SCOTTISH Nationalists have seized on the support of small businesses to defend the so-called "Tesco tax" which Finance Secretary John Swinney plans to use to raise an

Plans to replace the regional development agency (SEEDA) with local economic partnerships (LEPs) are descending into chaos, John Denham has warned. He spoke as Hampshire County Council pulled out of the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire. There are now two competing bids, one covering south Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, lead by PUSH, and another lead by Hampshire County Council. Mr Denham sa...

Calls by the government for arts bodies to become more reliant on business support risk creating a national divide between England's regional ­theatres and galleries and ­London institutions, say critics

Vince Cable has insisted that winning the support of business will be 'key' as the government works out how to implement a permanent cap on non-European workers coming to the UK.

Pubs minister John Healey MP last week announced 12 business support measures to help community pubs. Charlotte MacKenzie, Labour's prospective MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: "Cornwall's pubs can be the heart of their local community, and the steps announced today are designed to help keep them open. A fund of £3.3 Million pounds is being provided to support community ownership o...

The comprehensive study for the European Commission reveals "a substantial dead-weight loss effect" and questions the impact of some schemes designed to boost internationalisation in the small business sector. A survey commissioned as part of the report shows that 37% of SMEs availing of business support initiatives said the schemes "merely facilitated operations without resulting n...

Support for Labour among business leaders has slipped away during the recession and the run-up to the election but David Cameron is struggling to persuade some of them to switch, research shows.

Three businessmen set up a not-for-profit business support service, saying the assembly government's is too bureaucratic.

Banks have been criticised by MPs over the way they are operating a £1.3bn government-backed scheme to get credit to cash-strapped businesses.

The number of advice agencies should be reduced to simplify support services for small businesses, according to David Archer, the strategic director of Scarborough Council, which won the Grand Jury prize at the European Enterprise Awards in Prague.