Support for people in self-employment examined by Government

Founder of The Cambridge Satchel Company and leading entrepreneur, Julie Deane OBE, is to undertake an independent review of self-employment in the UK, which will report to the Government on the challenges and opportunities by those people working for themselves.

The review will examine the reasons why people decide to be self employed, in addition to the different types of works they undertake, including freelancing professionals, sole traders and those who are employed but also work for themselves. The challenges and potential difficulties faced by the self-employed, particularly when establishing or developing their business will also be explored.

In addition, the review will seek out solutions as to how the UK can create a more flexible and supportive environment, for example women creating businesses alongside childcare commitments.

Julie Deane began The Cambridge Satchel Company from her Cambridgeshire kitchen in 2008 with just a £600 start-up fund. The company now turns over £10M per year, employing over 130 people, manufacturing its products from its UK based workshop and selling to over 100 counties, marking her out as one of the UK economy’s biggest success stories of recent years.

Speaking on leading the review, Mrs Deane said: “The business landscape has changed so much in the last 10 years and in such a way that self-employment is now a viable option for so many more people. I have first-hand experience of the immense opportunities starting your own business can bring, but also understand the challenges that can face those starting out on their own. Having grown my business to employ more than 130 people and selling to over 120 countries, I have a clear of idea of the way in which government can better support the self-employed. I hope this review will help others in the future to turn their ideas into successful businesses.”

Self-employment makes up over 25% of the growth seen in employment since 2010. ONS figure show that one in seven people in employment decide to work for themselves, making a total of 4.5 million people.

The Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I am delighted that Julie Deane has agreed to carry out this review, with her own extensive experience of starting out on her own. Her review will shine a light on self-employment, a key part of our long term economic plan, looking at what can be done to provide more security and peace of mind for people wanting to work for themselves.”

Sajid Javid, Business Secretary said: “The government is on the side of working people. As part of our aim to achieve full employment, we want to create an environment that supports people who want to work hard and strike out on their own and makes the UK the best place in Europe to start and grow a business.”

The Prime Minister’s self-employment ambassador, David Morris, said: “I am delighted the government is carrying out this independent review. The self-employed make an important contribution to the UK economy and this review will help us to support the nation’s entrepreneurs even further.”

The review is expected to be published in early 2016.

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