Local councils across Hampshire, Dorset and Isle of Wight have been encouraged to take part in a new national awards scheme to have their partnerships with small businesses recognised and celebrated.
Britain’s biggest business representation group – the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) – will host the inaugural FSB Local Government Awards on 14 October, to highlight the work local government is doing to support small firms and sole traders across England, helping to boost local economies and employment.
The FSB’s new national awards are based on the success of the regional awards held by the organisation prior to Covid where local councils including Portsmouth City Council, Winchester City Council and Test Valley Borough Council were among those highlighted and recognised.
Nicky Kildunne, the FSB Development Manager for Hampshire, Dorset and Isle of Wight, said the awards were a way for councils to share with, and learn from their peers about the best way to help their SME communities.
“Small businesses are at the heart of all of our economies and we feel it is right to recognise the local government organisations we work with for their efforts and energy supporting this vital part of community life.
“We know there is so much fantastic work being done by local authorities in Hampshire, Dorset and on the Isle of Wight to support and encourage small firms and entrepreneurs, and we hope our inaugural national FSB Local Government Awards will shed light on this vital area of partnership between the public and private sectors”.
The aim of the awards is to highlight outstanding partnerships and projects, so that ‘best practice’ examples can be built upon more widely, as well as to increase knowledge among local government organisations of the types of projects and programmes which work best to empower the small business community.
They will also give small firms themselves the opportunity to see the types of support that are available to them.
The awards will cover four main categories:
- COVID-19 Support and Recovery – how local government were able to support local businesses in innovative and proactive ways during the pandemic;
- Programme of Business Support – what is on offer to local businesses, including a small business-focused procurement programme, schemes to help high streets, crime reduction, and help on ‘ESG’ (environmental, sustainability, and governance) issues;
- Future-Ready – what are councils and local authorities doing to address skills gaps, adapt high streets to shifting consumer habits, help local firms on the way to net zero, nurture future entrepreneurs, and more; and
- All-Round Small Business Friendly – to recognise an overall outstanding contribution to the life and health of the local business community.
Local authorities and councils can nominate themselves for the awards, which are free to enter, and are invited to contact their nearest FSB team for more information, or to visit https://www.fsb.org.uk/local-government-hub.html.
