Hopes dashed for entrepreneurship minister

Business leaders had hoped that Chancellor George Osborne would use his Budget last week to create a new minister for entrepreneurship in a bid to spark a “golden age” for business start-ups but no such announcement was forthcoming.

Founder of Entrepreneurial Spark, Jim Duffy, had urged the Chancellor to create a new cabinet level post that could help provide billions of pounds for the economy and create legislation that would offer practical help to start-ups.

However, although Mr Osborne did not go this far in his Budget speech, he did announce £11m of funding for new tech entrepreneur hubs in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, which will offer educational resources, working and meeting space and will foster venture capital and angel networks.

These start-up incubators will bring tech entrepreneurs under one roof to share and develop their talents and ideas and the investment will unlock millions of pounds in private funding in the north of England, helping businesses to create jobs and grow.

The scheme is part of the Government’s plans to build a Northern Powerhouse, which included promoting tourism, investment in rail infrastructure and allowing Greater Manchester to keep 100 per cent of the additional growth in local business rates.

In addition to the four new tech entrepreneur hubs the Government will extend the Enterprise Zones in Manchester, Mersey Waters, the Humber, Leeds and Tees Valley, and create a new zone in Blackpool. This measure will allow businesses to be able to claim 100 per cent enhanced capital allowances on qualifying expenditure and is expected to cost £15m.