County Council business support takes two prestigious awards

"These awards are a source of immense pride...it is particularly pleasing that the FSB has recognised the success of our longstanding services and programmes."

Warwickshire County Council has been awarded two prestigious ‘best in the region’ awards for its support for the local small business community.

Warwickshire County Council was among 250 councils in England who entered the inaugural Local Government awards run by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), sponsored by Maybe*.

Local authorities from across the country applied for the awards which are aimed at celebrating and recognising those that have made the biggest impact on local SMEs during the Covid crisis and beyond. The competition was fierce, but WCC emerged triumphant in two regional categories; 'Programme of Business Support' and 'All-Round Small Business Friendly.'

The latter award recognises WCC's work with businesses in the last two years to aid growth and economic recovery. The former was for the range of support provided not only during and since the pandemic but also programmes in place well before Covid. These include the CW Business Start, Grow and Scale programme and a breadth of schemes and advice delivered by Warwickshire Skills Hub, the Invest in Warwickshire team and Warwickshire Business Centres.

The judges were impressed by the council’s work to help the local small business community by developing an economic recovery plan using its own resources, delivering grant schemes and running a Visit Warwickshire campaign to benefit the local economy.

Cllr Martin Watson, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economy & Place, said; “Warwickshire County Council recognises the crucial role small businesses play not just in the local economy but also in the local place, and the contribution they make to its character.

“We were committed to doing all that we could to ensure that small businesses not only survived, but took the moment to reassess how they were operating so that that they could adapt and thrive in the post-Covid market. These awards are a source of immense pride as they recognise that effort and how effective it was. It is particularly pleasing that the FSB has recognised the success of our longstanding services and programmes.

Lee Osborne, FSB Development Manager Warwickshire and Coventry, said “It is really pleasing to see Warwickshire County Council rewarded for their hard work and effort to help local SMEs through what has been a very challenging couple of years.

“Both the quality and quantity of entries from this region and beyond was incredibly high so Warwickshire County Council should feel very proud to be among the winners. We look forward to continuing to work with them - and all our other business-supporting councils - to ensure we have a vibrant and strong local SME community.”

Among other councils who were shortlisted for regional success were North Warwickshire Borough Council (Covid-19 Support and Recovery) Coventry City Council (Future Ready) and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council (All-Round Small Business Friendly).