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Business welcomes Enterprise White Paper

Business groups have applauded the Government’s publication of an Enterprise White Paper, describing the proposed reforms as ‘encouraging’ for entrepreneurs.

The ten year strategy, which aims to ‘unlock the nation’s talents’ and enhance enterprise skills and knowledge, includes measures that will ease the red tape burden for small firms and help existing business secure funding to expand.

‘We want more new and growing businesses in the UK and more companies and people acting on their enterprising ideas,’ said Business and Enterprise Secretary John Hutton.

‘The UK’s long term prosperity lies in unlocking the talent of enterprise for people from all sections of society and in our small businesses, helping them to grow.’

Proposed changes include allocating a 20% increase to the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, extending eligibility to growing businesses that are over five years old and increasing the funding available to female entrepreneurs.

Commenting on the Paper - which was published alongside the Chancellor’s 2008 Budget Report - Sally Low, Director of Policy and External Affairs at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

‘The Government has made some strong commitments: to introduce regulatory budgets; to hasten regulatory culture change by firmly embedding  the ‘think small first’ principle into government policy and to increase investment to boost access to finance, which could help growing, ambitious firms to become bigger and better.’