A Tees Valley organisation is urging local companies to put forward ideas about what kind of business support services are needed to help businesses grow.

The Tees Valley Partnership - a group which brings together agencies involved in shaping the area's future - is calling on business people to submit suggestions as it works on its bid to win the Government's Small Business Service franchise.

A series of meetings is taking place over the next two weeks at which local small and medium-sized businesses will be able to talk directly to the bid writing team, and Partnership chairman Alistair Arkley said it is vital that they hear as many views as possible.

The meetings have been organised by the North East Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturing Challenge Tees Valley.

"The Partnership has deliberately recruited representatives from small and medium-sized businesses to lead the bid writing team because we want to ensure that our proposals for the new service are customer-led. They represent what SMEs really want and need.

"I know from personal experience of running a small organisation what a vital role the right kind of support can play in helping a company, both when it is first established and as it grows."

He said there is a great deal of knowledge and enthusiams within the bid writing team, but that the team can't do its work alone.

"They need advice and suggestions from as wide a cross-section as possible."

Business Link Tees Valley (BLTV) failed in its attempt to win the SBS franchise in the first round of bidding earlier in the year.

The SBS is part of the Government's drive to improve the overall quality of business support available to small and medium-sized firms.

lThe Chamber of Commerce will hold a meeting for its members with the Tees Valley Partnership's bid writing team today (Thursday) at the Thistle Hotel, Middlesbrough, 5pm.

Another meeting will be held on Monday, August 16, at the TWI, Riverside Park, Middlesbrough at 8am