Consistent national and local support for micro and small businesses ‘critical’ to UK economic growth
MENTA CEO Alex Till is backing a call for 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.
Alex, who is also chair of the National Enterprise Network - the country’s leading provider of community-based business support for micros and start-ups – is supporting a campaign by NEN, working alongside the Economic and Social Research Council (ERC) as well as the Federation of Small Business (FSB) to improve the business support ecosystem for micro and small businesses.
Their appeal is supported 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 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.
“For decades, MENTA and our fellow enterprise agencies across the country 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.
“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.”
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.
