THE SMALL Business Service must do better at spreading a "Think Small First" message across Government, a senior boss admitted in Medway.

David Evans, SBS deputy chief executive, told Kent engineers that the organisation, launched in 2000 within the Department of Trade and Industry, now needed to work differently.

It should influence other parts of Government "so that the small business experience of Government is a better one," he said. It was vital to promote a "Think Small First" agenda.

Mr Evans said: "We want to become a centre of expertise for the whole of Government with information about small business to help other parts of Government produce better services."

He was speaking in the Will Adams Lecture Theatre in Rochester at a meeting of the Engineering Industries Association chaired by Colin Mason, chairman of the EIA Kent group and former manager of Medway Enterprise Agency.

Mr Evans accepted that many small firms complained about too much red tape and inadequate loan finance. And there were not enough entrepreneurs setting up businesses, especially women.

It was important for the £400 million SBS to invest in disadvantaged areas and foster an entrepreneurial culture. Other countries were better at this and the SBS had launched a survey to find out why.

The SBS was addressing four key areas: Giving a voice to small business in Government, assessing the impact of red tape, improving business support, and promoting an enterprise culture. "We do not underestimate the size of the challenge we have got," he said.

The SBS was set up in 2000 to encourage “joined-up thinking” about small business across various Government departments. There are 3.7m small enterprises in the UK, with 2.5m one-man bands.

The SBS has £400 million to spend on Business Links, including Business Link Kent, specific services, loan finance, and poor areas. Business Link numbers have been slashed from 80 to 42 in the past year but Business Link Kent, led by engineer Clare Smith, is regarded as one of the best, with a 92 per cent satisfaction rating.

Mr Evans said there was a wide variation between the best--98 per cent--and the worst--63 per cent.

Meanwhile, there was praise for Medway's Partners in Growth scheme developed by the council and local banks that has pumped more finance into some of the area's best small firms.Better