The survey confirmed what ministers recently discovered when they met over 600 small business owners around the country.
The survey also showed that women continue to be significantly
under-represented in enterprise, with only 14 percent of small businesses with employees led by women.
Key findings from the Annual Small Business Survey produced by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform include:
* There was a 16 percentage point increase in the proportion of SMEs with employees engaged in innovation of products and services (48 percent compared with 32 percent in 2005).
* 65 percent of SMEs were planning to grow over the next two to three years (up from 56 percent). One in five SMEs had taken on more employees in the 12 months prior to the survey while one in seven had reduced the size of their workforce.
* More than half of SME employers (60 per cent) had funded or arranged staff training or development over 12 months prior to the survey. In 2005, that figure was 41 per cent.
* The vast majority of SMEs with employees were led by men; only 14 percent were led by women or by a management team mostly comprised of women. Female led SMEs with employees tended to be smaller than average.
* When asked to suggest the biggest obstacle to success, SMEs named
competition as the greatest barrier (15 percent); regulation (14 percent); taxation including VAT, PAYE, NI and business rates (12 percent); the economy (10 percent); and cash flow (10 percent). For the most part, the obstacles cited and their rankings are comparable with those reported in 2005.
