Alan Sugar gets government job promoting business
Two big changes affecting the way government deals with small business have emerged out of the current political turmoil.
Firstly Alan Sugar, the business star from TV’s The Apprentice has accepted a new role promoting enterprise from within government. The role is unpaid, but Sir Alan is expected to accept a peerage, which will enable him to speak on business topics from within the House of Lords.
Text of official announcement below.
Press comment: Sugar
Secondly the government department with overall responsibility for business in the UK, BERR, is disappearing in a merger with DIUS, the department in charge of higer education. The new merged department, called BIS or “Business, Innovation and Skills”, will be taking over both roles - under the control of the current Business Secretary Peter Mandelson.
From BERR site Sir Alan will act as an adviser to small businesses and Government and will work closely with Small Business Minister Shriti Vadera and Trade and Investment Minister Mervyn Davis. Sir Alan is expected to give advice on how to ensure small firms and entrepreneurs make the most of the real help available from Government and other organisations. He will champion the causes of viable small companies with banks and help to ensure the voices of small firms and entrepreneurs are heard by Government, suppliers and other entities. Areas he may look at include access to finance, prompt payment, how to handle the downturn and how to start a new business. The post will be unpaid.
Sir Alan Sugar has been appointed as the Government’s Enterprise Champion.
New Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
The Government has today created a new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whose key role will be to build Britain’s capabilities to compete in the global economy. The Department will be created by merging BERR and DIUS.
According to the official announcement the new department’s tasks include:
Advocating the needs of business across government, especially of UK small businesses;
Promoting an enterprise environment that is good for business and good for consumers;
Investing in skills … to help people through the downturn and to prepare Britain for the future.
More in BERR press release
Posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009
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Quietly coming into effect at the end of May, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 summarises in one place most of the things you are not allowed to do when selling to consumers. The parallel Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 does the same thing for businesses selling to other businesses (B2B).

