Rishi Sunak has promised to create as many as 20,000 more apprenticeships through a series of reforms. These include fully funding training for young people and cutting red tape for small businesses. The government will cover the full cost of apprenticeships for people aged 21 or under at small firms from the, 1st April.
To that end, it has pledged £60 million of new investments for next year. Small firms, according to Labour were finding things “harder and harder” with the opposition party blaming 14 years of Tory “economic failure.”
In a speech to a conference for small businesses in Warwickshire, the PM set out a package of reforms to “unlock a tidal wave of opportunity.”
The PM has said that the government is “sticking to the plan and leaving no stone unturned to make the UK the best place to do business. Taken together, these measures will unlock a tidal wave of opportunity and make a real difference to businesses and entrepreneurs across the country,” he said.
In an additional reform, the PM is expected to announce a 50% rise in the thresholds that determine company size, hoping to make 132,000 more businesses qualify as small and medium-sized enterprises. They would therefore avoid non-financial reporting requirements.
Currently, a medium-sized business is defined as one which employs no more than 250 people and has an annual turnover of no more than £36 million or a balance sheet of no more than £18 million. A small business is one that employs no more than 50 people, with an annual turnover of no more than £10.2 million or balance sheet total of up to £5.1 million.
Alongside other measures to “streamline reporting requirements” the government hopes that this change could same small to medium businesses £150 million per year.
