EXPORTERS in Worcestershire and Herefordshire should take their concerns about a lack of support for overseas trade to the heart of Government, Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff has urged.

Speaking at an Institute of Directors' seminar at the Cotswold Business Centre near Broadway, he said Government ministers needed to lead more from the front when it came to supporting overseas trade.

"Other countries do it better and although we recognise the value of Gordon Brown's visit to China, by comparison he spent little time in India - another vital overseas market for your members."

Mr Luff is chairman of the influential Parliamentary Select Committee on Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

He welcomed feedback from business in his constituency and examples of practical difficulties and blocks which may cause frustration and added that while constituency MPs received massive feedback from the public generally via surgeries they received virtually nothing from the business community.

Michael Greensmith, chairman of the IoD's Hereford & Worcester branch, said: "Peter gave us a valuable chance to gain an insight into how the Government's approach to developing business opportunities domestically and in overseas trade links, works.

"It was also interesting to understand how local MPs monitor the effectiveness and shortcomings of new business legislation and are able to support and represent local businesses in their constituencies.

"The IoD does a lot of work lobbying government centrally in Westminster but I am also very keen that we maintain strong links from our businesses locally in Hereford and Worcester."