DTI - Less is more for business

Category: Business
Date: 6/28/2006 8:36:41 AM

The Department of Trade and Industry has announced that it is to spearhead a government-wide initiative to streamline business support. The news comes hot on the heels of the DTI's own business support simplification.

The initiative aims to streamline support at a local, regional and national level in order to reduce the number of schemes from more than 3,000 to a mere 100 by 2010. The work is to be carried out in conjunction with the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), other government departments and local bodies.

Outlining the plans, Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, said: "The DTI's own streamlining has shown that with fewer, more sharply focused products, businesses find then easier to use and more investment reaches those who need it. We will continue to work closely with business and liaise with other government departments, RDAs and local bodies to roll out business support simplification at all levels of government."

Successful pruning for the Government may be assessed as matching the achievements of the DTI, which managed to trim their number of support products drastically, although still offering schemes tailored to specific needs, such as Collaborative Research and Development, and The Small Firms Loan Guarantee, which assists over 6000 small small firms every year to raise finance.