Business welcomed Tory plans unveiled on Tuesday to simplify radically the £2.5bn ($4.8bn)-a-year “out of control” system of business support and appoint a small business minister reporting direct to the prime minister.

There should be a single, web-based information service, a Conservative policy group recommended, and the 3,000-odd existing schemes should be vetted by the National Audit Office, with the aim of making government support “minimal and measurable”.