Enterprise news and opinion from Cobweb

Lord Young has made a number of recommendations for the Government to encourage micro-business growth…

The role that the small and micro-business sector plays and contributes to the health of the economy in the UK should never be understated. In 2012, over 4.5 million small/micro-business proprietors accounted for 47% of private sector employment and 35% of total private sector turnover…

Contrary to continual claims by BIS that the biggest headaches and priorities faced by small business owners are red tape and access to finance, BIS’ own survey results provide a strong indication that problems with sourcing funding has not been an issue for 90% of business owners, and 98% had not sought information or advice relating to regulations.

The Government has accepted the majority of recommendations that Lord Heseltine set out in his ‘No Stone Unturned’ review of business support in England, which was published in October 2012 placing particular emphasis on enhanced responsibilities for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

The Department for Business (BIS) has announced that it intends to continue its policy of supplying and encouraging use of mentors as a key component of its business support strategy, despite evidence showing a lack of demand…

At this time of year its customary to reflect on what has happened over the preceding 12 months (in a business sense) and ponder what lies in store over the next year. Across the UK in 2012 there has been no core support or major push to build capacity and quality in the development and promotion of viable start ups and micro-enterprise…

One particularly damaging effect of the economic downturn and cutbacks to funding of frontline business support has been a surge of people starting up on the side, without registering with HMRC or Companies House, rogue trading without statutory licences and permits, and plain illegal trading…

Business minister Mark Prisk has been removed from his post as part of the latest Cabinet reshuffle. The new business minister is conservative MP Michael Fallon, who is expected to resign from his £350-an-hour city role as director of brokerage Tullet Prebon in order to take over at the Department for Business (BIS) where, according [...]

At the beginning of this year we published a couple of articles highlighting the dangers and ignorance related to the Department for Business’ (BIS) policy of blanket encouragement of unchecked business start ups without appropriate business support…

EnterQuest is considering an approach to the Department for Business (BIS) with a proposal to launch a new business start up initiative…but with a twist. We are proposing to BIS that they should launch a new campaign entitled There’s an Insolvency In Everyone – What’s the Insolvency In You?…