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A key element in government's enterprise policy is the recognition that social attitudes, the business environment and specific market failures can present higher barriers to enterprise within disadvantaged communities compared to other areas.
In the Pre-Budget Report published on 27 November 2002 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, announced details of about 2000 Enterprise Areas to address the barriers to enterprise affecting the most disadvantaged communities in the country.
The Enterprise Areas are the most deprived areas across the UK. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the areas are defined at ward level, and in Scotland they are defined using postcode sectors, based on the relevant national indices of deprivation.
Enterprise Areas are a policy toolkit designed to focus and co-ordinate measures targeted on or likely to help businesses in deprived areas. Businesses in an Enterprise Area may benefit from one of several new or existing forms of government assistance, including stamp duty exemptions, help from a Community Development Finance Institution, and neighbourhood renewal projects.
Local authorities, Regional Development Agencies and Local Strategic Partnerships have a significant role to play in using the opportunities presented by these measures to support and strengthen their strategies for economic development and local regeneration, and in boosting the awareness and uptake of relevant measures by local businesses.
Please direct enquiries or questions about Enterprise Areas to Enterprise.Areas@berr.gsi.gov.uk.
