Dear Mr Cameron,
Thank you for your letter to small businesses, any efforts to reduce waste and inefficiency are to be welcomed and applauded. If small to medium businesses are to be the driver of the hoped for recovery for the UK economy, your support is welcomed.
One small question however, where has the support gone that was in place for Social Enterprises? These grass roots businesses could be the connection between the Big Society rhetoric and its delivery on the ground. Let us hope that the Big Society Bank can pick up where the funding left off.
The 'Your Square Mile' initiative came to Great Yarmouth last week and held a meeting at Ormiston Academy. This initiative is part of the Big Society and as such encourages us to become involved in our communities. Well done for paying each attendee a crisp £10 note for showing up. That's the kind of incentive that works. Are you sure the Big Society Bank will have enough cash to go round?
On yesterdays Big Question (BBC 13/02/11) one irate participant noted that MPs are not volunteers. Indeed not, they are paid quite handsomely in comparison to many who will be made redundant and whose jobs will then be taken on by volunteers, libraries were the oft quoted example yesterday. But before we have the first deaths of vulnerable people as a direct result of services being decimated perhaps you and your government could actually lead from the front and give us all a good example - give up your salaries, work as volunteers until the next election. After all, we are all in this together!
Ben T R
