A national business association has praised Portsmouth City Council’s support for small businesses at the annual Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Small Business Friendly Awards.
Portsmouth City Council won the Best All Round Small Business Friendliness award for their holistic ‘fit for purpose’ approach to small business support. The FSB said the council’s business support was simple and easy to access and praised the business support programme offering free targeted mentoring through ‘Shaping Portsmouth’ which has helped over 115 small businesses.
The FSB also highlighted that the council has increased both the number of small businesses on their procurement register and the amount of council spend to the local small business community.
Councillor Steve Pitt, Portsmouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and City Development, said: “We were pleased to receive the award which recognises the excellent support provided by the economic growth team at the council. We are proud of the variety of small businesses we have in the city and will continue to do what we can to help them thrive.”
Caroline Collings-Wood, Hampshire, West Sussex & Isle of Wight Volunteer Area Leader at the FSB, said: “It is immensely important that local government value their small business community as these businesses are the drivers for the local economy. I am so very pleased Portsmouth City Council along with Shaping Portsmouth have created such a diverse range of support to enable small businesses to thrive.”
To find out more about the support available for businesses in the city visit www.portsmouth.gov.uk/business To find out more about the FSB visit www.fsb.org.uk