What SMEs Need from the Government’s Upcoming Small Business Strategy

Saira Demmer is CEO of SF Recruitment and a recent addition to Management Today's Women in Leadership Power List 2025. Known for her focus on building autonomous, high-performing teams, Saira leads a company that puts simplicity and effectiveness at the heart of growth; principles she believes should also guide government policy for SMEs.

What’s the one thing holding back some of the UK’s most ambitious businesses?
It’s not a lack of ideas.
It’s not a shortage of drive.
It’s the weight of everything else.

Speak to any SME founder, and the frustrations quickly become apparent: layered bureaucracy, rising employment costs, and a tax regime that feels more punishing than progressive. And while this summer’s headlines promise an economic reset, the reality for small business owners is something else entirely.

Next week, the Government is due to publish its new Small Business Strategy. Big promises are expected. But the real question is: will it listen to the people actually driving growth?

“Entrepreneurs want to build,” says Saira Demmer, CEO of SF Recruitment. “But instead, they’re spending more time trying to stay compliant than scaling their businesses. Regulation is at an all-time high and so is the cost of being on the right side of it.”

Red tape, rising costs… and no room to run

This isn’t about dodging rules or cutting corners. Most SMEs are respectful employers. Many go above and beyond statutory obligations. But right now, the system doesn’t reward that. It slows it down.

“We’ve created a landscape where doing the right thing still comes with a hefty admin bill,” Saira notes. “That’s not just frustrating, it’s a growth blocker.”

And it’s not just legislation. With corporation tax at 25%, limited relief for reinvestment, and a capital gains structure that penalises entrepreneurial success, the incentives to build are thinning out.

So what would real support look like?

Saira’s three-point Wishlist is simple:

1. Focus regulation on those abusing the system—not the rest of us.
“Most employers are good employers. We should be focusing employment regulations on the few who are behaving badly, not applying the same level of oversight and admin to the majority who treat people fairly. The best-performing teams thrive on autonomy, and that includes business owners. Over-regulation undermines that.”

2. Reward reinvestment with smarter tax policy.
“Reducing the corporation tax burden for SMEs who reinvest profits into hiring, innovation or training would give them the breathing space to grow. That’s where real productivity gains happen.”

3. Back entrepreneurs with capital gains breaks.
“Taking the leap to start or scale a business is a huge risk. We should be rewarding those who do it—not penalising them when they succeed. Better capital gains relief would encourage more entrepreneurs to go again, reinvest and keep building.”

A strategy worth getting right

The upcoming Small Business Strategy is a chance to reset the tone, and the reality, for SMEs across the UK. But it won’t land unless it reflects the friction points business owners are already navigating.

Saira puts it simply: “Every policy sounds good in isolation. But the cumulative impact is slowing us down. If you’re not in it day-to-day, you don’t see how heavy the load has become.”

We see it every day

At SF, our consultants speak to thousands of SME leaders, founders, and hiring managers each month. We know the pressure points. We see the missed opportunities. And we work with the businesses that are still pushing forward, despite the obstacles.

If you're hiring, scaling, or simply trying to keep pace with change, we’ve got the data, the insight, and the people to help you move.

The strategy may be on its way. But the conversation needs to start now.