Independent review of self-employment published

An independent review of self-employment has been published and makes a number of recommendations for the government to consider and puts forward the growing economic potential of self-employment.

The review was undertaken by Julie Dearne, the founder of the The Cambridge Satchel Company and was commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron last July.

The report investigates what additional support can be given to the rising number of people in self-employment in the UK and how to gain a better understanding of their motivations and the challenges they face.

Mrs Deane started her company from her kitchen table in Cambridgeshire in 2008 with just £600. The company now turns over £10M per year and employs over 130 people and sells to more than 100 countries whilst still manufacturing all its products from its UK workshop.

Mrs Deane commented: “I was honoured to have been asked by the Prime Minister to oversee this review of self-employment in the UK. With record numbers representing 15% of the workforce and growing, the self-employed is a diverse and important sector.

“Having long been part of this group I wanted my recommendations to be both practical and impactful. I believe I have accomplished that.”

Mrs Deane’s recommendations include:

The government improving their website to make it easier for the self-employed to gain access to the advice and support already available.

A wider range of flexible financial solutions should be made offered to the self-employed, with trade organisations to play a key role in promoting the options available.

The availability and location of shared workspaces should be better promoted and the possibility of using local libraries and community centres to house such spaces should be investigated.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Up and down the country there are millions of hard-working self-employed people and I want to make sure they get all the support and security they need to achieve their ambitions.

“We’re already helping with tax allowances, start-up support and with our on-going commitment to cutting red tape, and given Julie Deane’s experience of starting her own successful business, she was the ideal person to shine more light on the needs of self-employed people.”

The post Independent review of self-employment published appeared first on UK Construction Online.