Key findings
This Interim Report has followed six months of research and evidence-taking from leading business organisations. The key findings include:
Booming business
The Report's conclusion is that Government either needs to prove that its expenditure is having an impact, or to consider scaling back surplus cost. The large number of schemes and the complex and administratively-expensive system shows the need for fundamental reform, based on the principle that Government should only provide support, when there is clear evidence of demand.
Doug Richard, Chairman of Library House and the Task Force said: "From this Review it is clear that Business Support has become a booming business sector in its own right. Yet its failure to provide effective support is both a waste of the taxpayers' money and a lost opportunity to grow an entrepreneurial economy.
"Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and the ultimate economic wellbeing of our country depends on ensuring that the UK is one of the best places in the world to start and run a small business. We must radically re-think how government supports small business, entrepreneurs and innovation."
Commenting on the findings, Shadow Minister, Business & Enterprise, Mark Prisk said: "It is extraordinary that the Government can spend £12 billion on business support but is unable to show if it works. Gordon Brown is presiding over a system which is so complex it's deterring the very people it's meant to help.
"I want to make this country the best place for small businesses. Clearly Labour's money maze won't achieve that. So I look forward to receiving the Task Force's ideas as to how a future Conservative Government could reform things for the better."
The Richard Report on Small Business & Government has been researched and written by an independent team of business experts, led by Doug Richard, Chairman of Library House and a former member of the BBC2 Dragons' Den.
A final Report will be published in May, recommending a new approach to government support for small business.
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Susie Hughes
The Editor © Hardhatter 2007