The Chancellor's new clothes

Chancellor Gordon Brown called for enterprise for all as he launched the Government's enterprise agenda in a recent speech to the Chairmen of the Regional Development Agencies in Birmingham.

Mr Brown launched a high-profile package of measures to assist anyone in Britain wanting to start up in business. This was billed as the next stage of the Government's reform to 'equip Britain with the skills and knowledge needed to compete successfully in the modern global market place'. It followed the publication of a league table of business start-ups around the UK and a report which puts the UK's level of 'entrepreneurial activity' at half that of the US. The Chancellor pointed out that research by the London Business School suggested that with US rates of entrepreneurship the UK could create another 250,000 small businesses a year.

He declared that making enterprise open to all will be a priority in the Government's spending review.

Mr Brown said: "Opportunity for all means a Britain where all have the opportunity not just to work, but to work their way up, to gain promotion, start a business, become self-employed, upgrade their skills, and rise as far as their talents and potential can take them; a Britain where there is not so much a narrow ladder of opportunity for the few, but a broad and expansive highway of opportunity for all.

"And it is a Britain where the enterprise culture is no longer seen as confined to a closed circle of the few, or ceases to have relevance the minute you enter a high unemployment area. It is a Britain where the opportunity for enterprise is genuinely open to all.

"When the most important resource of a firm or country is not its raw materials or favourable location, but the skills, talents and potential of its workforce, we need to develop the talents of the best people and get the best out of people. Only 16 per cent of people in the UK think there are good opportunities to start a business, compared to 57 per cent in the US. And figures published today show dramatic variations in business creation around the country. It is clear that the denial of opportunity has become a barrier to prosperity.

"We cannot stress enough the importance of individuals making the most of their talents and contributing to their community around them. The Government's aim is to help people help themselves. Enterprise for all in every region should be a reality, not a dream. Our mission is to make a reality of enterprise for all."

Among the measures he announced were:

• a package to make sure that anyone anywhere who seriously wants to start a business can get the advice and assistance they need; deprived areas will get extra help;
• an initiative aimed at getting more private sector investment to tackle the problems of our poorest communities, with an initial fund target of £20 million, including a matched contribution by Government;
• a drive to encourage enterprise in schools, with a call to all businesses to 'Adopt a School', particularly in disadvantaged areas.
• Regional Development Agencies will work on pilot projects with experts from the USA - learning from hands on experience of developing entrepreneurship in inner cities as part of urban renewal.
• sponsorship, with the private sector, of a survey of the 25 fastest growing firms in deprived areas, to show that there is real growth potential.

In addition to the practical measures, the Chancellor spoke at length of the need to create an enterprise culture 'where people feel they do have the opportunity to start a business, become self-employed or rise where their talents can take them'. This, he felt, needed to start in the classroom with a close relationship between schools and local businesses.

He made his commitment to enterprise and small business on the same day the UKTECH office received a letter from his office, explaining his diary would never permit time to give an interview or article. We will be following this up with the submission of the questions to his office.

Full details of the Chancellor's speech are available from the Treasury website.