The Liberal Democrats have proposed a single digital service where businesses could handle tax, regulation and Companies House filings in one place. Deputy leader Daisy Cooper set out the idea on Sunday 20 September at the party's conference in Brighton. It forms part of a 30-page growth plan. This is a party proposal, not government policy. Nothing changes for business owners today.
01What the growth plan proposes for small businesses
According to the BBC, Cooper said UK growth is being held back by a "computer says no" approach. She was talking about the system that businesses deal with, from red tape to investment rules.
Her main proposal for smaller firms is a digital one-stop shop. It would combine tax, regulatory, legal and Companies House services with general business support. It would sit inside a new Department for Growth. Cooper said this would simplify red tape and help small and medium-sized businesses compete and grow.
She also said too many start-ups are built in Britain and then move abroad to grow. "We build brilliant start-ups, and watch too many leave to scale somewhere else," she told the conference.
The largest proposal in the plan is about Europe. Cooper called for a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU, including deals on the single market and a customs union. She claimed Brexit costs the UK £90bn a year in lost tax revenue. That figure is her claim, as reported by the BBC.
02What changes for business owners now?
Nothing yet. The Liberal Democrats are not in government, so this is a statement of what the party would do. The other parties hold their own conferences over the coming weeks. Expect more proposals aimed at small businesses before the Autumn Budget.
We are not taking a side. We report proposals like this because they show where the debate on small business policy is heading.
03The other kind of "computer says no"
Cooper's speech was about red tape. For many owners, the phrase means something closer to home. It means a finance application turned down by an automated check, with no clear reason given.
If that has happened to you, one decline is not the final word. Lenders use different criteria, and a no from one is not a no from all. Our guide explains where a business turned down by its bank can borrow now. The financial regulator has also named vague declines as a problem, as we reported in our story on the FCA's review of small business finance.
The next step is to find out why the application failed and which type of finance fits. That is where business growth finance from a wider range of lenders comes in.
