6. SMALL / MICRO FIRMS IMPACT TEST
A review of the impacts on small firms of transposing the ELD concluded that:
i) As much ELD damage is likely to be caused by small firms as large firms and small businesses are capable of causing very significant incidents of damage.
ii) The resulting costs will be larger relative to the turnover and profit margins of smaller companies than of larger companies. For example, £100,000 which is (roughly) the estimated additional level of costs of water and biodiversity incidents represents two years of turnover for the average one-man farm but less than 0.1% of the turnover for the average chemicals manufacturer employing 500 people.
iii) Time invested in finding out about the new rules may be relatively greater for smaller companies
iv) Smaller companies may be poorer at assessing risks than larger companies which may lead to lower levels of risk reduction
The discussion of methodology in Annex 2 to this RIA describes two sets of workshops with UK industry sectors held to assist construction of the partial RIA. These precursors to the public consultation were necessary to give a range of information. The public consultation in Scotland sought dialogue with a range of key interests, including small / micro business, to offer a closer exchange of views and a refinement of available information.