The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Cornwall has hit out at the composition of the LEP board announced this week.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) chairman Chris Pomfret unveiled his first board on Tuesday, but the FSB is disappointed in the lack of representation from small firms.
The FSB claims it had received assurances that small business would be strongly represented on the LEPs, and is now calling on the Government to issue a “model constitution” for the LEPs to operate to.
FSB Cornwall regional chairman Kevin Oliver said: “The makeup of the LEP board is meant to be reflective of the local business community. In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly that means there should be strong representation of the small/micro businesses in the Duchy.
“Sadly, only one person who actually runs a genuine business predominately based in Cornwall has been selected to the LEP board. In addition the chairman has said that the LEP will be strategic and concentrated on a very small number of major projects. So although the LEP was granted on the basis of three core objectives to support our existing businesses, it is not looking as if those core objectives will be met.”
