A TOTAL of nearly £160,000 will be made available over the next two years for support for small West Somerset businesses, district councillors were told last week.

The council agreed to proposals under the Hinkley Point S106 business support initiative to offer local small and micro- businesses a range of training schemes to boost productivity in key areas from supply-chain support to customer service.

Corinne Matthews, economic regeneration and tourism manager, told councillors in a report that £30,000 of the Hinkley grant would be spent on business support and training.

This would involve an anticipated 20 business workshops and 200 hours of mentoring.

As West Somerset had the country’s third-highest self-employment rate, business start-ups would be included in the programme, Ms Matthews said.

A total of £24,000 would provide up to ten businesses with intensive support and technical training, support up to eight collaborative groups and develop 20 technical capabilities suitable for the Hinkley C supply chain.

A total of 364 West Somerset-based suppliers are currently registered on the Hinkley supply-chain portal.

Ms Matthews told councillors that £30,000 had been earmarked for delivering local skills and enterprise by setting up an academy network, providing tourism related training and supporting up to 60 businesses.