Business & growth

New Trade Minister: Lord Green, previously Group Chairman of HSBC, joined the Prime Minister at an event for Business Ambassadors at 10 Downing Street to discuss international trade as he took up his new role as Minister of State for Trade and Investment.

Plans announced for regional growth: The Prime Minister and Lord Heseltine announced plans to boost growth in all regions of the country.  Sir Ian Wrigglesworth also visited the West Midlands to encourage local businesses and entrepreneurs to bid for cash from the Government’s flagship £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund.

Government focused on growth and jobs creation: The Prime Minister has announced plans to push the growth of small business, and significant changes in the way advice to business is provided.

 New Year, new start?: Thinking of starting a business or becoming self-employed? Kick start your business idea at businesslink

BIS survey finds mid-cap businesses confident for the New Year: Mid-cap businesses are looking forward to a successful New Year with 58 per cent expecting an increase in their turnover in 2011 and 93 per cent of those seeking finance managing to obtain what they need.

Higher education

Access to education: The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have appointed Simon Hughes MP to the role of Advocate for Access to Education.

Scholarship schemes will honour sacrifice by our armed forces: A new university scholarships scheme for the children of servicemen and women killed on active duty will support bereaved families and help them to rebuild their lives.

Competition & regulation

Minister appoints Competition Appeal Tribunal members: Competition Minister Edward Davey announced the appointment of 14 new members for the body that hears and decides appeals and other applications or claims involving competition or economic regulatory issues.

More freedom to buy and sell bread and wine: Regulations banning the sale of different unwrapped bread sizes and small measures of wine are set to be scrapped, Science Minister David Willetts has confirmed. 

Increase in limits on payments under employment rights legislation: New limits for unfair dismissal and redundancy payments for payments and awards made to workers in certain employment rights cases will rise from 1 February under the annual index-linked formula. 

Intellectual property & Postal services

New patent application arrangements will save businesses money: Applicants can now supply the European Patent Office (EPO) with fewer documents than before, which will save companies money on the fees they pay agents for making the application.

 Extra safeguard to ensure Queen’s head remains on stamps: The Government has confirmed that it will include an extra safeguard in its Postal Services Bill – the move will ensure that the Queen’s head remains on stamps regardless of who owns the company in the future.

Green patent applications processed four times faster delivering massive boost to green UK businesses: The Intellectual Property Office’s Green Channel service offers accelerated processing for patent applications where the invention has an environmental benefit.

Consumer affairs

Government has announced new funding to continue the fight against illegal money lenders and scams: Specialist regional Illegal Money Lending (IML) and Scambuster teams run by Trading Standards will continue to be funded by the Department for Business.

Get involved

The Department currently has six consultations open including:

• Principles for economic regulation
• A new approach to financial regulation: Consultation on reforming the consumer credit regime
• Transparency