HOME-BASED businesses are being ignored by local and national politicians, according to a study published yesterday.
A report by academics at the University of Strathclyde found that small enterprises operated from homes were often treated as if they were of "little economic significance".
The study, conducted by the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, found tha
t more than one-third of all UK small businesses operate from home.
It also challenged the belief that home-based businesses were part-time, small and marginal economically.
According to the study, the majority of home-based businesses – which operate in industries such as computing and financial services – create jobs and just over half generate revenues of more than £50,000 per year.
With one in ten making sales over £250,000 and employing at least ten people, small businesses are more important than many believe, the study says.
Professor Colin Mason, one of the report's authors, said: "There is a perception that local authorities are against home-based businesses while nationally they are dismissed as being of little economic significance.
"But although many are small, their size does not indicate lack of ambition or vitality – indeed, more than half (57 per cent] of our survey respondents had increased their turnover in the previous year."
According to the research, home-based businesses are concentrated in rural areas, particularly in the Highlands and islands in Scotland.
The study found that working from home helped the environment by cutting down on commuting and easing congestion.
"We need to see a change in enterprise policy at local, regional and national levels to actively encourage home-based businesses," Mason said.
The report also discovered that many home-based businesses are unsure of their legal status, have fears over the complex tax system and worry about regulation.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that the research confirmed their views on the attitude of policy-makers.
Andy Willox, convener of the FSB's Scottish policy forum, said: "The attitude to home-based business can too often be 'out of sight, out of mind'.
"But this study explodes these myths, underlining these businesses' value to the economy in terms of both turnover and employment."
Willox added that he believed the government was not doing enough to promote home-based businesses.
He said: "It is now more important than ever that questions about how they are treated by the tax system and how government regulations at all levels are applied to them are given the prominence they deserve – not treated as an afterthought."
A Scottish Government spokesman said it was "absolutely clear about the value of small businesses to Scotland's economy".
He added: "This is why we introduced the small business bonus scheme – cutting and scrapping business rates for 150,000 businesses throughout Scotland."
