Warwickshire county council wins regional title for its small business support

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 Britain’s biggest business representation group, and it emerged triumphant in the Programme of Business Support and All-Round Small Business Friendly regional categories.

Local authorities from all across England - including Coventry City Council, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, North Warwickshire Borough Council and Warwick District Council - responded to the call when FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) launched their inaugural Local Government awards sponsored by Maybe*, which were aimed at celebrating and recognising those that had made the biggest impact on local SMEs during the Covid crisis and beyond.

And, at Friday’s virtual online final Warwickshire County Council was named as the West Midlands regional champion winners with judges being 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, 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.”

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 category) Coventry City Council (Future Ready category) and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council (All-Round Small Business Friendly category).