Small and medium-sized businesses

That this House recognises the massive scale of the emergency facing small businesses from not just the cost of living crisis, but the 'cost of doing business crisis', to quote the Small Business Commissioner, Liz Barclay; considers the staggering energy bill rises and vastly increased costs that many small businesses now face; understands how small businesses are the backbone of our economy and are already greatly diminished through difficult times during Covid; and supports a call for a robust and comprehensive crisis response to prevent a potential 'generation of lost firms, and jobs', according to the Federation of Small Businesses.