Federation of Small Businesses explained

Formation:1974
Status:Not for profit company
Purpose:Membership body for small businesses and the self-employed
Headquarters:Blackpool, England
Leader Title:National Chair
Leader Name:Martin McTague OBE
Leader Title3:National Vice Chair Policy and Advocacy, FSB
Leader Name3:Tina McKenzie MBE
Leader Title4:Chief Executive Officer
Leader Name4:Julie Lilley
Board Of Directors:Alison North, Caroline Platt, Ian O'Donnell, Julie Lilley, Sharon Jandu, Stephen Askew.
Main Organ:Board of Directors
Subsidiaries:FSB Publications Limited, FSB Recruitment Limited, FSB Sales Limited, F.S.B. (Member Services) Limited, FSB Gold Club Limited, Keep Trade Local Ltd, Real Life Entrepreneurs Limited
Formerly:National Federation of Self Employed
Federation of Small Businesses
Size:230
Full Name:National Federation of Self Employed & Small Businesses
Abbreviation:FSB
Registration Id:1263540
Location:UK
Membership:>160,000
Membership Year:2016
Revenue:£25.6M
Revenue Year:2016
Staff:211
Staff Year:2016

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE).[1] The current name for the organisation was adopted in 1991. It is registered with Companies House as The National Federation of Self Employed & Small Businesses Limited (company number 1263540).[2]

FSB is a member-led, not-for-profit and non-party political organisation.[3] FSB is a lobbying organisation representing small firms and the self-employed to UK, national, local and devolved government.[4] FSB offers its members a range of benefits, such as a 24-hour legal advice line and free business banking.[5]

Structure

The current National Chair of FSB is Martin McTague who was appointed on 8 March 2022 [6]

Prior to 2018 FSB had 184 branches around the UK and these were grouped into 33 regions.[7] Each branch and region has its own committee. In addition, there was a national committee which included representatives from each regional committee.[8]

In January 2018, FSB underwent a modernisation programme and the Board of Directors altered the organisation's volunteer structure by switching from elected Branches and Regions to a new election and selection process. In 2021, the Board of Directors appointed a new scrutiny body, made up of members appointed through an independent selection process, to act as a critical friend to the Board of Directors in assessing its performance and effectiveness. The Scrutiny Body’s overall purpose is to obtain assurance on behalf of FSB members that the strategic direction of the organisation is in line with the principles and objectives set out in its Constitution.

Lobbying

FSB claims that its past lobbying activities have contributed to changes benefiting small businesses:[9]

Membership

FSB is a member-led federation. Membership criteria are as follows:[10]

The membership was 185,000 in 2006 and >160,000 in 2016.[12] [13] The membership is 200,000+ if Joint, Associate, Retired, Connect and Business Creation (pre-start-up) affiliates are included.[14] [15]

Small Business Index

The FSB Small Business Index measures confidence among small firms.[16] The FSB SBI has been quoted by the Bank of England,[17] the BBC,[18] Economia,[19] and EADT.[20]

Current logo

The current logo for the organisation was adopted in November 2015. The costs of this re-branding was £0.3M[21] and took well over a year to complete including a complete re-branding of the FSB Website.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History. Federation of Small Businesses. 2017-07-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20170704070156/https://candidates.fsb.org.uk/our-history.asp. 2017-07-04. dead.
  2. Book: FSB Annual Report 1991. 1991. FSB.
  3. Web site: About the FSB. Federation of Small Businesses.
  4. Web site: FSB Lobbying. Federation of Small Businesses.
  5. Web site: FSB Member Benefits. Federation of Small Businesses.
  6. Web site: 2022-03-07. Business costs and supply chain practices are priorities, says Martin McTague as he is appointed new FSB National Chair. 2022-03-09. Federation of Small Businesses. en-US.
  7. Web site: FSB Annual Report 2016. Federation of Small Businesses.
  8. Book: FSB MSP. 2016. FSB.
  9. Web site: Businesses . FSB, The Federation of Small . Campaign Listing Page . 2024-01-02 . www.fsb.org.uk.
  10. Web site: Membership Requirements. Federation of Small Businesses.
  11. Web site: FSB Members Code of Conduct. Federation of Small Businesses.
  12. Book: FSB Annual Report 2006. 2006. FSB.
  13. Web site: FSB Annual Report 2016. Federation of Small Businesses.
  14. Web site: FSB Website. Federation of Small Businesses.
  15. Web site: FSB Entrepreneurship Manifesto. Federation of Small Businesses.
  16. Web site: FSB SBI. Federation of Small Businesses.
  17. Web site: Bank of England and the FSB SBI. Bank of England.
  18. News: BBC and the FSB SBI. BBC News . 21 September 2016 .
  19. Web site: economia and the FSB SBI. economia.
  20. Web site: EADT and the FSB SBI. EADT.
  21. Web site: FSB Annual Report 2016. Federation of Small Businesses.