UK DEPARTMENT OF TRADE & INDUSTRY: www.dti.gov.uk This is where all UK government support and initiative for Business and Commerce comes from. Perhaps the most relevant site for business support is www.dti.gov.uk/support where you will find all the different types of support on offer.

IRISH STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENTERPRISE, TRADE & EMPLOYMENT: www.entemp.ie The Irish Government drives its business support through this department. It has the ‘Small Business & Local Enterprise Unit’ for its small businesses, listed separately below.

UK SMALL BUSINESS SERVICE: www.businessadviceonline.org This new UK Government body was inaugurated in April 2000 to represent the interests of SME businesses in the UK. It is linked closely with the Minister of State for Small Businesses & E-Commerce, and is monitored by the independent ‘Small Business Council’. It partially funds the Business Links in England and works with the many other UK Government and local schemes listed below.

IRISH STATE SMALL BUSINESS & LOCAL ENTERPRISE UNIT: www.entemp.ie/ecd/busi_serv.htm This Government service controls all the Irish ‘County Enterprise Boards’, ‘Enterprise Ireland’ and the six ‘European Information Centres’. This is part of the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment.

ENTERPRISE AGENCIES: These are found in both the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, forming both Governments’ initiatives to provide a network of local enterprise agencies committed to responding to the needs of small and growing businesses. There are 6 main regional Enterprise bodies which are then divided into area agencies, who in turn have separate branch offices. The 6 main regional Enterprise bodies are as follows:

ENGLAND: www.nfea.com ‘National Federation of Enterprise Agencies’ covers England with 82 separate ‘Enterprise Agencies’ divided into 9 areas.
SCOTTISH LOWLANDS: www.scottish-enterprise.com ‘Scottish Enterprise’ Companies cover south-west Scotland with 13 area ‘Enterprise Companies’.
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS: www.hie.co.uk ‘Highland and Islands Enterprise’ covers the Scottish Highlands of the Northwest. Based in Inverness, they have 10 ‘Local Enterprise Companies’.
WALES: www.businessconnect.org.uk ‘Business Connect Wales’ has 4 area Business Connect agencies, each with their own branches, amounting to 43 offices across Wales.
NORTHERN IRELAND: www.investni.com ‘Local Enterprise Development Unit’ with 2 area Enterprise offices.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: www.etradebusinessireland.com ‘County Enterprise Boards’ offer similar services to the UK Enterprise agencies. There are 26 counties in Ireland, each with their own Enterprise Board.

BUSINESS SUPPORT NETWORKS: This unofficial title covers the UK Government bodies that help businesses to develop. Their work tends to overlap the Enterprise Agency services, but they offer more information and consultancy services. Similarly to the Enterprise agencies, there are 6 regions, each with its own name, as follows:

ENGLAND: www.businesslink.org ‘Business Links’ cover various regions with 84 ‘hub’ offices. Some cover counties, such as Business Link Surrey, whilst others are towns, such as Business Link Oldham. Many have their own Website.
SCOTTISH LOWLANDS: www.sbgateway.com ‘Small Business Gateway’ has 13 regions with 54 area offices.
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS: www.bis.uk.com ‘Business Information Source Network’ is part of the ‘Highlands & Islands Enterprise’ service. This association means that the service is provided by 10 selected ‘Local Enterprise Companies’ across the Highlands.
WALES: www.businessconnect.org.uk ‘Business Connect Wales’ provides this service combined with its enterprise role. It has 4 area Business Connect agencies.
NORTHERN IRELAND: www.investni.com ‘Economic Development Network’ works with the ‘Local Enterprise Development Units’, Local Government and the ‘Training & Employment Agency’ to provide Business development advice.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: www.enterprise-ireland.com ‘Enterprise Ireland’ has 13 offices across the republic and 30 other offices worldwide. They work with Industry and education to help businesses develop and grow.

SHELL LIVEWIRE: www.shell-livewire.org ‘Live Wire’, sponsored by Shell, helps 16 to 30 year old people start up and develop their businesses. They offer advice, grants and a competition. The competition is the ‘Young Business Start Up Awards’, giving £10,000 to the best start-up business that enters each year.

THE PRINCE’S TRUST: www.princes-trust.org.uk They offer support to 18 to 30 year olds whom want help to improve their career or self-employment prospects. If you want to become self-employed, they offer low interest loans, test-marketing grants and advice, including a volunteer ‘business mentor’.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UNITS: Aside from all the Government business support agencies, these bodies offer more political and promotional support for the business community. The UK Government’s national economic development plan is managed by the Department of Trade & Industry. In the Irish Republic, a similar plan is managed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment. However, the interests of regions, counties and towns are represented by these ‘units’. The political separation of Scotland and Wales has prompted the UK Government to set up large regional bodies in England to represent their interests in the UK and Europe. The remaining countries of the British Isles also have their own versions which, in many cases, tie in closely with the other business support agencies.

ENGLAND: www.englishpartnerships.co.uk ‘English Partnerships’ is ‘the national force for regeneration and development in England. It is the place to find the 9 English ‘Partnerships’ representing the regions of England.
WALES: www.wda.co.uk ‘Welsh Development Agency’ was formed in 1976 and is now part of the new National Assembly for Wales. Their role is to encourage investment in Wales to create new business, jobs and economic prosperity.
SCOTLAND: www.scotland.gov.uk/who/elld ‘Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department’ is part of the Scottish executive and drives Scottish economic development. Amongst their many duties, they oversee the UK government’s ‘New Deal’ and control grants, enterprise agencies and regional selective assistance funding.
NORTHERN IRELAND: www.detini.gov.uk ‘Department of Economic Development’ works with the UK Department of Trade & Industry, and the Department of Employment to represent the interests of the Northern Irish economy.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: www.entemp.ie/ecd/smallbusiness.htm ‘Enterprise Competitiveness Division’, part of the Irish State Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. They oversee the many bodies that encourage economic development in Ireland. www.entemp.ie/ecd/busi_serv.htm ‘Small Business & Local Enterprise Unit’ mentioned elsewhere is also a good place to look.

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE have had a bit of a shake up in the UK, but you can look at www.chamberonline.co.uk/ ‘British Chambers of Commerce’ to find your local UK chamber using a map of the UK. In Ireland, www.chambersireland.ie ‘Chambers of Commerce of Ireland’ is a similar organisation. England, Scotland and Wales have new regional chambers that oversee the town chambers, but Northern Ireland only has one regional chamber for the province. The Republic of Ireland has no regional chambers, so their listing is purely of the town chambers. Chambers of Commerce traditionally represent larger businesses and shop keepers. They offer meetings, training and networking events all the year round. They often have different categories of membership according to the size of business you are and provide meetings for each category.

FEDERATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES: www.fsb.org.uk Set up in 1974, they represent the interests of small business people across the UK. They offer discounted schemes for insurance, medical care, financial services, Internet design and banking. They have 31 regional divisions, each with its own branches whom meet separately.

BUSINESS NETWORK INTERNATIONAL: www.bni-europe.com/uk this is an American organisation that has successfully brought its ideas across the pond to the UK. The organisation has many local groups, known as chapters, covering the UK. Each chapter has one representative for as great a range of businesses possible. Members meet for Breakfast each week and are given one minute to stand up and talk about their business. Members then pass on contacts to each other, acting as your larger sales force.

Business Clubs UK: bcuk.smallbiz.uk.com This is a national association of Business Clubs and societies. Their ever-expanding membership list allows you to find out about your local business Club. Many Business Clubs are not yet members of this organisation, but they can often be found on the Internet simply by typing in ‘Business Clubs’. They are often based in one place, representing the local businesses in that town. However, there are some more regional ones, such as Surrey Business Club www.surreybiz.net whom offer support to a wider area of businesses.

Note: Updated with links repaired or deleted 28 Dec 2002 - Caroline Tresman Note: All the information on this page was compiled on 22/10/00 by Stephen Lewis, member of the Surrey Business Club www.surreybiz.net - E-mail: sbc.news@care4free.net Although this information was gathered in good faith, some assumptions have been made in an effort to group the different services on offer to business. The author accepts no responsibilities for errors or omissions, but would appreciate feedback on dead links, incorrect information or additional links or information. No copyright is attributed to this information, but I would like to be credited where possible.