NEW research carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has revealed two out of three small business owners in Greater Manchester and North Cheshire don’t know what a Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is.

They are voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses set up in 2011 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help determine economic priorities and lead economic growth and job creation.

When asked the question in an FSB member survey: ‘Do you think your local LEP focuses enough on the needs of small businesses like yours?’, just 1.2% of businesses responded ‘yes’. A further 16.4% answered ‘no’, and 17.1% responded ‘unsure’. The overwhelming majority (65.4%) however, said they didn’t know what a LEP was.

The FSB’s regional chairman for Manchester and North Cheshire, Richard Gregg, said: “The underlying message in our own regional research, and indeed the FSB national report, is that many LEPs need to reach out and communicate better with small businesses."

* Anyone interested in reading the research carried out by the FSB should visit fsb.org.uk/News.aspx?loc=pressroom&rec=8715.