A.119 Export support - UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) will receive £10 million of additional funding to provide a tailored package of export support to an estimated additional 500 mid-sized businesses per year. UKTI and UK Export Finance will also work with businesses to promote existing trade finance support for mid-sized businesses, to raise awareness of export opportunities. Alongside this, the Government will spend £35 million to double, from 25,000 to 50,000, the number of SMEs that UKTI supports each year.11
A.120 Support through supply chains - The Government is working with large businesses, including Microsoft, Centrica, and Diageo, to develop new commitments to support and strengthen their supply chains.
A.121 Resource efficiency schemes - The Government will increase by up to 200 the number of mid-sized businesses benefiting from resource efficiency schemes including voluntary agreements, resource efficiency loan funds, supply chain partnerships and access to business support.
A.122 Improving management capability - The Government has established a task force of UK business schools to report by October 2012 on options for improving access to appropriate courses and promoting links between mid-sized businesses, business schools and students.
A.123 Local business networks - The Government has asked a group of eight LEPs to establish a dedicated local pathfinder project to raise the profile of mid-sized businesses, strengthen business networks and encourage peer-to-peer support on issues such as exporting and succession planning.
A.124 Raising the profile of mid-sized businesses - The Government, working with business, will launch a national campaign to showcase mid-sized business and publicise the full range of Government services available.
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11 Britain Open for Business, UK Trade and Investment, May 2011.