ASIAN businessmen in East Lancashire are too busy to seek out the government support available to them.

Blackburn's newest peer, Lord Patel, raised their problems in his maiden speech at Westminster.

And he won a promise from Industry Minister Lord Sainsbury that small business service advisers would seek them out to offer help.

Lord Patel congratulated the government for trying to boost the quality and support and assistance for such enterprises but drew attention to problems being experienced by ethnic minority-owned businesses in finding support.

He said: "Many small ethnic minority businesses are run by their owners and immediate family members.

"To keep them viable and competitive they are open long hours. ecause of this they do not have time to seek out and acquire aid from support services."