Small Firms (Assistance) (Hansard, 21 March 1983)

§ Mr. MacGregor

The campaign, which starts on 18 March, will principally be concerned with the promotion of 86 schemes and measures available to small and medium sized firms. These, some of which have been altered in the Budget, cover tax incentives for both business men and investors, finance, support for innovation, regional assistance, advisory services, technical advice, employment, exports, planning permission relaxations, training and a number of other topics. In addition, some new schemes were announced in the Budget and details of these will also be available to those responding to the advertisements.

The 86 main schemes are as follows:

Finance

Loan guarantee scheme
The purchase of own shares legislation
BTG's small companies investment fund
BTG's Oakwood Finance Ltd

European Loans

European Investment Bank
European Coal and Steel Community
New Community Instrument

Tax Incentives for the Business Man

Corporation Tax
The VAT Registration Limited
Pre-registration VAT relief
Pre-trading income/corporation tax relief
Three-year carry-back of allowances
Pre-trading carry-back of income tax losses
Small workshops allowance
IBA: Extension to part of the service sector

Tax Incentives for the Investor

Business expansion scheme
Venture capital scheme
Interest relief for investment in companies
Interest relief for investment in partnerships
Capital gains retirement relief
Capital gains indexation
Capital transfer tax ten-year rule
Purchase of own shares tax relaxation 1982 share options legislation

Support for Innovation

Joint appraisal
Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing
Computer-aided design/manufacture and test
Flexible manufacturing systems scheme
Fibre optics and opto-electronics scheme
Industrial robots support
Microelectronics application project
Microprocessor industry support programme
Software products scheme
Support for innovation—Grants
Purchase of pre-production models
Research and development requirement boards

Regional Assistance

Regional development grant
Selective financial assistance
Office and service industries scheme
Contracts preference schemes
European regional development fund
Enterprise zones
English Industrial Estates Corporation

Advisory Services

Small firms service
Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas (CoSIRA)
Scottish Development Agency and Highland and Islands Development Board
Welsh Development Agency and the Development Board for Rural Wales
Local enterprise development unit
Enterprise agencies
Tourist boards

Technical Advice

Small firms technical inquiry service (SFTES)
Manufacturing advisory service (MAS)
Design advisory service
Technology advisory point
Microelectronics application project consultancy (MAPCON)
Government laboratories

Employment

Unfair dismissal: the two-year rule the size rule
Maternity provisions
Enterprise allowance

Exports

British Overseas Trade Board (BOTB) head office services
Statistics and market intelligence library and the product data store
Market advisory service
Technical help for exporters
Overseas status report service
Export market research scheme
Missions and trade fairs
Export intelligence service
Market entry guarantee scheme
BOTB: publicity unit
Simplification of international trade procedures board
Exports Credits Guarantee Department

Planning Relaxations

Light industrial/warehouse conversions
Extensions

Training

Skill into business courses
New enterprise programme
Small business courses
The management extension programme
In-plant training scheme

Miscellaneous

Company law: reduced disclosure requirements
Public purchasing: £5,000 rule
Public purchasing: non-approval rule
Energy survey scheme
Coal-fired boiler scheme
Mineral exploration grants
Rates—right to pay by instalments