Skills Secretary John Denham announced in a keynote speech to the FSB annual conference in Newport, South Wales that TV's Dragons' Den star Peter Jones will carry out a review into the support that people who want to start their own business get from universities and colleges.

John has asked Peter Jones to report to him early this summer and in particular to:

• identify the range of support offered by colleges and universities across England to those wanting to start their own business;
• highlight strong or innovative practice that others can learn from;
• make recommendations about how training or access to training could be improved; and
• as a secondary aim, to consider whether the support available to those who are already self-employed meets their needs.

Speaking at the conference, John Denham said:

"The life blood of new small businesses is the enterpreneurial spirit - the well-judged risk that can let a business idea flourish.

I believe that small businesses can help us not only to come through our current economic problems, but also to emerge from them stronger. And that's why I want to ensure that my Department and its agencies are doing everything possible to support people with the drive and imagination to set up a business on their own.

Besdies being one of this country's most successful entrepreneurs, Peter Jones has a substantial record of encouraging entrepreneurship education. So I am delighted that he has agreed to lead the review and to apply his experience and expertise to helping me ensure that DIUS plays its full part in laying the foundations of Britain's future economic success."