ONLY one in three small firms seek professional advice, according to the new Small Business Service chief.

Martin Wyn Griffith, a former entrepreneur, said in Kent that it was a sad fact only one in three small firms used any form of professional business support.

"We know that if we could double that number, we would have a dramatic impact," he said.

He was determined to make the Business Link brand better known, adding that Business Link Kent was one of the best in the country.

As chief executive of the Small Business Service, part of the Department Of Trade And Industry, he has 500 staff and a £400m budget.

He hoped to see a more entrepreneurial culture in the UK. Only 15 per cent of people thinking of starting a business actually do so.

"Only one in 33 people think of going into business compared with one in 10 in the USA," he said. There were also fewer women setting up on the own.

On red tape, he said it was more "perception than reality”. An Organisation For Economic Co-operation And Development survey found the UK was the best place in the world to set up a business.

But he admitted that the Civil Service had not thought enough about impact of regulations on small business, a nightmare for "go-getters" who just wanted to grow their business.

Mr Griffith set up a successful video production company in London and Los Angeles before selling up, studying for an MBA, and becoming chief executive of Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire. Having run a business was a huge advantage in his new role, he said.

"I can see things and feel things when entrepreneurs talk to me about the problems they are facing.

"Having done that job gives you quite a strong platform to walk into the Civil Service and say ‘Look guys, you've got to wake up here and do things differently’."