Government slammed for helping start-ups & not struggling SMEs New data out today on business insolvency claims that SMEs have seen a reduction in sales volumes and also experienced decreased profits compared to big businesses and many are calling for urgent government assistance to help businesses survive, not just to start.

Start-up calendar unlocks enterprise opportunities throughout 2012 A new comprehensive and interactive calendar of key enterprise, entrepreneur and SME events throughout 2012 has been unveiled by Business Minister Mark Prisk.

LinkedIn partners with Number 10 to banish business bureaucracy LinkedIn has announced its support of the Government initiative to promote new enterprise in the UK by reducing the burden of regulation with the creation of a “Red Tape Challenge” LinkedIn Group enabling UK businesses to connect and participate in the discussion about regulations that are holding back innovative new businesses.

Regional Growth Fund provides further £7.9M support for businesses Four more businesses have successfully secured government support through the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) to create new jobs and boost growth in their local communities.

Empty government offices to be opened up to help start-up businesses The Prime Minister David Cameron is set to announce plans to open vacant and under-used government workplaces to small firms and new enterprises as part of a new 'Business In Everyone' campaign

Business formations reach new peak with 500,000 deciding to go it alone Business formations are on the rise in the UK, as more and more budding entrepreneurs turn their hand to self-employment. According to Companies House figures, 435,856 new businesses were registered in 2011, compared to 384,981 in 2010.

David Cameron: Tax cuts will restore business confidence David Cameron has told small business owners that tax cuts and low interest rates rather than government spending will be key to restoring confidence in the economy.

Cameron Invites Entrepreneurs to Join the 2012 “StartUp Games” Prime Minister David Cameron has extended an invitation to the world’s most outstanding startups to join the StartUp Games, a unique event to be held in London’s Tech City during the 2012 Paralympics, with participants and winners visiting the Olympic Park.

2012 hailed as year of the entrepreneur With 1.5 million small business websites built this year, 2012 is already being tipped to be a landmark year for entrepreneurs

North/South business insolvency divide begins to widen The latest Insolvency Index from Experian has revealed a widening North versus South business failure divide, with southern firms faring far better than their northern counterparts. London and the South East of England saw insolvency rates decrease between October and November, while company failures increased in the North East, North West and Yorkshire.

Businesses offer cautious backing over PM’s handling of Eurozone crisis Small businesses quizzed by the UK Business Barometer indicate that they expect the Prime Minister’s veto on EU-wide treaty changes on Eurozone rules during recent crisis talks to have little impact on their day-to-day business.

Cost of running a business reaches record high for British manufacturers The UK’s small manufacturing businesses risk being squeezed out of their domestic market as operational costs reach a new high, according to the latest quarterly Business Inflation Guide (BIG).

Government announces taskforce to boost finance options for businesses Business Secretary Vince Cable today set out the next steps to diversify business finance, announcing details of an industry-led Taskforce to be led by Tim Breedon, Legal and General chief executive and current chairman of the Association of British Insurers.

Government set to transform frontline business inspections Plans to change the way that businesses experience ‘frontline enforcement’, such as business inspections, were set out today by Business Secretary Vince Cable, including a full scale review of UK regulatory bodies and moves to cut the number of inspections for ‘compliant’ firms.

Clegg unveils £1 billion boost to Regional Growth Fund The £1 billion boost to the Regional Growth Fund announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement last week is expected to enable the fund to support around half a million jobs in total.

Mentoring essential for young entrepreneurs starting own business The number of young entrepreneurs starting up their own business has increased by nearly a quarter in the past three years, according to research out today by Experian. However, it is not all good news as the finding also highlight that almost half of these businesses are wound up within two and a half years and a further 22 per cent fail between two and a half and three years.

Chancellor: 'We need to consider the health and safety of the economy' Chancellor George Osborne pledged to revitalise business by cutting red tape and ending a culture of employment tribunals as he gave a fairly pro-business Autumn Statement.

Autumn statement: £40BN made available for SME support George Osborne confirmed in his Autumn Statement that he is taking £40bn from the Bank of England's existing monetary easing programmes to fund his "credit easing" package of measures for small businesses.

£5 million investment to help Service heroes start up their own business The Be the Boss scheme for ex-service personnel is being expanded to include all Service-leavers.

Government forms consortium to support flexible working practices Transport Minster Norman Baker has announced the formation of the ‘Anywhere Working’ consortium in a speech given in central London.