THE ‘MERRY GO ROUND’ OF POLICY CHANGES

Leading enterprise organisations are calling for a move away from ‘a merry go round’ of changes to policy and funding ‘ to consistent, professional business guidance provided UK-wide with local on-the-ground delivery.

The National Enterprise Network, the country’s leading provider of community-based business support for micros and start-ups, is calling on the government to listen to a growing movement which has seen the UK’s key business support providers petition for a single initial point of contact to support businesses.

Delegates at the National Enterprise Network’s recent 2024 conference put forward a united plea for the government to deliver an ‘easy to navigate’ consistent business support programme with a national brand but with localised expert access and delivery.

Their appeal is backed by the latest research announced by the Economic and Social Research Council (ERC) on behalf of the Federation of Small Business (FSB) which calls for an organisation to be set up to provide a consistent single point of contact to make it simpler for businesses to get the help they need to start, grow and thrive.

The report by the ERC, which is the UK’s leading centre of excellence for research into the growth, innovation and productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reveals that entrepreneurs often say that they do not know where to go for good advice thanks to the ‘merry go round’ of changes from Business Link, Growth Accelerator, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Growth Hubs. And it recommends that the government focuses on creating the new service by building on existing services around small business and entrepreneurship support.

Alex Till, NEN Chair, said:

“The concept of a national service with local delivery at its core has been discussed for a while and is crucial for UK small and micro businesses who struggle to navigate the complex web of government policies, funding options, and compliance requirements.

“A single point of guidance reduces confusion by providing consistent, reliable advice, avoids contradictory advice from multiple sources and means our small and micro business leaders spend less time searching for answers and more time focusing on growing their businesses.

“For decades, our NEN members have played a pivotal role within communities, supporting successive generations of entrepreneurs and micro-businesses to get the right advice at the right time and relevant to them. This approach aligns perfectly with what we have championed: accessible, trusted, and effective support embedded at a local level.”

NEN, the FSB and ERC have all welcomed the government’s recent first step in this direction, with the announcement of its new Business Growth Service (BGS) due to launch in 2025 which it promises will simplify and streamline business support through a locally delivered, UK-wide system.

The NEN has already been proactive in the campaign and is hoping to play a further role in shaping the future of business support at a key round table it has organised for January 8, which will bring together NEN members and DBT representatives to explore how the government’s new Business Growth Service can improve join-up of the UK’s business support landscape across local and national delivery partners in the public and private sectors as well as other ways to help SMEs find the support and advice they need to grow.

WEBSITE