Nigel Griffiths was appointed minister for small business and enterprise in June 2001, having previously held the position of competition and consumer affairs minister from 1997 to 1998.

A keen supporter of green issues, the Edinburgh South MP is responsible for the Small Business Service (SBS) and has overseen various government initiatives aimed at boosting entrepreneurship over the past two years.

Startups.co.uk talked to the minister about the government’s record on small business, red tape and what the future holds for entrepreneurs in the UK.

What do you feel are the government’s achievements in regard to small business since 1997? How would you convince a small business owner to vote for you?

Firstly, we’ve got the UK economy right. Inflation’s at its lowest for 30 years, and employment’s at its highest ever in the UK. So we have created the right conditions for small businesses to flourish.

Through the Business Link network the Government provides business support, advice, or access to experts on every aspect of support a person might need to run their own business.

In the last year we helped for more than 310,000 firms and individuals through Business Link, including an average of 11,000 pre-starts every month. That’s a lot of new dynamic businesses, getting information, access to funding and help with their businesses.

What about your own personal contribution - what do you feel have been your main achievements since becoming small business minister?

Something I’m most proud of is the way that the best British entrepreneurs now come from all walks of life, all social, geographical and ethnic backgrounds. Since becoming Minister for Small Business and Enterprise,

I’ve taken a great interest in making sure that we encourage entrepreneurship in disadvantaged communities, and the Phoenix Fund, which was created to do that, has already allocated over £30m of capital, revenue, and loan guarantees.

The Phoenix fund specifically supports a number of projects promoting black and other ethnic minority businesses and businesses run by women. I also work closely with the Ethnic Minority Business Forum to ensure that we meet the needs of under-represented groups trying to start and run businesses.

The government has been attacked by the Tories and business groups over the amount of red tape imposed upon small firms. Don’t you feel that the burden is too high?

We regulate only when it’s necessary and desirable - to ensure fairness at work, better health and safety, or a cleaner environment, for example. And we always try to strike the right balance so that we ensure decent minimum standards for workers, consumers and the environment, without imposing unnecessary burdens on business, the voluntary or public sectors.

In fact, we’ve done a lot to lighten the load for business. Our Regulatory Impact Assessments now specifically look at the effects on small firms of any new regulation, and we consult businesses before implementing any changes.

With new employment regulations for example, employers told us that it would be easier if they were introduced on just two dates each year, to clear up uncertainty. We’re planning to introduce this from next year, and it will make things a lot more straightforward for businesses, their representatives, and their employees, who will all be able to prepare for changes in good time in future.

Independent research also bears out the fact that the UK provides a favourable business environment compared to other countries. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked 60 countries on their attractiveness for start-up businesses. It gives them points for favourable tax regimes as well as other pro-business measures.

The UK is joint second after the Netherlands, and ahead of the US, so we are making progress.

If you could change one thing overnight to make it easier to start up an enterprise, what would it be?

Changing attitudes to enterprise is the key to this - fear of failure is one factor that prevents people from putting their business ideas into practice and business survival rates improve dramatically when fledgling businesses seek advice and support.

So my wish is for a cultural change to take place in the UK to stimulate more business start-ups, with people taking advice at each stage leading to more successful, growing businesses, following on from that.

What do you feel the future holds for small firms over the next few years?

The future is very promising for small firms in the UK. We’re constantly looking at ways to improve funding and finance options for them, and are also reviewing all the financial support we give to firms – making access to grants and loans easier and simpler for the people who actually run small businesses.

Business Link advisers will be able to tell companies exactly what they’re eligible for, and how to get it.

Through the SBS we will continue to promote and assist small firms, and maintain our efforts to increase the participation of those under represented in business, drawing on the wealth of talent in women’s business and the ethnic minorities.