§ 21. Mr. LaxtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made by the Small Business Service in developing links with the Small Business Administration in the United States. [128961]
§ Ms HewittDavid Irwin, Chief Executive of the Small Business Service, and I visited the SBA in March this year. We went to see first-hand the work of the SBA and to identify lessons from it and other business support initiatives which could be applied to the SBS.
As announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 5 July 2000 at the joint UK-US conference "Enterprise and Technology for All: Seizing the Opportunity" David Irwin is taking forward with Aida Alvarez, Head of the SBA, a number of initiatives for further collaboration such as staff twinning possibilities and liaison between the Small Business Council and the SBA's National Advisory Council.