§ Mr. Amessasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to co-ordinate and simplify the various projects and agencies currently operating in the business encouragement field.
§ Mr. TrippierThe small firms service, local enterprise agencies, chambers of commerce and others operate advisory and support services for small businesses; all have a role to play in meeting marketing needs. They should seek to complement each other and I exhort them to do so.
I am sure that small firms have sometimes been confused by the number of helpful schemes and services which my Department offers. I am therefore looking at the scope for streamlining the assistance available into a simpler framework.