The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has launched British Small Business Champions 2008 (BSBC), our unique national awards scheme, aimed purely at small businesses.

Entries are invited from well-run businesses that are highly regarded by staff and customers. Businesses have to have been trading for at least five years at the time of entering and must employ no more than 50 staff.

Across the UK, six Area Champions will be chosen and these six businesses will go forward to the national final. One  business will be chosen as the National Champion and scoop the top prize of £10,000.

For BSBC 2008 there are two additional categories: Young Entrepreneur and Most Promising New Business. These have been chosen as a way for the FSB to show support for the new generation of up-and-coming businesses. Entries in both will go straight to national judging.

BSBC was launched by the Federation of Small Businesses in 2002 and is now firmly established as the most prestigious and highly valued of business awards for SMEs.

For more information go to http://www.fsb.org.uk/bsbc

When identity cards first came to the attention of the public, many of us were concerned about EVEN MORE centralised information being in the hands of our government.– and now the validity of such concerns is clear to all : 25 million records including financial details, apparently routinely transferred, unencrypted, by junior officials onto standard CDs and put in the post, unregistered, unprotected except for passwords that schoolkids could break.

It almost sounds like an April Fool’s joke, it’s that inconceivable – except that this isn’t April and it’s no joke.  Data we trust our government to preserve is now, more than likely, in the hands of criminals – and what a bonanza. If the people of Britain don’t treat this disaster as a major wakeup call then heaven help us. Seems to me that the government is very good at apologising for getting it wrong but disastrous at not getting it wrong in the first place.  Between this and recent revelations of the TV companies ripping us all off, one could be forgiven for wondering if we’ve lost the plot somehow.