Cross Cutting Review of Government Services for Small Businesses
The Cross Cutting Review of Government Services for Small Business makes a number of recommendations for improving the quality, efficiency and customer-focus of Government interactions with small businesses.
The full report is available on the Small Business Service website.
On 25 June 2001, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Smith, announced seven initial cross-cutting reviews that will contribute to the Spending Review 2002, including a review into services for small businesses.
This review, led at Ministerial level by Patricia Hewitt, will evaluate the support provided by Government at all levels to small and medium sized enterprises.
The aim is to maximise the economic benefits generated from the resources available, in particular by:
- minimising barriers to the success of all firms
- promoting enterprise across society, including the disadvantaged
- helping those firms with growth potential to achieve it.
The review should consider the future strategy for business support, including how to achieve a more coherent approach across all publicly funded business support activities and to reduce confusion in the market. This should include DTI/Small Business Service, other Government departments, RDAs, local authorities, Learning & Skills Councils, and European-funded programmes.
The review should also examine the principal interfaces between Government and small businesses, to identify ways in which these could be managed more effectively to help achieve the goals above. This should include interfaces with Inland Revenue, Customs & Excise and the most important regulatory agencies.
The review should throughout take a customer’s eye view of the services provided by Government. It should be co-ordinated closely with the reviews of DTI’s own business support activities and DTI’s organisation and priorities.