Business Advisers' Survey - Business support priorities 2010-2015
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In the Sunday Times last weekend Mark Prisk, the new Small Business Minister, outlined his plans for overhauling Government-backed support for small business. Prisk explained that he is aiming to axe Business Link regional offices as part of a wider evaluation, with the intention of cutting costs and increasing face-to-face contact.

We would like to hear business advisers' views on business support policy and priorities, and would be grateful if you could answer a few questions, which will only take a couple of minutes to complete, in our short survey.

The survey results and comments will be published in BAD News and on our website in a couple of weeks, and will also be presented to Mr Prisk.

With regard to the provision of support for small business in the next three to five years please express the view that most closely reflects your professional opinion.

1. How should the new Government prioritise business support over the next three to five years?

	Essential	Fairly important	Low priority	Not a priority
Encouraging new business start ups across the board	*How should the new Government prioritise business support over the next three to five years? Encouraging new business start ups across the board Essential	Encouraging new business start ups across the board Fairly important	Encouraging new business start ups across the board Low priority	Encouraging new business start ups across the board Not a priority
Encouraging part-time and second-income enterprises	Encouraging part-time and second-income enterprises Essential	Encouraging part-time and second-income enterprises Fairly important	Encouraging part-time and second-income enterprises Low priority	Encouraging part-time and second-income enterprises Not a priority
Supporting existing freelancers/sole traders and micro businesses (1-5 employees)	Supporting existing freelancers/sole traders and micro businesses (1-5 employees) Essential	Supporting existing freelancers/sole traders and micro businesses (1-5 employees) Fairly important	Supporting existing freelancers/sole traders and micro businesses (1-5 employees) Low priority	Supporting existing freelancers/sole traders and micro businesses (1-5 employees) Not a priority
Supporting existing small/medium firms with 10+ staff to grow and create jobs	Supporting existing small/medium firms with 10+ staff to grow and create jobs Essential	Supporting existing small/medium firms with 10+ staff to grow and create jobs Fairly important	Supporting existing small/medium firms with 10+ staff to grow and create jobs Low priority	Supporting existing small/medium firms with 10+ staff to grow and create jobs Not a priority
Supporting existing larger enterprises with 50+ employees to expand and/or diversify	Supporting existing larger enterprises with 50+ employees to expand and/or diversify Essential	Supporting existing larger enterprises with 50+ employees to expand and/or diversify Fairly important	Supporting existing larger enterprises with 50+ employees to expand and/or diversify Low priority	Supporting existing larger enterprises with 50+ employees to expand and/or diversify Not a priority
Other	Other Essential	Other Fairly important	Other Low priority	Other Not a priority

If other, please specify

2. Who should the Government prioritise or target for support?

	Strongly agree	Rather agree	Rather disagree	Strongly disagree
Support should be available for anyone regardless of gender, ability, ethnicity or location	*Who should the Government prioritise or target for support? Support should be available for anyone regardless of gender, ability, ethnicity or location Strongly agree	Support should be available for anyone regardless of gender, ability, ethnicity or location Rather agree	Support should be available for anyone regardless of gender, ability, ethnicity or location Rather disagree	Support should be available for anyone regardless of gender, ability, ethnicity or location Strongly disagree
Support should be targeted at disadvantaged groups, minorities and women	Support should be targeted at disadvantaged groups, minorities and women Strongly agree	Support should be targeted at disadvantaged groups, minorities and women Rather agree	Support should be targeted at disadvantaged groups, minorities and women Rather disagree	Support should be targeted at disadvantaged groups, minorities and women Strongly disagree
Support should be targeted at people under the age of 25	Support should be targeted at people under the age of 25 Strongly agree	Support should be targeted at people under the age of 25 Rather agree	Support should be targeted at people under the age of 25 Rather disagree	Support should be targeted at people under the age of 25 Strongly disagree
Support should be targeted at the long-term unemployed	Support should be targeted at the long-term unemployed Strongly agree	Support should be targeted at the long-term unemployed Rather agree	Support should be targeted at the long-term unemployed Rather disagree	Support should be targeted at the long-term unemployed Strongly disagree
Support should be targeted at people over the age of 50	Support should be targeted at people over the age of 50 Strongly agree	Support should be targeted at people over the age of 50 Rather agree	Support should be targeted at people over the age of 50 Rather disagree	Support should be targeted at people over the age of 50 Strongly disagree
Targeted support is not necessary as those individuals with true potential and ability will look after themselves	Targeted support is not necessary as those individuals with true potential and ability will look after themselves Strongly agree	Targeted support is not necessary as those individuals with true potential and ability will look after themselves Rather agree	Targeted support is not necessary as those individuals with true potential and ability will look after themselves Rather disagree	Targeted support is not necessary as those individuals with true potential and ability will look after themselves Strongly disagree
Other	Other Strongly agree	Other Rather agree	Other Rather disagree	Other Strongly disagree

If other, please specify

3. Which specific business sectors if any should be prioritised for support?

	Essential	Fairly important	Low priority	Not a priority
Locally based traders, retailers and shops	*Which specific business sectors if any should be prioritised for support? Locally based traders, retailers and shops Essential	Locally based traders, retailers and shops Fairly important	Locally based traders, retailers and shops Low priority	Locally based traders, retailers and shops Not a priority
Service sector, especially finance, professional and business services	Service sector, especially finance, professional and business services Essential	Service sector, especially finance, professional and business services Fairly important	Service sector, especially finance, professional and business services Low priority	Service sector, especially finance, professional and business services Not a priority
Home-based traders, espec kitchen table, hobby-based and lifestyle enterprises	Home-based traders, espec kitchen table, hobby-based and lifestyle enterprises Essential	Home-based traders, espec kitchen table, hobby-based and lifestyle enterprises Fairly important	Home-based traders, espec kitchen table, hobby-based and lifestyle enterprises Low priority	Home-based traders, espec kitchen table, hobby-based and lifestyle enterprises Not a priority
IT, digital and creative sectors	IT, digital and creative sectors Essential	IT, digital and creative sectors Fairly important	IT, digital and creative sectors Low priority	IT, digital and creative sectors Not a priority
Manufacturers and exporters	Manufacturers and exporters Essential	Manufacturers and exporters Fairly important	Manufacturers and exporters Low priority	Manufacturers and exporters Not a priority
Arts, crafts and artisan businesses	Arts, crafts and artisan businesses Essential	Arts, crafts and artisan businesses Fairly important	Arts, crafts and artisan businesses Low priority	Arts, crafts and artisan businesses Not a priority
Agricultural, rural and tourism businesses	Agricultural, rural and tourism businesses Essential	Agricultural, rural and tourism businesses Fairly important	Agricultural, rural and tourism businesses Low priority	Agricultural, rural and tourism businesses Not a priority
Social enterprises, charities and the third sector	Social enterprises, charities and the third sector Essential	Social enterprises, charities and the third sector Fairly important	Social enterprises, charities and the third sector Low priority	Social enterprises, charities and the third sector Not a priority
All business sectors are of equal priority	All business sectors are of equal priority Essential	All business sectors are of equal priority Fairly important	All business sectors are of equal priority Low priority	All business sectors are of equal priority Not a priority
Other	Other Essential	Other Fairly important	Other Low priority	Other Not a priority

If other please specify

4. What type of intervention do you think will benefit start ups and small businesses?

	Essential	Fairly important	Low Priority	Not a priority
Face-to-face advice/counselling by experienced advisers in local enterprise agencies	*What type of intervention do you think will benefit start ups and small businesses? Face-to-face advice/counselling by experienced advisers in local enterprise agencies Essential	Face-to-face advice/counselling by experienced advisers in local enterprise agencies Fairly important	Face-to-face advice/counselling by experienced advisers in local enterprise agencies Low Priority	Face-to-face advice/counselling by experienced advisers in local enterprise agencies Not a priority
Subsidised or free training in core business skills such as marketing, finance, planning, etc	Subsidised or free training in core business skills such as marketing, finance, planning, etc Essential	Subsidised or free training in core business skills such as marketing, finance, planning, etc Fairly important	Subsidised or free training in core business skills such as marketing, finance, planning, etc Low Priority	Subsidised or free training in core business skills such as marketing, finance, planning, etc Not a priority
"Packaged" advice/counselling in combination with tailored training	"Packaged" advice/counselling in combination with tailored training Essential	"Packaged" advice/counselling in combination with tailored training Fairly important	"Packaged" advice/counselling in combination with tailored training Low Priority	"Packaged" advice/counselling in combination with tailored training Not a priority
Peer-to-peer networking, seminars and workshops run by existing business owners	Peer-to-peer networking, seminars and workshops run by existing business owners Essential	Peer-to-peer networking, seminars and workshops run by existing business owners Fairly important	Peer-to-peer networking, seminars and workshops run by existing business owners Low Priority	Peer-to-peer networking, seminars and workshops run by existing business owners Not a priority
"Godparenting" approach where larger enterprises "adopt" and mentor smaller firms	"Godparenting" approach where larger enterprises "adopt" and mentor smaller firms Essential	"Godparenting" approach where larger enterprises "adopt" and mentor smaller firms Fairly important	"Godparenting" approach where larger enterprises "adopt" and mentor smaller firms Low Priority	"Godparenting" approach where larger enterprises "adopt" and mentor smaller firms Not a priority
Online support via a national website and/or e-mail support	Online support via a national website and/or e-mail support Essential	Online support via a national website and/or e-mail support Fairly important	Online support via a national website and/or e-mail support Low Priority	Online support via a national website and/or e-mail support Not a priority
"Growth hubs" around the UK similar to the British Library Intellectual Property Centre	"Growth hubs" around the UK similar to the British Library Intellectual Property Centre Essential	"Growth hubs" around the UK similar to the British Library Intellectual Property Centre Fairly important	"Growth hubs" around the UK similar to the British Library Intellectual Property Centre Low Priority	"Growth hubs" around the UK similar to the British Library Intellectual Property Centre Not a priority
Grants and/or soft loans for genuine business purposes (marketing, e-commerce, market research, etc)	Grants and/or soft loans for genuine business purposes (marketing, e-commerce, market research, etc) Essential	Grants and/or soft loans for genuine business purposes (marketing, e-commerce, market research, etc) Fairly important	Grants and/or soft loans for genuine business purposes (marketing, e-commerce, market research, etc) Low Priority	Grants and/or soft loans for genuine business purposes (marketing, e-commerce, market research, etc) Not a priority
Other	Other Essential	Other Fairly important	Other Low Priority	Other Not a priority

If other please specify

5. To encourage more start ups there has been a call to reintroduce the payment of an allowance for new businesses as part of a scheme similar to the Enterprise Allowance Scheme that was operating in the 1990s. Do you agree with this?

To encourage more start ups there has been a call to reintroduce the payment of an allowance for new businesses as part of a scheme similar to the Enterprise Allowance Scheme that was operating in the 1990s. Do you agree with this? Strongly agree

Rather agree

Rather disagree

Strongly disagree

6. Please state the type of organisation you work for:

Please state the type of organisation you work for: Business Link

Business Gateway

Flexible Support for Business

Invest Northern Ireland

Local enterprise agency

Chamber of Commerce

Local authority

Prince's Trust/PSYBT

Prime

University or college

Independent business adviser

Independent consultant

Library

Training provider

Accountancy practice

Trade association

Charity

Business Innovation Centre (BIC)

Other (please specify)

7. How many years have you worked in the business support field?

How many years have you worked in the business support field? Less than 5 years

Between 5 and 10 years

Between 10 and 20 years

More than 20 years