Cable hosts Entrepeneurs’ Forum

Posted on 4 May 2011 by The Manufacturer

Showing government support for British entrepreneurs Business Secretary Vince Cable today chairs the second meeting of his Entrepreneurs' Forum.

The forum, which was established in January this year in a bid to improve government understanding of the business issues being faced by budding UK enterprise, provides informal and personal advice on developing enterprise policy. Government hope this conduit will enable the formation of policy which will support diverse economic growth across UK regions.

Each forum meeting can include up to 17 entrepreneurs who are selected for each forum depending on the type of experience they can ring to the table. Following the first meeting of the forum in January, Action Groups were established to look at three key areas for enterprise: ease of starting up; access to finance; and employment regulation.

Today’s meeting will review the findings of these action groups and lay out practical steps to be taken to improve upon the current situation. The implementation of these action points will be reviewed at the next Entrepreneurs’ Forum in September.

Looking forward to today’s meeting Mr Cable said: “I greatly value the advice I receive from the members my Entrepreneurs’ Forum and our first meeting in January was extremely positive. I am now keen that we build on the enthusiasm and knowledge of the group to make a real difference to enterprise and growth in this country.

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“I am particularly interested to hear about the work of the three Action Groups, which I hope will enable us to identify some practical outcomes to help small businesses.”

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum and its finding are designed to function alongside other advisory bodies for government which are also attended by the Business Secretary, helping him attain a broader appreciation of the requirements of different industries and company types in the UK. Some of these advisory groups include:

•The Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, which provides high level advice to the Prime Minister and senior Ministers on critical business and economic issues facing the UK.

•The Secretary of State’s Business Advisory Group, which is an informal advisory board which aims to provide produce ideas covering the Department for Business’ activities.

•The Small Business Economic Forum, which allows small businesses and their representatives to provide independent views to Ministers on government economic policy relevant to enterprise and small business, and allows for engagement between Ministers, small business and the banking sector.

For more details on all the government’s activities within the Plan for Growth, of which the Entrepreneur’s Forum is a part, please visit: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ukecon_growth_index.htm.