Small businesses may welcome the latest proposal from the coalition government, announced Monday 3rd October 2011. The chancellor, George Osborne unveiled a credit easing scheme which will buy corporate bonds from small businesses who are finding it difficult to obtain business finance from the banks.

The multi-billion pound credit fund will come from the Treasury, with the Bank of England acting as agent for the Treasury. The new scheme is completely separate from quantitative easing which is comparable to the printing of a set amount of money. The credit easing initiative is also being viewed by ministers as a temporary method for providing credit to small and medium enterprise without the involvement of banks. The new initiative may be seen by some as an admission that the Merlin project has not been as successful as hoped. The existing plans to reduce the UK deficit will not be abandoned, which is evident by the introduction of credit easing.

The chancellor also announced that fees would be charged for employment tribunals. If someone wishes to make a claim against an employer, the fee will be set between £100 and £150. A person wishing to launch a full hearing will have to pay £1000, and if you are looking for compensation in excess of £30,000 the fees will be greater. The Treasury have launched the fee system to deter anyone making appeals just to cause vexation to an employer. Almost £6 million a year could be saved for small businesses just by the amendments to unfair dismissal rules.

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