There are 5.5m small businesses in the UK whose interests will be represented by the new Small Business Council, which is going to be set up by the Department for Business and Trade in March.

The Council builds on the department’s existing support for SMEs and will provide a dedicated forum for small businesses to have their voices represented within government. 

Growth has stalled at SMEs over the last decade due to Brexit, the pandemic and ongoing geopolitical instability, according to the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC).

SMEs are also due to struggle even more through 2024 when the minimum wage is increased to £11.44 for over 21-year-olds. This is a 9.8% rise in wages.

Begbies Traynor reported that 47,000 companies were near to collapse at the end of 2023, and there was a 25% increase in the number of businesses in critical financial distress.