Small Business Taskforce

The Small Business Taskforce were a team of small business owners in the UK commissioned by Labour leader Ed Miliband MP and Chuka Umunna MP (shadow secretary of state for business, innovation and skills) on behalf of the Labour Party to independently review 'how Britain can support small businesses in the challenges ahead'. The report includes a number of recommendations on how small businesses can be helped and can be placed at the heart of future growth.

The taskforce was initially chaired by Nigel Doughty, however after he passed away in 2011 he was replaced by Bill Thomas.

Report

The full report can be accessed here.

People

Chairs

• Bill Thomas, chair. Former senior vice president and general manager of Hewlett-Packard; independent director of XChanging plc and GFI Software SA; proprietor of Hopton Estates; and chair of the international advisory board of Cranfield School of Management.
• Tony Roulstone, vice chair. Managing director of of nuclear business at Rolls Royce plc; director of performance and engine systems at Rolls Royce - aerospace; director of engineering at Rolls Royce & Associates; and engineering manager at Rolls Royce & Associates.
• Ed Ainsworth, sub group chair. Partner at Ansor Ventures; chairman of Ansor Eviroment; and managing director of 4C Associates.
• David Connell, sub group chair. Co-founder of TTP Ventures and a senior research fellow at the UK innovation research centre at the University of Cambridge.
• Tim Hames, sub group chair. Director of policy at the British Venture Capital Association; former lecturer at Oxford University; assistant editor, chief lead writer and columnist at The Times; and served as an adviser to the Speaker of the House of Commons.
• Alex Mitchell, sub group chair. Co-founder of the Young Brits Network; UK president of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance; UK representative on the European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs; and is the Institute of Directors' head of influencer relations.

Members

• George Bevis. CEO of Groovy Bananas; founder of SpeedSell and former business strategy director at Barclaycard.
• Professor Robert Blackburn. Director of the Small Business Research Centre, Kingston University.
• Councillor Stephen Alambritis. Leader of Merton Council and former head of public affairs at the Federation of Small Business.
• Professor Andrew Burke, Founding director of the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurship at Cranfield School of Management; board member of Cranfield Ventures Ltd; and founding editor of the International Review of Entrepreneurship.
• Ben Coleman. Founder of Oceans Consulting and helped establish Labour's first small business task force in the mid 1990s.
• Lesley Davies. Deputy chief executive of policy at the Association of Colleges; and former member of the Learning and Skills Council, British Aerospace and Coopers & Lybrand.
• Councillor James Frith. Founder of All Together and an elected member for Bury Council.
• Peter Haden. Management consultant working in the retail and consumer sector.
• Deborah Leary. Founder and CEO of Forensic Pathways; and holds a number of board positions in the areas of entrepreneurship, international trade and corporate social responsibility.
• Dr Angela Maxwell OBE. Managing director of Acuwomen; and former commercial director of Fracino and adviser to the UK Trade and Investment.
• Terry Owens. Founder of InBiz
• Martin Phillips. Worked in direct marketing and e-commerce around the world and a member of the Labour Party's National Policy Forum.
• Iain Simpson. Has an academic background in economic, works in financial markets and does policy work on financial reform and improving small businesses access to capital.

Resources

• An Enterprising Nation: The final report of the Small Business Taskforce.