The SBS has been the subject of considerable criticism in recent months from the National Audit Office, the British Chamber of Commerce and the Forum for Private Business. The Conservative Party also recently announced a complete review of the £2.6 billion "maze" of Government business support schemes and quangos.
In an interview with the FT, Mr Darling said the shake-up of the agency was part of a broader drive to make business support less complex and easier to access.
The DTI has been reviewing the area over the summer, following the Chancellor's pledge in the last Budget to cull the number of business support schemes from 3,000 to fewer than 100.
The latest review is part of an attempt to simplify the labyrinthine system provided by a mix of Whitehall and regional bodies, including 265 programmes administered by 15 departments.
Mr Darling said: “The totality of support needs to remain but a lot of it is needlessly complex. You’ve got to ask what do the schemes add to the greater good and the answer is often ‘not a lot’.”
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Susie Hughes © Hardhatter.com 2006
The Editor