Four out of five entrepreneurs in the UK believe the government could do more to support their small business, research claims.
Aldermore surveyed 1,799 people, including 642 small business owners, and found 79% of respondents believed existing initiatives did not provide enough support to SMEs.
Apprenticeship levy funds go towards the training of apprentices, but only 36% of SMEs polled were aware of the funding and only 4% had accessed this form of government support.
A similar pattern emerged with capital allowances, with 27% of respondents aware of the scheme and only 5% utilising it to support their business.
Government-funded startup loans were on the radars of 40% of those polled, but just 6% had used them.
The research also reveals 54% of business owners hold less than £1,000 in cashflow, while 15% are experiencing cashflow problems.
Ewan Edwards, head of savings at Aldermore, said:
“Small businesses represent five million enterprises employing over 15 million people in the UK, but the current system of support suffers from needless complexity, low awareness and low take-up.
“There is a clear gap in the market for providing well-targeted small business support, such as simple tax breaks and a taxpayer-funded cash bonus, to help them get started.”
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