[A]s the Chair of the All Party Parliament Group for Family Business, John Stevenson MP, recently chaired a meeting in Parliament on the challenges and opportunities facing rural family business.
A number of issues were discussed by participants including housing, broadband and mobile coverage, access to people, financing growth, business support services, regulation and compliance.
John said: “This discussion has been very useful, as it is important that we consider the challenges of all rural businesses, as well as those in agriculture and forestry.
“There are 547,000 rural businesses in UK, employing approximately 3.5 million people. Some 87% of these SMEs are family owned, so the economic contribution rural family firms make to the UK economy is phenomenal.
“It is therefore vital that the necessary support is made accessible so that rural family businesses can overcome challenges and grow.”
