Small business owners from Gloucestershire, Bath and Weston-super-Mare had a chance to discuss the key issues affecting local SMEs with Bank of England representatives, at a lively meeting in Gloucester.

The Bank of England's South West agent, Donna Kehoe, and her team met up with local FSB activists from across the FSB's Gloucestershire and West of England area, including small business owners from Tewkesbury, Bath, Gloucester, Weston-super-Mare, Stroud, the Forest of Dean and the Cotswolds, and Mark Owen from Punchline, for an open and informative debate.

The bank team updated the SME owners on some of their activities, but were also very keen to hear how small business owners saw the current business environment and what they thought the main issues affecting them were. Discussions on Brexit, interest rates and business confidence all took place. Perhaps the biggest debate was on the skills agenda and how to ensure that enough is being done to train people with the skills they will need to make it easier for small businesses to attract, retain and recruit the right people.

Sam Holliday, FSB development manager for Gloucestershire and the West of England, said it was an excellent evening, where both the bank and the FSB members clearly benefitted from the exchange of views.

"I think we were all very impressed with how open Donna and her team were to listening to the views of our members on a wide variety of subjects. In the end, the skills agenda - including apprenticeships and making sure young people are fully equipped for what they will need at work - was the biggest part of the discussion which shows how important this is for a great many small business owners."

Donna Kehoe said: "It was great to be able to speak to a range of businesses from the area and to hear first-hand the challenges they face. As well as being a lively discussion, we gained some really useful information that will help the bank's continued understanding of economic conditions in the region."

The FSB members were grateful to the Bank of England for arranging the evening, which had been put together by Cotswolds-based FSB South West national councillor Terry Lockwood, who had also helped plan a separate meeting with the bank in Swindon.

Punchline was impressed by the bank's enthusiastic engagement with SMEs from across the region and the fact that they acknowledged that 'perhaps' the Bank of England isn't understood, recognised and its views respected by the business community, as it feels it should be. Events like this, led by the FSB, are the perfect way to listen and report back to HQ the thoughts of SMEs.

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk