nearly 67% of small firms are operating below capacity, with firms in the south-east worst affected.

Just 4% of respondents believed that business prospects will improve in the third quarter of the year, down from 16% in March.

The FSB is concerned that Government proposals to exempt the south-east, London and the east of England from the NI holiday for new businesses will prevent start-up firms in the region and existing businesses will not have enough support.

"The consensus view from small firms is that the recovery is far from secure and there are significant risks to business growth in the future. With this is mind, as well as the fact that almost 70% of businesses report working under capacity, we encourage the Government to support small businesses to grow and expand," said FSB national chairman John Walker.

"With small firms in the south-east most likely to be working below capacity, this shows how wrong the Government is to not include this vital region, as well as the East and London, in its proposals for a National Insurance holiday for start-up businesses.

"While we support the policy we believe that it should be extended to be UK-wide and be available for existing businesses too."