Supporting small business eleventh report of session 2006-07 report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

House of Commons papers 2006-07 262

Author:

Leigh Edward chairman

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

Price: £10.00

Following on from a NAO report (HC 962, session 2005-06; ISBN 9780102937763) published in May 2006, the Committee's report examines the work of the Small Business Service in influencing government on behalf of small businesses and in delivering business support services. In October 2006, the Government announced that the SBS would be reformed to operate as a policy unit within the DTI's Enterprise and Business Group, focusing on influencing the business environment and supporting entrepreneurs, but shedding its executive agency status and losing its service-delivery role to regional partners such as regional development agencies. The Committee's findings include that the Government's small business support network of around 3000 national, regional and local programmes is too large and complex, with many small businesses finding it difficult to understand and access the various support schemes, while the administrative costs to small businesses of dealing with so many different programmes are unnecessarily high. The SBS, and the Government as a whole, has not been able to evaluate its impact against government aims and objectives for the small business sector. Although the SBS was on course to meet two of its three PSA targets, indicators do not clarify whether the SBS had made progress because of its own or other government actions to support small business, or because of general factors such as the overall performance of the economy.

Extent	18, Ev 13p.	ISBN	9780215032300
Size	N/A	Price	£10.00
Format	Paperback	Published	06 Feb 2007
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