War of words over enterprise support

A WAR of words erupted last night between organisations representing small businesses and local authorities over a review of Scotland's enterprise support network taking place in Parliament next week.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland has accused the Business Gateway network of being "too rigid" to support firms adequately during the recession.

Business Gateway, Scotland's main network of support for small and start-up businesses, was separated from Scottish Enterprise and came under the remit of Scotland's local authorities in 2007.

Andy Willox, right, the FSB's Scottish policy convenor said the network was "stuck" on helping start-up businesses at the expense of existing businesses that were struggling for survival.

He said: "Ultimately, the enterprise networks need to support the businesses that we actually have in Scotland, not the type officials think we should have."

But a director of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), which represents local government, yesterday said she was "fed up" with "ill informed" comments and accused the FSB of scoring "cheap points".

Councillor Alison Hay of Cosla said: "It is particularly disappointing to see FSB taking this line when they are part of the Gateway's stakeholder group and really should know the facts.

"In this financial climate, the public and private sectors should be working together, not seeking to score cheap points."