A business leader has hit out at quangos for wasting money and “creating very little.”

Bill Moses, chairman of Thanet & East Kent Chamber of Commerce, says the money going into bureaucracy and quangos would be better spent on small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

He claims that Business Link and others “simply consume taxpayers’ money, tick boxes and create very little.”

He believes that the vast funds spent on such self-serving official and semiofficial bodies would be better invested directly in SMEs.

“If this money was spent effectively, it could make a substantial difference to the business community rather than just creating quango jobs that simply consume those same, valuable resources,” Mr Moses said. “Countless millions of pounds are wasted in this way. Those responsible should be held to account.”

He called on SEEDA and others to do more to support SMEs across the region, rather than focusing attention on larger “more fashionable” projects that he feels could manage well enough on their own. He added, “It should not be forgotten that 99% of companies in the UK are SMEs”.

Very few businesses are aware that SEEDA spent over two years in writing a document entitled, “Coastal South East: A Framework for Action”. Published finally in March of this year, the six pages of text are unlikely to inspire SMEs.

Sentences such as, “The Framework for Action does not replace strategies and plans that have been developed at sub-regional and local levels” are of little help to a small shop in Margate trying to compete with chain stores or a local haulier facing this century’s highest month on month increase in the price of diesel.

In a similar vein, a recent study carried out by SEERA (South East England Regional Assembly) entitled “Select Committee on SEEDA's Strategy and Activity in the Coastal South East Context and Issues Paper” purported to involve local business. When questioned, SEERA was unable to produce the name of a single SME that had been consulted even though a long list of quasipolitical bodies, quangos and groups of publicly funded officials was available.

Mr Moses maintains that commercial sector input is essential in ensuring that East Kent remains competitive and responsive to innovation and opportunity.

As he puts it, “Expensive reports flatter the quangos that produce them but deceive the companies that pay for them.”

He suggested that SEEDA should host its next meeting in Thanet. “If SEEDA genuinely wants to hear the voice of SMEs, we will provide the forum”.