Business and Enterprise Minister's work experience week

The initiative aims to give the Minister a better understanding of the specific needs of the small to medium-sized business (SME) sector.

His work experience kicked off yesterday with a day with Bethnal Green-based DIY Kyoto, which makes wireless electricity meters to help consumers save energy.

Mr Prisk hopes that other Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) employees will participate in the initiative over the next year, to help boost their understanding of the real-life issues faced by SMEs, which account for more than 99 per cent of private businesses in the UK and improve relations between business and government.

DIY Kyoto designs and manufactures wattson, an energy meter which consumers use to monitor their electricity usage by the minute. The company was set up to encourage and assist people in considering the amount of energy they consume on an everyday basis.

Mr Prisk said: “This initiative is very important to me. It is a great opportunity to gain real-life experience and understand the issues small businesses and entrepreneurs face. This will enable us to capture ideas where Government can remove barriers to enterprise and test policy assumptions with real businesses.

Mr Prisk ran a property marketing and communication consultancy, MP2, for 10 years, prior to his career in politics. He said: “As I used to run my own business I have a strong idea of what really matters to business owners.

“This experience will give me even stronger insight into what small businesses need from Government, particularly as they prepare for the economic recovery.”

The final schedule for the remainder of the Minister's visits hasn't been finalised yet. He will definitely be visiting two businesses in his constituency of Hertford and Stortford in Hertfordshire, but the dates and companies are still to be confirmed. The Minister will be visiting four more businesses across the country over the next few months.