The new Inverness and Nairn Local Economic Forum has agreed on an action plan which should mean better coordination of services and a clearer picture of who does what for business support in the public sector.

Bill Sylvester, Chief Executive of Inverness and Nairn Enterprise, explained: "The Scottish Executive introduced the concept of local forums to bring together the key parties in each area with responsibility to work together as effectively as possible. The Forum for our area has now completed its first action plan and the recommendations will be introduced over the next few months’.

The action plan, which has been forwarded to the Scottish Executive, recommends a single gateway to the public sector for anyone looking for advice or assistance. It also proposes better coordination of programmes and schemes, including a single application form, more exchange of information and much clearer advice for the public about who does what.

Heather Sheerin, Chair of Inverness and District Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Forum, said ‘ We quickly realised that the real problem in Inverness was not that too many people were doing the same things but that the public was confused as to where the responsibilities lie. The Chamber sees this action plan as the start of a longer progress towards better support for local businesses, and we are leading in the production of a guide to business support services which will be available early next year’.

Helen Carmichael, who represents the Federation of Small Businesses on the Forum, agreed. ‘This is not the final answer, but we are clear that the actions proposed do represent progress, and we look forward to working with our partners on the Forum to make more improvements in time’.

David Key represents the Association of Nairn Businesses on the Forum. ‘It is good to see the public and private sectors working together like this. Our members have found the previous situation confusing. Hopefully the changes proposed will help us all’.

Anyone interested in seeing the full document can find it on the INE website (www.ine.co.uk ) under Partnerships.

Inverness and Nairn Enterprise

Scottish Executive

Inverness and District Chambers of Commerce