The inner workings and complexities of the national and local government sector has perplexed the UK private sector for many a long year.
Now, at this time of great change in approach and significant withdrawl of government funding for front line delivery, in many quarters the level of confusion will perhaps only intensify.
While big business and companies with the staff to spare go along to LEP meetings and pursue places on emerging LEP boards, smaller companies are left to express continued frustration when, diverted by the very obvious need to run their business, they seem to miss out, not be part of the discussion – and remain unclear and unable to access the support that remains available.
Small, growing companies, many comentators agree, will be the foundation of recovery in both local and national economies. No wonder then that organisations such as the Federation of Small Business express concern when in the changing local environment in particular the voice of small business often seems to struggle to be heard.
Despite the fact that the Business Link service has received, it is perhaps fair to say, mixed views on its effectiveness; the decision to remove all front line, face to face services by November this year and replace it all with a website seems a little draconian, even in this great age of cost cutting. And although services such as the very effective Manufacturing Advisory Service seem likely to remain the loss of the face to face Business Link advisors removes one of the slightly more clearer routes for small business to follow in support of government support.
But as is often the case, as one door closes another one opens and already in a number of locations, new ideas and new and inovative ways of supporting the vital to growth small business sector are begining to emerge – and these focused in many cases on the more immediate needs of the local economy and small (and large!) business concerns in a more concentrated local environment – local availability of skills, infrastructure and availability of appropriate property for growth, for example.
So maybe Localism does work! – or at least it does where public and private sector can come quickly together, agree a programme for action, with whatever resource is available, and make it happen. Making it happen and ensuring that all sections of the business community have an input and know how to access support for growth is the challenge now.
